So, because I might have to bounce out.
Here we go.
Chair, we have 25 attendees.
You can start when you wish.
Thank you.
Good morning.
My name is Bill Bergman, and I will be chairing this morning the 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.
before we start let's look at our virtual format be advised these 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 sonographer 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 last, please note the question and answer box on the screen is not for testimony or comments.
Any comments should be directed to Tanya Sunkett, our Executive Director.
Now, let's look at the contingencies that we have for this morning's meeting.
Number six, MI 2021 -001 -573 -2783 Roberts Avenue.
Number eight, MI 2021 -003715 -414 East Roosevelt Boulevard, and number 13, MI 2022 -000908 -6302
Morton Street. These three cases will be continued. Is there anyone in the audience,
the virtual audience who has a comment relative to these three cases.
I see no handshare. Are there any other requests for continuance?
I see no handshare. And we also have number 11
MI -2021 -001 -752 -5136 Wayne Avenue. That case has been withdrawn.
We're going to go to our regular list. I'm going to start with number 14,
MI 2022 -001 -010 -6800 -North 16th Street.
Leo Moblehill is listed as the attorney.
Anyone with their hands up?
no chair I don't even see Mr. Mulvihill listed as that case is continued that was the first
listing we do not have exhibits yet case number 15 MI 2021 -003 -596 -961 Marcella Street
Marion Roach is the attorney Hillary Emerson is recusing herself for that case
Sam Scabuzzo will be filling in for her.
Letter of opposition from the 35th Democratic Ward Executive Committee.
Marsha Rose Roach.
marcia rose roach hi good morning board hi could you state your name and spell for the court
reporter please yes board my name is mary rose roach i am counsel for james whalen he's the owner
of 96 961 marcella street do you swear a firm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the
truth yeah yes i do can i could you mention your name sir let me swear you in separately
it's spelled for the court reporter
james whale w -h -a -l -e -n right do you swear for him to tell the truth the whole truth is nothing
but the truth yes i do counsel our vice chair carol tenere has a few questions for you
Hi, Ms. Roach, do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Yes, Madam Chair.
Thank you.
Have you emailed the use of the packet with proof of ownership tax compliance, a copy of the refusal or referral, photos under plans of the property, five days in advance of this hearing, and have you met with the RCO, and do you have a letter?
Yes, Madam Chair.
Okay, you may proceed and begin to share your screen.
Please.
Thanks.
do you see my screen yes we do okay great and you could see the um the exhibits here
yes okay great just wanted to make sure um so uh the submission that i uh provided to the board of
adjustment provided the refusal um the appeal application and please stop me if i'm going
too fast if you have any questions uh the project information sheet
this is the deed to the property that shows that mr whalen is the owner of the property that was
filed with the philadelphia quarter deeds he's on the property since 2019 he did buy the property
as a triplex um which is uh the reason we're here today um to get this zoned as a triplex
three -unit property. Certificate of clearance, which was issued on June 9th, 2022.
Let's excuse me. I'm not sure how these pictures are going to come out. Okay. Maybe I can
make it a little smaller.
So these are pictures of the notice of the zoning hearing that were posted in front of the property.
and these are pictures of the exterior
this is the first floor entrance
um that's the rear this is the rear of the property and as you can see here um there are
three um utility meters set up it's always been that way like i said he purchased the property
and that's the back that's the back door and he actually replaced the um utility boxes when he
purchased the property the electric um wasn't up the code so he um he bought new electric for the
property and that's how it would i mean that's i don't make council why don't you we'll let him
come on there why don't you just go okay all right that's the uh proof no no no let let let
council talk yeah okay um second uh second um entryway to the second unit
this is the front of the property here
and this is proof of mailing so he did have some issues with mailing um but the letter that he sent
out he has a receipt for the mailing um and there were discussions back and forth with um
the uh councilwoman's office um in order to establish that he did send out the
uh, mailing to the appropriate addresses, but, um, he had an issue getting the printout that the,
the printout that the um that the post office gets so he did follow up with the council person's
um, that the post office gets. So we did follow.
office did show proof that he mailed through the receipt um and you know we're asking that the
board consider that as um sufficient today um and he also got a a few letters from his neighbors in
support of um his zoning appeal these are folks that have lived in the neighborhood
they're aware that it was a triplex when he bought it and you know just stating that they
don't have an issue with it being a triplex I know one of the issues that you'll see in the
RCO letter is that parking would be an issue but you know these are folks that live in the
neighborhood and that can attest to the fact that you know it hasn't been an issue and it wouldn't
be an issue since he's again he's not changing anything that wasn't already in existence
so those letters are here and this is another letter from um uh someone else that's involved
in the neighborhood um and that was first yeah and um in addition we also have the
improvements that he made to the property this um zoning application doesn't include any type
of changes to the structure of the property there will no there will be no renovations that will
change the actual um layout of the property but just things that he did to upgrade the property
and make sure that it was um um there weren't any issues excuse me counselor excuse me do you have
any interior pictures i do and i'm sorry i sent those in a separate email so i'm going to pull
those up right now okay uh thank you council council can i ask the question is the first
floor have two units in it it's one unit so there's the first floor is one unit the second
floor has a unit in the basement has a unit the second floor has two units sorry uh two bedrooms
oh yeah but it's yeah so the unit is where there's a separate living um space is the first floor is
one the second floor is one and there's one in the basement as well are there windows in the basement
there are okay i guess we'll see that when we see the pictures thank you and maybe i might be able
to show you the window from the exterior photos too let me just go back up
that's the back yeah i just want to see if you can see it so here's the window here and there's
also one in the back i can probably all right now that could be on one window okay
okay so the window's in the front okay so just from the inside uh from the front here's the
window here are you able to see that yes i can rotate it sorry it's pictures
there. That's probably better. There we go. All right, let me get to the interior pictures.
Were you able to see this page that I pulled up?
we're showing the other page here we see it now okay great so um here are the interior pictures
this is the rear apartment bathroom
when you say rear apartment what do you mean the basement yes yes sorry if that was unclear so the
basement bathroom, basement living room, kitchen, and bedroom. This is all here in the basement,
and that window right there is the window that you saw at the front of the house.
Is that a window and exit?
that will be made in enlarging and made into an egress window but now there's no exit no thank you
all right this is the first floor bedroom slash or bedroom
kitchen and bathroom
This is the front door on the first floor.
Only pictures of the second floor.
So, you don't have any longer info on me.
So those are the pictures and then I also have the letter
from the RCO that we can go, I can pull up here.
And this is the RCO letter.
So we did want to address the issues that or the concerns that the neighborhood did bring up, the conversion and all work done without required permits.
Well, today I can assure you that no permits were needed.
He didn't make any changes to the property as far as the work that he got done with the electric that was done by an insured contractor.
To the extent there were permits required, they were obtained.
As Mr. Whelan stated today, he plans on putting an egress entry, exit area in the basement and replacing the window there.
As far as three units constituting an overuse of the property, again, he purchased the property this way.
It was an existing use.
And we're just asking that he can maintain that use as it's been, you know, these units have been occupied.
uh and as far as he knows even with the neighbor uh neighbors that wrote him letters of support
there's never been any issues with congestion or parking or anything of that nature so the
perspective concerns um you know historically haven't been an issue and he doesn't see them
being an issue in the future um do you guys have any questions of me or um council is there any
history of it being used as a triplex like for instance are there rental licenses for three
apartments so so that was the issue when he purchased the property it was with the understanding
that it was a triplex and it was mistaken and now he's going through the process i understand that
but what i'm saying is was it actually being used as a triplex like you know you sometimes you'll
see in the lni files it'll tell you three licenses and things of that nature it was a thing made
property no no we don't we don't have any record of that okay the rest of the the rest of the
street is it multi -family so it's predominantly single -family homes um i don't know if there's
any other other there are yes okay okay questions questions from the board
no mr chairman
no mr chairman
sorry go ahead i said no mr chairman okay thank you thank you uh questions or comments from the
virtual audience chair we have dylan mahoney okay uh thank you mr chairman of the board
dylan mahoney uh d -i -l -l -o -n last name m -a -h -o -n -e -y representing the office of
councilwoman parker um do you swear a firm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the
truth yes sir proceed um so the councilman is opposed to the project as well as a triplex
The only records that the city has on file is for a previously approved duplex in, I believe, 2009.
That approval has since lapsed. There were some rental licenses on file for the property for two units from 2016.
Also no longer appear active. So just by way of answering some of the questions that you had about the history of the property.
It's our opinion that there's no compelling hardship for a three unit building.
and that ultimately three units would be in overuse given the block is predominantly single
family and the majority of multifamily properties in the area are located on corners. This is a
very small lot and a very small building at just over a thousand square feet and there were also
some safety concerns that the community addressed related to egress from the basement and so again
the councilman as opposed to the project thank you thank you very much is there any other comments
from the virtual audience and excuse me board um we did have someone that one wait one minute let
me let me see if there's any more comments i'll give you a chance to respond any other more
comments from the virtual audience i see no other handshare council yes so just in response to
I see no other handshare.
Counsel?
Yeah, so just in response to Attorney Mahoney's comments, the fact that we do, you know, agree that this was a property that wasn't formally zoned as a triplex.
However, the use was there.
It was an existing triplex that was purchased by my client with tenants.
And to date, there hasn't been any concerns about past overuse or past congestion that have been voiced by any of the neighbors.
So the extent that there's a concern there, the change, there's not going to be a change in how the property will be used.
It just wasn't zoned. It didn't have the permission that way.
and we also have we also have um uh one of the witnesses or you know one of the people that
provided a statement is here um to say something if that's okay for it i think we have their
statement right that you do have their statement we have both statements i've read both statements
already it was the three statements yep okay all right um planning commission it's uh ron bednar
City Planning, first name Ron, R -O -N, last name Bednar, B -E -D -N -A -R. Do you swear or affirm to tell
the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth? I do. Proceed, Ron. This property is indicated for
residential use on the city plan or adopted district plan recommends no changes to the
existing single -family zoning at this location. In 2006, a variance for two -family use at this
property was approved, the additional dwelling unit is clearly not required to overcome any
physical limitations of the property that is inappropriately overused of the existing
structure. Therefore, we recommend the request for variance not be granted. Thank you. MI 2021
003 -596 -961 Marcello Street. I vote yes. Proviso two units.
um carol tanari my vote is yes with the same proviso thomas haliband my vote is no
james snell yes with provisos ishmael shaheed my word is yes with proviso thank you thank you board
number one mi 2022 001 005 1230 south third street justin crick is the attorney
um penn sport civic association letter of non -opposition
mr crick is coming back in as a panelist thank you morning mr chair members of the board
hi could you state your name and spell for the court reporter please yes justin j -u -s -t -i -n
crick k -r -i -k do you swear a firm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
Yes. Could you identify your client in relationship to the property?
Yes. My clients are Colleen McAllister and Francis Farrington. They are the record owners of 1230 South 3rd Street.
Thank you. Our vice chair has a few questions.
Morning, Mr. Crick. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
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?
Yes, to all.
Okay, great. You may proceed and begin to share your screen.
Thank you.
Thank you.
all right um members of the board can everybody see the notice of refusal and documents on the
screen yes yes thank you very much we're here today for an application uh by the owners of 1230
and 1232 south uh third street francis farrington and colleen mcallister uh the these are two
adjacent properties and what they're seeking to do is the relocation of lot lines to consolidate
these two lots and then follow you know in accordance with the consolidation for the partial
demolition of the rear of their home to add an addition which will include an elevator for
accessibility purposes and then in connection with the consolidation there would be what is
essentially the legalization of a an outdoor accessory structure that was on 1232 South 3rd
street. I will show you some maps that will explain this in a little bit better of detail,
but for now what we received in these refusals is a rear yard refusal for nine foot rear yard
required. We only have 6 .25 feet, but as you'll see that is based on the
We only have 6 .25 feet, but as you'll see, that is based on the consolidation, the leftover contours of the property following consolidation, as it's only a partial portion of the rear yard that is below nine feet.
and then also we received with the consolidation the accessory structure is situated along the
property line and therefore it becomes a side yard setback question five feet is required but
there is zero fee proposed for the existing outdoor structure a little bit more here on
the refusal it's identical to what you have for geographic purposes we're located on frontage on
3rd street between titan and wharton and if you want to if you could if we zoom in we see that
there's 1230 and 1232 these two properties right here um what one thing notable and is maybe
somewhat difficult to see in this picture but there is a side alley a three -foot alley along
the same property boundary line where there is no setback uh and there is already a wall so there's
no possibility of the structures of these properties situated on wharton uh being able
to be built up to the property line and the existing wall because of this existing three
foot shared alleyway that's there. It may be a little bit easier to see in this photograph.
We have, and I zoom in a little bit more. Give me one second and we'll go to a better picture.
For zoning purposes, the area is all RSA5, and that's all that's relevant here, but for a few
CMX2. And here's a better zoom in. So what we're looking at here is 1230 and 1232. The lines of
this map from Atlas don't always line up. So if you can just imagine that they should be slightly
lower and the boundary line for the properties is right about here. And the alley is situated
about right where the cursor is now. So everything shifted a bit. But the intention is to combine
these two lots. Mr. Farrington and Ms. McAllister have had this very nice side yard that they've
been utilizing, but when they came to me with the desire to do an expansion to put the elevator in
for accessibility and to assist them in making this a home that they can retire in or stay until
their time here ends, they wanted to have that accessibility to get to their bedrooms without
having to walk the steps. That required the demolition, partial demolition of the rear of
the structure, and the plans will show a slightly larger structure built here to enclose and house
the elevator and other remodeled rooms. This area outside is a, there's a wall along the entire
perimeter, and this is an outdoor barbecue area type structure that was built and has been there
for since the Farringtons bought the property in 2001, they had constructed things on their
side yard of their property. But that essentially does not have any setback off of this side yard
property line. Again, a three foot alleyway exists to the side of that, which from a frontage
standpoint on South 3rd, we had 1232 right here and 12, I'm sorry, 1230 right here, the existing
home and 1232 as the side yard here is the gate to that alleyway and there's a there's a little
bit of that side structure sitting right here but again nothing can be built up to this partition
wall that property line wall so we don't run into there there's an automatic three foot buffer in
the on the other side of the the applicant's property line this is a photograph off of
Titan Street, and the rear yard of our property is right around here that I'm highlighting with
my cursor. But what's notable when we look at this consolidation plan is that the consolidation
brings this little bump in by putting the two lots together, and we're short two and a half feet,
which ultimately, when the properties are combined, here is the new schematic. We have a
nine foot rear yard setback for the majority of the rear of the property but once the combination
of the properties occurs this is where we are generating a refusal this six point three six foot
three inch um depth is not enough setback but we believe it's only a partial and therefore de
minimis request for a variance um here is the existing outdoor structure with the three foot
wide alley behind it and again it's an open air kind of barbecue they have a barbecue in there
and whatnot and that's just what they use for uh for cooking. The elevation shows that the the
structure will come out again our slight rear yard depth issue in the back here but it's a it's a very
nice structure that will have new footings in the basement and as you can see here's here's a plan
And as you can see, here's a plan of the basement. And again, our short side yard set, a rear yard setback. The elevator is actually situated in this corner where that minimum setback is not met. But as you can see, it's really, again, de minimis.
of the basement. And again, our short
this will provide access from the first floor to the second floor and alleviate their need to have
to go up and down the steps so this exterior photos of the property this is the part of the
structure that's going to be demolished and remodeled right around here and this will also
alleviate some of the concerns of the homeowner with with you know accessing their side yard now
that the lots will be combined there's no question that they will that whether they were you know
technically allowed to have the doors or however this is situated, but as one lot, they're entitled
to have all of those side doors and side windows. This is an exemplar copy of the deed that shows
just the first page that they purchased in 2001. We have a tax clearance certificate
posting photos of the property on the front door of 2030 and on the door of 2032. Even though 2032
two is not a listed address here because of the consolidation we we made sure it was posted the
remaining pages are proofs of mailing and the letter from pensport came separately i can bring
that up under a separate screen i do believe the board has it but ultimately uh we did have support
from pensport neighbors association um and if the board doesn't have it i can bring it up on the
screen but that came directly from pensport later we're fine thank you thank you so in this in this
situation we really believe that the hardship lies in the contour of the property uh for the
rear yard depth because the consolidation while it created that hardship ourselves
we're slightly off and and by by a de minimis amount um that if the properties happen to have
the same depth obviously that wouldn't occur but the the ability to knock out that corner or re
remodel so that that corner would be in compliance would make it very difficult to install the
elevator which is for accessibility which is the purpose of this um the accessory structure on the
side yard we believe uh that that there is no issue with it being there because again no other
structure is going to be able to abut that that property boundary line wall based on the three
foot alleyway um and ultimately it's it's you know the the outdoor structure while permanent
is just an open -air barbecue area.
I would like to bring Colleen McAllister on
to adopt my testimony,
unless the board has any questions prior to that.
We'll adopt your testimony, our testimony.
Thank you.
Ms. McAllister, if you could raise your hand
so that you may be allowed to speak.
I'm trying.
Can you see my hand?
Hi, Kai.
Kai, could you state your name
and spell for the court reporter, please?
Yes, my name is Colleen McAllister, C -O -L -L -E -E -N -M -C, capital A -L -L -I -S -T -E -R.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed, counsel.
Thank you.
Ms. McAllister, have you had an opportunity to hear my statements to the board today?
Yes, I did.
And were those statements true and correct to the best of your knowledge?
Yes, they were.
and if you had the opportunity to speak with the board today directly would you adopt my testimony
as your own yes i would i have no further thank you questions from the board no
questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no hands chair planning commission this is uh ron bednar city planning this property is
indicated for residential use on the city plan recommend that the question variance be granted
Thank you. MI 2022 -001 -005 -1230 South 3rd Street, I vote yes.
Carol Tenere, 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.
Thank you. May I be excused?
Number, yes, number two, MI 2022 -001 -049, 1651 South Camac Street.
Letter of support from East Passion Crossing, Julia Pergolini is the owner, pro se.
For the legalization of a rear portion of the existing attack structure and the erection of an addition at the rear.
For use as single -family household living, size and location are shown in the application and plans.
Proposed zoning is refused for minimum rear yard depth and lots less than 45 feet in depth, allowed 7 foot.
and lots less than 45 feet in depth, allowed seven foot, proposed nine foot.
Property is in the RSA 5.
Chair, we have someone with the last name, D 'Angelo.
I'll allow them to speak.
Hi, could you state your name, please?
hello hello hi julia pergolini pergolini yes okay could you state your name and spell for
the court reporter please sure it's julia pergolini j -u -l -i -a and the last name p -e -r -g -o -l -i -n -i
i'm julia pergolini but it says that avano d 'angelo who is my um my architect is speaking
okay now you're going to speak okay so we need you to testify okay okay excuse me chair could
i promote her to panelists that way she'll be able to share absolutely okay
julia yes sorry i think i'm i think there's an
error here i'm i'm i think maybe it's the link that i used i'm not the presenter avano is
no no no julia julia julia you're julia you have to present okay and all you have to do is tell us
what you're going to do and go through the presentation if he has the presentation yes
he can put he can put the presentation up and you can testify off of that okay okay all right first
First thing, do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
All right.
Our vice chair has a few questions.
Good morning.
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Are you an attorney?
Strike that question.
Have you emailed an exhibit packet with the required documents consisting of proof of ownership,
tax compliance a copy of the refusal or referral photos and or plans of the property five days in
advance to this hearing and have you met with the rco and do you have a letter
yes okay you may proceed and begin to share your screen um i'm sorry could we pause for one moment
please yes i'm trying i'm trying to make sure you're promoted and it says you're declined
okay now you're both there so the person who has the video to share the screen
may do so but do not speak and then you would be the one testifying okay
so you can now share your screen
excuse me this is hillary um we have the applicant turn on her video as well are we able to do that
julia are you there
I'm here. Sorry. I'm, I started. Are you seeing me now? We do. Oh, okay. Perfect. Um, um, so here's
the project. Sorry for the rough start here at 1651 South Camac street. Um, essentially, uh,
what I'm looking to do here is expand the back of the property into what is now basically the
backyard area. Sorry, my, the architect, sorry, I wasn't prepared to be the speaker.
That's okay. Just, just tell us what, just tell us what you want to do. That's all.
Okay. All right. So basically what I'm looking to do here, he's sharing obviously all of the,
all the documents that go into it. He's, he's centering right now on the area basically that
I'm looking to expand. I'm one of the only homes on the street that really hasn't expanded into
the backyard yet. So I have the largest backyard as far as I know of anyone else on that block.
Basically what I'm looking to do by expanding that is gain an accessible entrance.
um my partner is in a wheelchair he's paralyzed from the waist down um and really what we're
using as an entrance for him at the moment is essentially coming in the back alley over here
is essentially coming in the back alley over here, and then he comes in through the backyard
and then he comes in through
Thank you.
and into that back door. So we literally use what is an alley entrance, basically, as his entrance
at this point in time. So what we'd like to do is expand that back and change that entrance so that
it's a much more accessible space for him to enter in from, obviously, without the sort of
the honestly like hassle and probably like not safest manner in which we're trying to
get him in currently and it also gives him the opportunity to get in entirely by himself there's
no curb of any kind whereas right now it requires my assistance another thing we would like to do
in that expansion is add, um, uh, half bath, uh, just a toilet basically downstairs so that we
don't have to, um, keep going up and down the stairs for that. So that's an option we were
hoping to include as well. Um, and then the last piece of this is just, there is a massive, um,
step, uh, between the living room and kitchen, um, which also again requires a certain lack
of independence because it requires me to drop him down. So that's another huge piece is trying
to raise the living room so that that step no longer is an issue and he can move freely within
the downstairs. We've already in the last year added a stair lift. So we have a fully installed
um stair lift now um which is a huge help obviously for movement up and down the stairs
um and yeah just trying to make that first floor more accessible so that um so that yeah we can
have a better uh quality of life uh really um at the moment obviously it requires me to do
a lot of things um whether um it's going into the kitchen to get a beverage or what have you
um that all kind of falls on me at the moment so it would just be a huge benefit um to open
things up a little bit here for us um and uh and gain a little more independence for
for john my partner okay questions from the board no mr chairman no mr chairman
no mr chairman questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no handshare planning commission this is uh ron bednar city planning
uh this property is indicated for residential use on the city plan
uh given the uh say therefore uh we um we recommend that the request for variance be granted
Thank you. MI -2022 -001 -049 -1651 South Camac Street, I vote yes.
Carol Tenere, my vote is yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
James Thelm, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shahi, my vote is yes.
Okay, good luck with your project.
Thank you so much.
Okay. Number three, MI 2021 -001 -529 -1713 South 6th Street, Andrew Waldo.
No exhibits.
I see no handshare.
MI 2021 -001 -529 -1713 South 6th, I vote to dismiss.
Dismissed.
Dismissed.
Thomas Holloman. Dismissed.
Ishmael Shaheed. Dismissed.
MI 2021, 003 -723 -1819 Gregg Street, Matthew Monroe, no exhibits, second listing.
chair i see no hands mi -2021 -003 -723 -189 greg street i vote to dismiss
carol tenere dismissed thomas holloman dismissed
ishmael shaheed dismissed number five mi -2021 -003
Number five, MI 2021 -003 -710 -2440 -42 South 9th Street.
Chencheo Fan?
He's coming back in as, they're coming back in as a panelist.
Thank you.
Hi, could you state your name, please?
Hi, my name is Cao Fan Cheng.
Okay, could you spell for the court reporter, please?
I don't speak English.
Pardon me?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
You have a hard time on English.
okay so we didn't i'm going to try to explain this we didn't receive your packets till
till last night and it hasn't been processed so i think we're going to continue the case
and as we continue it tanya will make arrangements for um an interpreter next time
i call her coming here okay i know i know tanya no he said no so can we make arrangements the
next time to have an interpreter um did you make a request for an interpreter sir okay i called
i believe um somebody has their hand raised i believe the person who has their hand raised
that was the person who submitted the exhibits and i believe that is who he's trying to reach
to interpret for him but there was no request for an interpreter so we we would need that
request going forward can i call her coming here coming inside for the day okay here if you would
allow um there is someone with their hand up yeah please please yeah yeah okay
please unmute yourself you're free to speak hi could you state your name and spell it please
for the court reporter yes you're gonna have to speak up we can't hear you sir yes
i'm sorry i'm sorry are you on zoom sir uh yes i am actually uh okay
Okay. Now, okay. Now, please listen to the chairs.
Okay. Do me a favor. State your name and spell for the court reporter.
Sao Sen Shi. S -H -A -O -X -I -A -N and X -U is the last name.
Right. All right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
so so so you can tell him later that the package that he sent in came in yesterday and has not been
processed yes this case is going to be continued and when it's continued we will have an interpreter
here for him yes sir okay will you tell him that for us yes thank you very much i'm sorry i'm sorry
Chair. Go ahead.
We are going to continue.
Wait a minute. Go ahead. Tanya. Go ahead.
Sir, you
can in his behalf
reach out to our office
requesting an
interpreter with the language
that's necessary. Okay?
Okay. Yes. Thank you.
This case will not go forward.
You have to call our office
for us to continue and schedule it.
Okay? Okay. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you. Bye. Bye.
Number seven, MI -2022 -001 -037 -301 East Godfrey Avenue. Joseph Consul is the attorney. Letter of non -opposition from Long Crest Community Association.
Mr. Consul. Good morning, board. Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter,
please? Yes. Hi, it's Joseph Consul. That's C -O -N -S -O -L -E. Do you swear or affirm to tell
the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth? I do. Could you identify your client
and relationship to the property?
Yeah, my client is Candace Presley.
She's the owner of 301 East Godfrey, LLC.
She's the owner of 301 East Godfrey, LLC.
They are under a...
They are under a purchase agreement to buy 301 East Godfrey Avenue.
All right.
The vice chair has a few questions.
Hi, Mr. Consul.
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership, tax compliance, a copy of the refusal or referral, voters under plans of the property?
and have you emailed all of that five days in advance of this hearing and have you also met
with the rco and do you have a letter yes to everything okay you may proceed and your screen
all right great thank you board joe console here on 301 east godfrey avenue uh candace
presley is my client she's the owner of the purchasing entity uh the property in question
is zoned RSA 3. As you can see on the screen, it's this corner property here. It's been an
American Legion for forever and has never had a residential use. We had folks testify at the
neighborhood meeting that it was some kind of a plant of some kind prior to that. As you can see,
This side of the block here is residential, but across the street is not. It's a big building. And across the street here also is not.
This property is a 5 ,527 square foot lot. It has kind of a weird shape here, but it's interesting to note it's got parking for 40 cars and has functioned.
I can show you on the side here, has functioned as an American Legion for many, many years.
Their attendance is in decline, and they're seeking to sell the property to my client.
Candace Presley is in the real estate space, and her intent is to use this property as a class,
real estate class, other kind of licensing classes during the day.
and in the evenings to hold events as well as on the weekends we have a refusal for
assembly and entertainment as the property is our zoned rsa3 therefore this is a required
variance to use the property as such we met with the long crest folks in person it was a good
meeting uh there was no opposition a lot of people spoke about the history of the property
People talked about parking.
It seemed like there was no concerns as there is a large lot on the property, as well as, as I showed you guys, lots of space around it that are not residential and provide ample parking.
We have a letter from the RCO as well.
And they attached some meeting minutes here.
They asked that operation cease by 11 p .m.
we're not seeking a liquor license for this property they ask new lighting to be installed
to repave the parking and all things that miss candace is agreeable to do
here's some photos of the property
i already showed you some exterior i'm just showing them with the posters here again a shot of the
back lot as an interior photo of what the space looks like the top portion of the property is
going to be an office area for her real estate company and the event space will be at the bottom
here's a layout of the property which was included um with our packet showing everyone
how it's laid out. There already is a commercial kitchen, as is, you know, currently is an event
space for the American Legion. And then the top floor will be offices.
So let's see, anything else that's worth noting here? That's about it. All right,
I'm going to call my client, Ms. Candace Presley. If you could raise your hand, Candace.
Hi, good morning. Hi, could you spell your name too, please?
It's C -A -N -D -I -S -P -R -E -S -S -L -E -Y.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Proceed, Mr. Counsel.
Good morning, Candace.
Did you hear my testimony just now regarding 301 East Godfrey Avenue?
Yes, I did.
Yes, I did.
Do you adopt what I said as your own?
Do you adopt what I said as your own?
Yes, I do.
Yes, I do.
Is there anything you'd like to add?
Okay, thank you.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
yeah we have dylan mahoney with their hand up okay
uh thank you mr chairman oh mr mahoney just mention uh just say your name you've already
been sworn uh yes sir dylan mahoney from the office of councilwoman parker um we are not
opposed to the granting of the special exception um we appreciate the uh the owner's uh you know
willingness to work with the neighbors to address their concerns. We would only request that the
board include a proviso limiting the hours of operation to 11 p .m. Thank you. Thank you. Any
other comments from the virtual audience? I see no hands, Chair. Planning Commission.
Well, this is Ron Bednar, City Planning. This property is currently indicated for residential
use on the city plan. The proposed use is consistent with the documented site history
and physical conditions of the site, therefore we have no objection. Thank you. MI 2020 -001 -037 -301
East Godfrey Avenue, I vote yes with proviso. Hours of operation closed by 11 p .m.
Carol Tenere, my vote is yes with proviso.
Thank you, Booth.
Thank you.
Okay, thank you.
Number nine, MI 2021.
001 -677 -4623
Frankfort Avenue. John Ramondi is the attorney. Letters of support from the Frankfort Neighborhood
Advisory Council.
Mr. Ramondi. Good morning, Mr. Chairman, members of the board. I just cut myself off for a second.
No, that's fine. Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
It's John Raimondi. It's R -A -I -M -O -N -D -I.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Could you identify your client and their relationship to the property?
My client's name is Keith Brundine. He is the actual owner of the 4363 Frankfurt Avenue LLC.
Okay. And our vice chair, Carol Tenere, has a few questions.
Good morning, Mr. Ramondi.
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Yes, 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?
Yes, I do.
You may proceed and begin with sharing your screen.
that green button on the bottom share screen okay let me just switch off on that again hold on
is anything coming up no okay sir do you have your documents open
uh yes i do are you using a regular computer or apple a regular computer so what you're going to
do is as your documents are open and on your screen click on the zoom application the green
share button at the bottom hover over the bottom of your zoom screen
you'll see a green button that says share okay yes
once you click on that then you have to click on your document
Okay, so I'm looking at the bottom of the screen.
I see it says share screen.
Yes, click on that.
Yes, click on that.
Click on that, okay.
Click on that, okay.
And now I just bring the document into this screen or?
You click on your document so they'll come up on the screen.
what's happening talk i see i see the document up here but i don't
now i so it's right here i hit the share button on this is that let me see so you have to hit
the share button on the zoom okay right right now it says okay and then click on your document
can you could we move on and someone maybe could call and give them a little start share is that
is that let me see yes okay
are you in the office
yeah would there be someone there who could assist
I'm here by myself today.
So, Chair, the only thing I could suggest is if we're unable to proceed, a continuance.
Let me just see if I can work on this.
If you have somebody else, you can just take us out of order.
Tonya, let's...
I have it on my screen.
I just can't figure out how to share it with you.
Why don't we do this?
Can we move forward?
and then we'll go back at the end I think we have about two cases left and then we'll go back and
see where he stands great as you wish chair okay all right Mr. Ramondi see what you can do we'll
get back to you in a little bit thank you I appreciate it I'm sorry chair if I could ask
please turn your video and mute yourself sir and we will call you when we're prepared for you to
proceed. Thank you. Thank you, Chair. Okay. Number 10, MI 2022 -001 -055 -5100 Ray Street.
Jose Rosario, letter of opposition from 44th Ward, RCO. Also, Councilwoman,
got the a's office no exhibits first listing
mr rosario i see no hands chair so this case will be continued mark must be tried i'm sorry
chair someone just put their hand up okay that's fine that's fine i'll allow them to speak to make
sure it is okay yeah sir hello hi could you state your name please and spell for the court reporter
yes how are you doing sir uh my name is ronaldo deluna r -o -n -a -l -d -o
last name is deluna yeah space l -u -n -a right do you swear for him to tell the truth the whole
truth is nothing but the truth truth yes sir all right so we we have no uh documents from you as
of yet we don't have a package um so we're going to continue this case and next time must be tried
okay um i'm sorry chair this is tanya please may i interject a thought and ask what is your
relationship to the case sir the architect i'm not a designer right so where's the owner sir
He's here with me, but the language is a barrier.
So if I could request, you reach out to the zoning board office to put in a request for an interpreter.
We will continue the case.
And when the case next is scheduled, we must have an interpreter.
The architect cannot testify in behalf of an owner.
Yes, ma 'am.
Thank you.
When would the next take be?
We can talk offline. Please reach out to our office, sir.
Thank you very kindly, Chair. You may continue.
MI 2022
00756 5623 Appletree Street.
Sean Ward is the attorney.
Letter of support from HMC Square.
Mr. Ward is coming back in as a panelist.
Mr. Ward is coming back in as a panelist.
Hi, Chair, this is Tanya again.
I hate to be interrupting, but did we officially continue the previous case?
Yes, it must be tried.
Mr. Ward.
Good morning, Mr. Chair.
Sean Ward, on behalf of the applicant and owner, Qadir Counsel, Q -A -A -D -I -R, Counsel, C -O -U -N -C -I -L.
My name is spelled S -H -A -W -N -W -A -R -D.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
I most certainly do.
Our vice chair has a few questions.
Good morning, Carol.
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Yes, 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?
Yes, to all of the above.
Okay, great. You may proceed and please share your screen.
Okay, Mr. Chair, I've submitted my typical exhibit packet in this matter.
A1 is the notice of refusal. The application was a permit for the erection of a two -family dwelling
on an existing vacant lot. It resulted in four refusals. Two -family requires a variance in the
RSA 5 district. We're seeking a variance for the third floor facade setback, the occupied area,
and the rear yard depth. Accordingly, we're here seeking variances today. A2 is the ZBA application
of appeal. A3, the project information form. A4, proof of ownership. A5, proof of tax compliance.
A6 is the application site and elevation plan. Pursuant to our meetings with the RCO,
We revised the site and elevation plan.
There are facade changes only, no changes in size or location, and no changes to the refusals.
We did submit the revised plan proviso form at Hillary's request yesterday.
So she should have that.
A8 are floor plans.
A9 are photographs.
A10 is the RCO meeting notice and certificate of mailing.
Again, the initial meeting was held March 31st.
A follow -up meeting held May 5th.
A -11 is the RCO letter of support from HMC squared. A -12, if the district council person
submitted a letter, I would ask that be marked as A -12 for the record. And A -13 is the relevant
property history. From 1953 until recent history, it was used as a two -family dwelling.
However, in 2021, there was an imminently dangerous case for this property,
resulting in a complete demolition. So we're looking to simply rebuild a new two -family
dwelling on the site of the previous two -family dwelling. A14 is the zoning map and A15 is the
aerial photo. Briefly, the applicant and the owner is Kadir Council. He purchased the property
August of 2021. It's located on Apple Street between 56th and 57th. It is in the RSA 5 district.
As far as existing conditions, again, it's an existing vacant residential lot.
It was a vacant structure from about 2009 up through to 2021.
There were two unsafe structure violations in 2015, an imminently dangerous violation in 2021, and again, resulting in the total demolition of the property.
Again, with the zoning history, it was a two -family dwelling since 1953.
As far as the site and elevation plans, we propose a three -story structure, 33 .4 feet high with a brick façade.
The application called for brick façade at the first floor with siding above.
However, pursuant to the request from the RCO, Mr. Counsel has agreed and provided revised plans showing a full brick façade with a matching cornice line to blend in with the existing properties on either side.
and it will have a roof deck and pilot house, which has the required setback.
Unit A would be a two -bedroom, two -bath. Unit B would be a three -bedroom, two -bath.
And the roof deck was for residential use only. Other properties on the block, it's basically a
well -maintained block. It's mostly occupied. However, there are four vacant lots, including
the subject, and five vacant structures. And some of those are imminently dangerous cases as well.
With regard to the RCO letter of support, there were 22 attendees, 19 either supported or not opposed the application and three were opposed. So very quickly, we have our notice of refusal.
so very quickly we have our notice of refusal we have our application of appeal
our project information form a copy of his deed
proof of tax compliance uh here is the original plan as you can see it had a bay with siding and
shingle roof on top of the pent at the front. Pursuant to the discussion with the RCO, we have
decided to do a full brick facade on the front with a matching cornice line to blend in with
the properties on either side. So they were very happy with that. Again, we have the floor plans,
two units. Unit A is a two -bedroom unit and unit B is a three -bedroom unit. Here's an aerial photo.
As you can see, it's a vacant lot. There's other vacant lots on the block.
Again, here is a picture of the subject.
This is another vacant lot on the block.
Two vacant lots.
With regard to one of the variance requests, we are seeking to build similar to what appears on
several houses on the block. They have enclosed their front porches. However,
our design would have that incorporated into the new construction. As you can see,
there's other vacant properties on the block. Another one. This house is
currently undergoing some renovations. Again, here's another example of the
enclosed front porch area that we are looking to do as well. And here is our
Our meeting notice, it included a copy of the refusal.
It went out to 139 homes in the area.
We have the addresses.
We have our certificate of mailing, 139 pieces of mail went out on April 20th for the meeting.
Here is the letter of support from HMC Squared.
As you can see, 11 in support, 6 in support with provisos, and this says one non -opposition
However, in their summary, I'm sorry, I'm too fast, they say two non -opposition.
So I believe two is correct.
So in any event, 19 of the attendees were either in support or non -opposition to the application, with three opposed.
As far as the zoning history, as you can see here, it was a two -family dwelling, 1953.
And then this is a copy of the imminently dangerous case violation from 2001.
on. We have this zoning map and the aerial photograph. I would also point out with regard
to the rear yard setback, here is the deed map from Atlas. And you can see many of the
properties on the block have varying rear yard depths on both our side of the block
and on the other side of the block. So the rear yard depth as proposed is not out of character
for this block. I do have Kadir counsel on the call. He can either be allowed to speak to verify
and adopt, or as an officer of the court, I can represent that he would, in fact, verify my
representations as true and correct, and he would adopt them as his own testimony. We can take
your uh your uh uh counsel it's fine very good question this this was too this was too family
before it was demolished yes 1953 up until uh became vacant in 2009 and at which time it fell
into uh right you know a drastic disrepair all right questions from the board no mr chairman
no mr chairman no mr chairman questions or comments from the virtual audience
Here, we have Jacqueline Carlton.
Hi, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Jacqueline Carlton, J -A -C -Q -U -E -L -Y -N -C -A -R -L -T -O -N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed.
Good morning, zoning board.
My name is Jacqueline Carlton.
HMC Square stands for four communities.
Hattenton, Morris Park, Carroll Park, and Cathedral Park.
We represent the 19th District of the 4th City Council District, and a proportion of the 3rd City Council District.
Our layout of these four communities is surrounded by the SEPTA Transit.
I'm representing HMC Square. We've been existing for approximately 12 years, maybe longer.
I oppose because the 5600 block of Appletree Street is
The 5600 block of Appletree Street is a narrow one -way street.
And we do have on the 100 block North 56th Street, three -story homes without a roof deck.
Also in Haddington and Carroll Park, which I am focusing at this moment, there were vacant lots.
The first one was 5745 Market Street, two -way parking with roof deck.
1450, and that would be Haddington.
Now I'm focusing on Carroll Park, which is part of HMC Square.
1454 North 57th Street was a bacon lot.
Two -way parking on that street, three -story apartment with roof deck.
And also in Carroll Park, 1432 North 57th Street, a bacon lot.
two -way parking street, three -story apartment with roof deck. I oppose because there was an
opportunity for Mr. Counsel to buy a property on the 100 block North 56th Street, and he could
have had his vision for the three -story dwelling. But since he didn't, this is why I'm on
um the zoom today the problem is because the fourth councilman district borderlines the third
city council district mr council is imitating what they're building in the third council district
which are three -story of apartments with the roof deck which we do not need at this time
in the fourth city council district i really believe um since i live in haddington that
he really persuaded the neighbors on 5600 block apple street to just move forward and focus on
his vision um we did ask mr council if he was not approved would it be a hardship uh on uh march
31st and then again on may 5th and he said yes so i want to thank you for the opportunity and
i'm finished okay just one thing though but but hmc did send a letter of of support right
yes that's correct all right i know that's fine i appreciate your time and effort in calling
are there any other comments from the virtual audience
i see no handshare planning commission
this is ron bednar city planning property is indicated for residential use on the city plan
or adopted district plan recommends no changes to the existing residential single family zoning
at this location the applicant's hardship is not supported with evidence of unique physical
physical circumstances or conditions of the property that would prevent it from being used
conformity with the code therefore we recommend the quest for variance not be granted thank you
ron mi 2022 000 756 5623 apple tree street i vote yes revised plans one page stamp june 22nd
20 -22.
Carol Tenere, my vote is yes, with proviso.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes, with proviso.
James Snell, my vote is yes, with proviso.
Ms. Miller -Saheem, my vote is no.
Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Okay, so back to number nine.
Thank you, thank you, actually.
Number nine, MI 2021 -001 -677 -4363 -Frankford Avenue, Mr. Ramondi.
You have to unmute yourself, sir.
Can you hear me?
Yeah, I have it on the screen.
Hopefully you can see it.
4363 -Frankford Avenue.
Mr. Ramondi.
Yes, this is Tanya. In order for us to see it, you would have to share your screen again.
Are you ready for that?
Yeah, hold on two seconds. Let me just bring this back up.
So initially, you're going to have your documents available and then hit the green share button.
Okay, here we go. We'll put the document up here now.
talk me through it what's going on okay so i have my have the screen up i got the share screen
okay so i have my have the screen up i got the share screen and i have to i assume just
and I have
open my document open the document once you hit share screen okay your document
should already be up and click on your document all right and then it would allow it to share it
with us okay here we go now what you now what you have up is your desktop you would need to click
on the actual document that you would be here hey go ahead you're professional here we go now
all right so here we are we have 2363 frankfurt avenue and here's our our presentation we uh
in fact did uh what we're trying to accomplish here is mr remindy one one minute have you
identify your client and the relationship that was Keith Brunden uh he is the uh the owner of
okay thank you and he's available he's available to testify uh what we have is uh just to show
you what we've already presented was the notice for the uh RCO hearing and going through that
we have our refusal what we're trying to accomplish here is to get a use an existing
lot to be used for a which is basically vacant for a commercial space and for 11
low -income housing units we're right now they're zoned for
industrial commercial mixed use and what we're trying to do obviously is to put residential
in with that here's proof of our mailing to the neighbors and for the RCO hearing
and they had all gone out we met with the RCO actually on February the 10th and we got an
approval on February the 14th. The approval has been attached to this presentation.
All right. Here's our application for the appeal. We have our
both our project information form also, which basically just indicates once again
that these 11 units would actually be beneficial to the community.
uh my understanding is also that we have approval from councilwoman um
pinion's office can you understand his office i don't know if you receive that or if somebody's
going to actually be here to speak on that this afternoon uh please to bring down to the
pictures let me get out of this one here
All right, this is a copy of our tax clearance certification, Val 378, and a copy of the,
here's a copy of the approval from the frankfurt neighborhood advisory committee
okay have you already received the pictures or you want me to try to bring them up on the screen now
um do you have any architectural drawings yeah they're they're attached here also let me see
Let's go back to that.
There's our drawings.
i actually have the i actually have the architect available no that's okay
could you show me the lot like where the lot is
where it is what what's what's what's the site look like
i guess we could blow these up or somewhere
Thank you.
this is the location map that you have as part of the plans can we see a closer picture
of the site
i actually have pictures of the of the area let me bring them up
actually if we can have mr lonnie come in he's the engineer he's got more of a presentation
than i have is he is his hand up anywhere deb and lonnie
yes he's allowed to speak okay i called mr lonnie at this point
hi good morning can you hear me i could you state your name and spell for the court reporter
yes devon loney d -e -v -o -n -l -o -n -e -y do you swear or firm to tell the truth the
whole truth and nothing but the truth i do
Mr. Lottie, are you able to bring up on the screen here your lot plans and your architectural
plans?
I do have them available, but it doesn't look like I'm able to share anything at
the moment.
I will have to promote you to panelists.
One moment, please.
Thank you.
Council, this is Tanya again.
Could you please hit the green button to stop sharing?
and then we will allow the architect to share as necessary.
Thank you kindly.
All right.
Can everyone see that?
All right.
Let me drag the plans over quickly.
Okay, so here's the general layout of the site.
It's on the corner of Unity Street and Frankfurt Avenue.
The site next to us is the vacant lot.
This is a picture of the building here, and then we have some additional photos here.
This was prior to our initial phase. Initially, the building was unsafe. So we've done a lot of work since then. But this is the building here on the corner initially, next to this vacant lot, just to answer the chairman's question.
and regarding the site plans or the architectural plans
this is what we're doing with the first floor again in the very beginning or the front of the
building along frankfort avenue right now is a vacant commercial space and then we'll have
residential units on that first floor each residential unit will have its own entrance
off of unity street um so this would be the first floor layouts with the three units
and then on the second and third floor we'll pretty much have identical floor plans
with a unit in the front of the building and three units in the rear of the building on
each floor uh giving us a total of those 11 residential units plus the vacant commercial space
it's just some elevations of the building and some renderings of uh early renderings of what
we are proposing again this side view is looking from unity street each unit with his own entrance
directly into the unit for those first floors uh this central door would service the central
stair to go up to the second and third floor for the units on the second and third. And then the
front would be commercial. As of now, we're just applying for vacant commercial. But that will be
sort of the layout here. And then again, the vacant lot to the right, if you're looking from
the front, this is looking from Frankfurt Avenue. Thank you, Mr. Loney. No problem.
Mr. Raimondi, do you want to bring on your client and have them adopt your testimony?
Mr. Ramondi, do you want to bring on your client and have them adopt your testimony?
Yes, that's Keith Brunden.
Does he have his hand up anywhere? Keith?
Hello.
Hi, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Keith Brunden, K -E -I -T -H -B -R -U -N -D -I -N.
All right, do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Go ahead, Mr. Raimondi.
Keith, you heard the presentation that I made along with Deb and Lonnie, is that correct?
And are you in accord with what we presented here today?
Any other questions, Mr. Chairman?
Questions from the board?
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 i can't hear me i can't could you state
your name and spell for the court reporter yes sir thank you my name is sloan folks s -l -o -a -n -e -f -s
fire o -l -k -o -s f -l -o -l -k -s folks office of councilman maria canina sanchez room 508 city
hall do you swear a firm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
I do so, sir.
Go ahead.
Thank you, sir.
The applicant, having met with the coordinating RCO,
Frankfurt NAC, and receiving a letter of support,
a letter of support and a proviso with that letter,
the councilwoman has no opposition to this applicant's very request.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Any other comments from the virtual audience?
I see no handshare.
Planning Commission.
This is Ron, Bednar City Planning.
The property is currently indicated for industrial commercial mixed use on the city plan.
In 2014, the zoning map was amended at this location to ICMX.
The proposed use has significant higher dwelling unit counts than the prior legal use of the property.
variance does not represent the least minimum variance that would afford relief from hardship
imposed by the existing structure therefore we recommend the request for variance not be granted
thank you mi 2022 001 677 4363 frankfurt avenue i vote yes harold tennery my vote is no
I'm sorry
my vote is yes
my vote is yes
thank you
counsel
thank you for getting in for us
thank you we appreciate it
is there anyone else
in the virtual audience
930 case has not been called
i see no hands chair thank you everyone's here everyone at two o 'clock okay
i am i am i am ready
begin as you wish chair my name is bill bergman i will be chairing this afternoon's 2 p .m dpa
hearings with me is carol tenary our vice chair present mr chair ismael shaheed our board secretary
Present, Mr. Chair.
Thomas Holloman, our board member.
He should be on short.
And James Snell.
Okay, and James Snell, our board member.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Also present is our executive director, Tanya Sunkett, our board attorney, Hillary Emerson.
Here's our virtual format.
Be wise.
These proceedings are being recorded.
By participating, you acknowledge your agreement to be recorded.
The video will be available by contacting tanyasunkett at fillit .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 an appearance statement call 267 -270 -5548 leave your email and the address of the property in
question and finally the question and answer box
And finally, the question and answer box on the screen is not for testimony or comments.
Any comments should be directed to our Executive Director, Tanya Sutton.
So let's take a look at what we have in continuances this afternoon.
Number one, number one, MI 2022, 001 -768 -1625 North 18th Street.
Number two, MI 2022, 001 -709 -1746 Lombard Street.
Number 16, MI 2021, 002 -115 -4112 Peachon Street.
Number 17, MI 2022, 001 -804 -4430 Pine Street.
and number 18, MI -2022 -001 -770 -5021 Aspen Street.
All those cases I just mentioned are continued.
Is there anyone in the audience who has a comment relative to those cases?
I see no hands, Chair.
Are there any other requests for continuances?
chair we have someone with their hand up i'm gonna allow them to speak now sure
hi could you state your name and spell for the court reporter please
yes good afternoon my name is nilda pimentel and i'm co -chair of nascan the nori square
community action network which is a resident -led coalition hi nilda could you spell your name for
the court reporter please yes first name is nilda n -i -l -d -a last name pimentel p -i -m -e -n -t -e -l
right do you swear a friend to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
yes i do what case do you want to talk about 21 112 north front street
yes sir okay
yeah i see what what's what's your comment relative to the case
no uh on behalf of uh our organization which is a resident -led coalition in the norrisco
neighborhood representing over 100 households uh within a 10 -block area we want to uh speak
um in favor and want to go record in support okay so so nilda what we're going to do is
we'll call that case and when we call that case you'll have an opportunity to speak okay
That will be fine.
My apologies if I thought that it was already.
No, no, that's fine.
That's fine.
We'll take care.
Is there anyone else who has a continuance request?
Chair, we have Rachel Pritzker.
Ms. Pritzker, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Yeah, Chairman, I don't need to speak now.
I was just, I wanted Neil to know that the case hadn't been called.
All right.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
All right.
Anyone else has a continue?
I'm sorry, Chair.
Go ahead.
I see no other hands.
All right.
So we're going to go first to an add -on case that we have from last week.
MI 2022 -001809, 2300 South Woodstock Street.
I vote yes with the following provisos.
No cooking at the property, interior trash storage, commercial trash pickup.
Carol Tsunari, my vote is yes with those three provisos.
James Snell, my vote is yes with provisos.
Ishmael Shahe, my vote is yes with provisos.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, Mr. Chair, was the balance that the tax balance?
Yes, it was. Everything was good. Ready to go with that.
But number three, and number three, we'll have one, two, three, four, five, six additional cases with it.
Number three and number three.
So MI 2022 001 581 1848 North 17th Street.
MI 2022 001 578 18 North 17th Street.
Number five, MI 2022, 001 -580 -1822 -North 17th Street. Number six, MI 2022, 001 -579 -1820 -North 17th Street.
Number seven, MI 2022 -001 -769 -1857, North 17th Street.
Number nine, MI 2022 -001 -577 -2015, North 17th Street.
And 10, MI 2022 -001 -783 -2019, North 17th Street.
Mr. Nockamson is the attorney. 32nd Ward does not take a position on this particular cases, on these particular cases.
good afternoon mr chair members of the board allen a -l -a -n last name knockinson n -o -c -h -u -m -s -o -n
1 -2 -3 south broad street suite 1600 philadelphia pa 19109 we swear for him to tell the truth the
whole truth and nothing but the truth i do the vice chair has a few questions for you mr
knockamson hi mr knockamson do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its
accuracy i did have you emailed the exhibit packet for all of these cases with proof of ownership
tax compliance a copy of the refusal or referral photos under plans of the property five days in
advance of this hearing and have you met with the rco and do you have a letter uh yes in all respects
Okay, you may proceed and please share your screen.
Mr. Knackleton, you're fine with going with all these cases at once, right?
Yes, as long as the board is as well.
Yeah, we're good.
So, again, I kind of got transitioned into, as a panelist, midway through the description of the cases.
I just want to make sure that we're all on the same page.
The board's going to be hearing 1818, 1820, 1822, 1848, 1857, 2015, and 2019 North 17 Streets.
We are. We're good.
Great. And for record -keeping purposes, my client's representative, both of them are in the virtual audience, Ahmad Shami and Halal Mahdi.
And the entities addresses for 1818 and 1820 is ZMA1 LLC. For 1822 and 1828 is Temple Villas 3 LLC. For 1857 is 1800 North 17th Street LLC.
For 2015, it's 1500 Jefferson, LLC.
And for 2019, it's 1415 N15ST, LLC.
So I'm going to share, I'm going to go in full screen mode here.
Essentially, I represent Temple Bellis.
And what we're trying to do here is legalize student housing
by way of special exception.
And these are the addresses
that we are looking to legalize today.
And as part of my presentation packet,
you'll see notices of referral.
I believe there's one refusal in there
and has to deal with off -street parking,
but even within that property,
they're all referrals.
And as the board knows
that under the Philadelphia Zoning Code
that the use with these properties,
because there aren't one,
as student housing
is conditionally approved and that we would have to have comments from the neighborhood
as well as approval from the CBA. And as indicated, we did receive a letter from the
32nd Democratic Board. They didn't take a position, but I did talk to the community
representative, Judith Robinson, earlier today. She indicated to me, while they don't support
the project, they do not oppose the project either. They find that Tampa Villas is a good
neighbor, and they added to the letter that they originally sent to indicate as such,
and we'll go through that letter. And then we'll go through the zoning permits for each
And then we'll go through the zoning permits for each of the properties, showing that these are legal properties.
of the properties showing.
The issue we have here, as the board knows, is that when you have more than three unrelated individuals in a unit, that is considered a rooming house.
And our intention is to legalize that use by way of these proceedings.
And just for your understanding, each bedroom only has one student in there. We are in the Temple University community, but some of these landlords have more than one student in a room. That's not Temple Villa's strategy or use of these properties.
We will also go over nearby resident recently granted group living approval.
So again, this is typically just a formality, but you'll see in the close proximity, this
ZBA has granted similar requests.
Then we'll go over maps of the area and photographs of the property in the surrounding area.
We can go over our floor plans if you wish.
I can also just give you a detail of each property and how it's being used.
Our RCO meeting notices, our applications for special exceptions, our deeds to the property showing ownership this way, and our certificates of tax credits.
So first, our notice of referral for 1818 North 17th Street.
Uh, again, it's, uh, four single, uh, room residents which share a bathroom in the existing
unit C and D in the same building as the existing two family household living.
So it's, what does that mean is that we have two, uh, four bedroom, uh, units, uh, in this
building.
And we're trying to have just those two units, um, as group living, um, at the conclusion
of my presentation, I will propose language that this board has previously approved under
similar circumstances to allow for this type of use if this board should agree to grant
these special exception requests by way of proviso. Then 1820 North 17th Street is the
same exact thing where we have two units which have four bedrooms each in them and we're merely
trying to make that into group living specifically for those two units while the remainder of those
units are three bedrooms where we don't run afoul of the technical aspects of the Philadelphia zoning
code. 1822 North 27th Street, 17th Street, also same thing. There are two three -bedroom units,
which we meet the technical code requirements, but there are also two four -bedroom units,
which we're trying to legalize by way of proof living. Again, all these are RM1 properties.
All of these are referrals. 1848 North 17th Street is the same. You have two three -bedroom
units, and then you have two four -bedroom units. And again, we're trying to legalize those two
four -bedroom units. So a student may be, you know, there may be one student in each bedroom for a
total of four unrelated individuals. And then if you look at 1857 North 17th Street, again,
another referral, four units. Two of the units have two bedrooms each, and two of the units have
four bedrooms each. And again, we're trying to legalize the four -bedroom units by way of a
special exception. And then 2015 North 17th Street, we have five units here. One of the units is a
three -bedroom. There is a five -bedroom and three four -bedrooms. Again, we're trying to legalize
the five -bedroom and three of the four -bedrooms by way of a special exception. There is a refusal
for this one because we are providing off -street parking. Again, this is existing and we're not
taking away any parking from the street. 2019 North 17th Street, that's another five -unit
building. Two of the units are three -bedroom units, so those are legal and currently. And
three of the units, two of them are four bedrooms and one is five -bedroom. Again, another referral,
another request for a special exception. And then the correspondence from the 32nd Democratic Ward,
ultimately, they did not reach an agreement on the application because no one honestly showed up to
the community meeting other than Judith Robinson. But, you know, they, you know, Temple Villas is
well known in the Temple area. They have, if you look them up, they're very good reviews. They're
If you look them up, they have very good reviews.
They're very community oriented.
very community -oriented, they're very responsible.
They're very responsible, right?
The things that Ms. Robinson added for the reasons for their position are positives.
There's their sanitation plan.
They do an excellent job in making sure that the outside of their properties are clean
at all times, including after trash day.
They're a good neighbor.
and these are things that go to the burden of proof as the board knows for a special exception
and the ongoing community support they're not just a landlord they are an active member of
this community they do a lot of non -pro bono activities helping along with street cleanups
things like that so for all those reasons you know that you know they are thought of positively
Unfortunately, no one showed up to the community meeting, but that could say something as well.
Typically, people show up to a community meeting where they're opposed to something, not when they're in support of something.
And then just these are just our zoning permits for all these properties.
1818 shows as a four -family dwelling.
1820 is a four -family dwelling.
1822 is a four -family dwelling.
1848 is a four -family dwelling.
1857 is a four -family drawing.
And actually, what I did just notice here
is it did allow for off -street parking.
I believe that we're just asking
for additional off -street parking
that goes beyond the off -street parking
that has been denoted in our refusal.
But we did get off -street parking allowed.
And then 2015, again, it's a five -family unit.
And 2019 is five -family unit.
Again, all these buildings were built as a right, as an R -I -1 property.
What we're really trying to do is to legalize the aspects with the technical requirements
on the Philadelphia Code where more than three unrelated people are not allowed to live together
and such that it falls within a technical classification of group living.
And then here are nearby approvals for group living.
So, you know, 1818, North 17th Street.
Oh, actually, those are ours.
Let's see.
Here, 1922, North 17th Street, 1713, West Montgomery.
I don't have to go through the list, but like literally we have like, I would say, 16 other instances where this board has approved on 17th Street and a nearby vicinity similar special exceptions.
And then this is just a backup showing, you know, when the board has approved it.
But you can see it's in 2020, you know, last year in the summertime, many of these were approved.
And then in April of 2022, just a few short months ago, they approved 1617 West Montgomery Avenue.
Many in 2021.
Then again, 1731 Wellington Street was approved in April of 2022.
2034 North 17th Street was approved in May of 2022.
And then just maps of the area, you can see, I mean, we're in the heart of the Temple community, and this is all RM1.
Just showing different parts of where we are.
And then these are the properties, all new construction, all separately metered.
Again, Temple Villas has been in business for well over a decade.
They're a responsible landlord.
They have a good relationship with the community.
And that was stated in the letter that was issued by the 32nd Democratic Board.
You can see that even though these properties were built some time ago, they are still well -maintained, clean from the outside.
And here's the 1800 block of North 17th Street
from the North view, from the South view,
2000 block of North 17th Street for the North view,
and then the South view, and then our plans and drawings.
And, you know, it's here for illustrative purposes.
I know that there's a lot of these,
but it just confirms how the properties are being used.
and then this shows like how for the one you know we we believe that we can get you know four cars
here um for accessory parking and then these are additional floor points of some of the other
properties and then again here are all the notices i i don't want to i'm going to try to quickly go
through these just so you know just proof that the mailing of these notices but there were a ton of
just proof of the mailing of these notices but there were a ton of notices we sent
notices. We sent a separate notice for each
a separate notice for each property even though they were all heard uh in during one community
i'm trying to get through it quickly
And then there are applications for a special exception.
The only, I'm going to stop sharing my screen.
The only other thing I can show is the tax clearance certificates.
And I, you know, we presented those documents to the ZBA beforehand,
but if the board is so inclined and they want me to show that,
I can also show that.
That's fine.
With that being said, I would ask that either Mr. Mahdi or Mr. Shami,
who are representatives from Temple Villa virtually raised a hand so they can adopt my testimony.
Do you state your name, please, sir, and spell it for the court reporter?
Currently, Chair, there's no hands up. All right, Mr. Nockamson, you're an officer of the court.
Your testimony is fine. All right, and then again, Ms. Robinson, I did talk to her earlier
from the 32nd democratic board she didn't indicate there may be a possibility that she
can show up but that she had other meetings as well so i don't know she's virtual audience sure
so let me let me do the board first members of the board questions from the board uh yes
should we hold it for a letter well they did give mr holliman they did give a letter it's just that
they took no position they took a no position yeah and she may be in the audience thomas
thank you yeah and then um members of the board if if this board is so inclined to
to grant these special exceptions um there is language and i just took it from a notice of
decision that the board uh gave us uh last year for a similar type of project and it provides
or would read as follows approved use is group living comma not rooming house with all other
uses as previously approved to remain thank you questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no hands chair planning commission
hi mr chair and members of the board this is mason austin representing the planning commission
Mason, spell your name for the court reporter.
Sure, no problems.
M -A -S -O -N -A -U -S -T -I -N.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Appreciate.
Sure, and my recommendation, the Planning Commission's recommendation is the same for all of the properties except for one.
So this does not apply to 2015 North 17th.
So that recommendation is this lot is designated for residential multifamily use in the comprehensive plan and it's RM1 zoning matches that designation.
Because single room residents would not have the impact at this location greater than that one would normally expect from that use, PCPC staff support the granting of this special exception.
The difference for 2015 North 17th where there's also a request for a variance about an additional dwelling unit, this lot is designated for residential multifamily use in the comprehensive plan and it's RM1 zoning matches that designation.
Because single room residents would not have an impact at this location greater than that one would normally expect from this use, PCPC staff support granting that special exception.
um further because the parking requirement is pursuant to an overlay that was opposed by the
planning commission pcpc staff support the granting of that variance however there are no features
unique to this site that present a hardship that would necessitate the addition of another dwelling
unit and as such pcpc staff recommend denial of that use variance thank you um mr knockamson we're
going to take all the cases under consideration uh hillary's going to look at the uh uh your
your statement and the next time we come back will be two weeks am i right two weeks from today
yes approximately two weeks from today for the two o 'clock hearing we we will we will consider
an executive session after talking to hillary and then we will vote that that day okay all right
thank you very much. Sure. Thank you. And I think you have another case here.
sure thank you and i i think you have an another case here before we go on i think you have a few
by the way but number eight n i 2022 001 781 1944 wolder street um let's see here
uh point breeze community
community it's corporation development corporation
has a proviso in favor of the project
with the proviso.
Do we hear that with 13?
It's number eight.
So we're hearing eight alone.
Number eight, 1944,
Walder was in the middle of that stuff.
So Mr. Nockmson,
could you identify your client
and their relationship to the property?
Yes, Mr. Chair.
It's Vincent and Teresa Manzo.
I believe that at least Mr. Manzo is in the virtual audience.
Our vice chair has a few questions.
Hi, again.
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership tax compliance,
a copy of the refusal or referral,
voters under plans of the property five days in advance of this hearing,
and have you met with the RCO, and do you have a letter?
Yes, in all respects.
Okay, you may proceed.
Thank you.
Thanks.
Hi, so I'm here to present 1944 Wilder Street.
This property is the Point Breeze section of Philadelphia.
In my presentation, we'll go over the notice of refusal, the letter of support from the Point Breeze CDC.
see letters of support from nearby neighbors. And when I say nearby, 1942 and 1427 South 20th
Street, both properties directly touch our property and would be most impacted by this
project. We'll go over maps of the area, photographs of the property in the surrounding
area, our plans and drawings, proof that we met with the community by way of a RCO meeting notice
as well as proof of mailing of that notice to the affected properties, our deed to the property
showing that Vincent and Teresa Manto are the owners of the property, our application for
appeal to the ZBA, and our certificate of tax clearance. So notice refusal, this is an RSA 5
property. You'll see from the pictures, it has not been an RSA 5 type of property for some time.
there's a one -story garage there. All we're trying to do is add on to that first story for all
intents and purposes and put living above. So we're repurposing an existing curb cut and now
actually going closer to what is the true intention of RSA 5 by allowing for single
family dwelling. And the only reason why we're here today is because by putting that addition
onto this, you know, the second and third stories, we need approval to then use that as accessory
parking for that single family residence. There's an existing curb cut there. There's no parking
allowed on that side of the street. And there's other examples in Point Breeze close by where
there's similar type of use. So we did meet with the Point Breeze CDC. As you can see, we did get
support. There were two provisos as part of that letter. One was remove the parapet wall to reduce
massing. And I'll leave it to Mr. Manzo, who's also a contractor, to discuss that. Our concern
with getting rid of the parapet wall and putting some type of railing there is that we're just
afraid of having some stormwater issues um we met with 1942 wilder we actually have a separate
agreement with them um in terms of our construction they were on board i didn't share that agreement
but we do have a separate agreement with them uh for 1427 south 20th which included to have like
you know the parapet wall um and 1427 south 20th street you'll see two touches our property had no
issues with the actual parapet wall. That's not an actual zoning manner in the sense of
we're not creating a variance by having a parapet wall there. So we would request not
to have a proviso in that respect. And then the second proviso, we'll talk to Block about safety
And then the second proviso, we'll talk to Block about safety measures for cars entering and exiting, sound light, et cetera.
measures for cars entering.
Again, we worked closely with the nearby neighbors, including 1942 Wilder Street, and we gained her specific support, and you'll see that in our presentation materials.
So the letter of support, first, the owner of 1427 South 20th Street, you know, sent us a letter or signed a letter supporting our project.
And then 1942, Wilder Street, again, immediately next to us, the one who would probably be most impacted by anything, including the parapet wall, because there is a side alley for 1427 and they wouldn't be impacted by the parapet wall.
but 1942 which would be impacted has no objection to you know how this project is being laid out
and are actually in support of this project and then maps of the area as you can see we're at the
corner of uh wilder here so that this is us this is 1942 and this is 20 uh this is 1427 south 20th
so we're at the corner essentially of 20th street and wilder and then you can see the street names
more definitively in this google map photo and then photographs of the property this is our
property it's a one -story garage and all we're trying to do is go closer and perform any with
the code by making it into a single -family dwelling with accessory garage front -loading
garage on the first floor and then this is 1944 wilder street to the right of their property
as you can see there's no parking allowed on our side of the street so we're not taking a curb cut
our curb cuts not taking parking away from any potential residents who have cars 1944 street to
the left of the property and this is actually the neighbor who's in support of our project
And for good reason, they also have off -street parking at 1427 South 20th Street.
And 1428 South 19th Street, also similar type of off -street parking.
And then our plans and drawings.
Again, we're not seeking any dimensional variances or use variances here.
And then you can see, you know, our parking spot.
Again, we're just repurposing the garage.
and you can see from the floor plans that all we're trying to do is repurpose the garage to have
one spot in there. You go up a flight of steps. It's a very humble floor plan. There's an open
floor plan on the second floor of a living room and a kitchen and a half bath and then you go to
the third floor and it's two bedrooms and one bath and then our meeting notice we met with the
community on april 25th at 6 p .m there are 185 addresses that were notified at that meeting
the list of the addresses proof of mailing to those addresses our deed to the property showing
that Vincent and Teresa Manzo are the owners of the property
in our application for appeal to the ZPA
and our tax clearance certificate.
With that being said, I'll stop sharing my screen.
I'll ask that Mr. Manzo, as the owner of the property
and also someone who has experience as a contractor,
virtually raise his hand about my testimony.
And then he can, you know, if he wants to state
the reason why he has concerns about eliminating
into the parapet wall, I would ask him to testify in that respect.
Mr. Monzo, please state your name and spell for the court reporter.
Mr. Monzo?
Hi, could you state your name and spell, please, for the court reporter?
he's here i'm not sure what's going on he don't no hands are up no i've already allowed him
permission he's unmuted but he's we can't hear anything okay mr manzo could you spell your name
please yeah i see mr manzo muted himself mr manzo he can unmute yourself again
so knock them send you we'll take your testimony that's fine
mr chair the most important thing is he is a general contractor when i mentioned the fact
about eliminating the massey on the parapet wall which again it's not zoning related we're not
eliminating the massey on the parapet wall which again it's not zoney related we're not
so his concerns honestly were storm water management okay okay questions from the board
no mr chairman no mr chairman questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no hands chair planning commission i'm mr chair and members of the board this is mason
in Austin, representing the Planning Commission, the lot is designated for single -family residential
use in the comprehensive plan, and its RSA 5 zoning matches that designation. While there are no
features unique to this lot that present a hardship, given the existing use and support of the RCO,
staff of the Planning Commission have no objection to the grantor of this variance.
Thank you. MI 2022 -001 -781 -1944, Wilder Street, I vote yes.
Harold Teneri, my vote is yes.
Thomas Holliman, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Thank you, sir.
Okay, number 11, MI 2022 -001 -772 -2112 North Front Street.
Rachel Pritzker is the attorney.
We don't see a letter yet from NARA Square Civic Alliance.
Mr. Chair, this is Hillary.
We did just get that letter early this morning.
So, yes.
In favor?
Yes, it was a letter in support pursuant to the signing of a community benefits agreement,
which I'm sure Ms. Pritzker will discuss.
Great. Thank you.
Ms. Pritzker, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter?
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.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client, the relationship to the property?
Sure. My client is Front Street Lofts, LLC, who is the owner of the properties.
Right. And our vice chair has a few questions.
Ms. Pritzker, do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership tax compliance, a copy of the refusal or referral,
photos under plans of the property five days in advance of this hearing and have you met with the
RCO and do you have a letter? Yes. You may proceed and please share your screen. Thank you.
Okay. Okay. Can you see the hearing packet?
yes or no yes okay great so this is 2112 uh through 16 north front street um these are
two separate tax ids parcels that are going to be consolidated pursuant to our application
um and this project proposes to construct a mixed use building on the consolidated lot to feature
one commercial space on the ground floor, running on the street. Could you make it larger, please?
Yeah, maximize, please. Is that better?
Yes. That's it. That's good. Great, thanks. Okay, awesome. So again, it's going to feature one,
it's a consolidated lot with uh going to feature one commercial space running front street on the
ground level as well as 31 dwelling units residential dwelling units above it also will
have 11 bicycle parking spaces um this project is a bit unique in that it was designed to conform to
all the zoning requirements of cmx two and a half which was the designation of the property when the
applicant and the design firm first were engaged back in June or before June. The property was
then down -zoned to CMX2, which can be seen on the zoning maps provided in the packet.
um back uh in june 10 2021 by the passage of bill number two zero zero seven one three
by the city of philadelphia city council um the proposal generated a refusal
The proposal generated a refusal for the number of dwelling units due to the downzoning as well as a refusal to the proposed height of the new structure exceeding the allowable height and now CMX2.
for the number of dwelling units due to the
These are the two variances that we're requesting our refusal for, as was on the screen a few minutes ago.
I also just, for the record, also want to challenge and provide for a constitutional challenge that has to be incorporated into the record where we're challenging the substantive validity of the property's new CMX2 zoning as it's arbitrary and capricious and lacks any reasonable connection to urban planning principles and or the city's own planning documents.
The rezoning exceeds the limits of the city zoning powers established by the Pennsylvania Zoning Enabling Act and violates the applicant's right under Article 1 of the Pennsylvania Constitution and Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
As such, the proper relief in this matter is to enable the proposed project to move forward granting a zoning variance.
In my memo of law, I obviously have the relevant law related to what the board needs to look out for a hardship argument.
So I will not bore the board with reciting that as part of the record, but it is noted on pages two and three and four of the memo that's contained in this packet.
I want to just transition over to the hardship argument and then I'll have our architect jump on to go through the plans.
Again, the change in this property zoning from CMX two and a half to CMX two represents an unnecessary hardship to the property.
As the project plans cannot be revised to conform to the CMX2 requirements, we had SEPTA approval, given this is on the L, streets approval, all before we were able to finalize and get the zoning approval.
Adhering to the CMX2 requirements would cause great economic harm to the applicant in terms of the cost of revisions and the tremendous loss of value that is generated by a CMX2 compliant development versus a CMX2 .5 compliant development.
Again, there was really no sensible reason for our property.
If you look at how the remapping was done, being treated differently in down zone than the properties directly across the street.
All other properties on the other side of this block, as referenced by the zoning maps, as you can see here on the bottom of the screen, remain CMX 2 .5, as do all properties on North Front Street on the 2000 north block immediately south of the property.
There are also several newly constructed buildings on the 2000 block that avail themselves the allowances for height and residential density that CMX 2 .5 allows for, and for which we have been refused given the downzoning of this property.
Additionally, it's worth noting that file number 210349, a quote -unquote communication in the city's legislative archive related to the rezoning bill, contains the following recommendation that council not pass the subjected rezoning bill.
April 9, 2021, to the President and Members of City Council of the City of Philadelphia,
pursuant to Section 4, 604, and 2307 of the Home Rule Charter.
I am today transmitting to the Council the recommendation of the City Planning Commission
on the following bills, of which this bill is included, not for approval.
I respectfully submitted James F. Kenney, who is our Mayor.
The CMX2 designations application to the property is particularly egregious in light of the 38 -foot height limit vis -a -vis the fact that the property block that we're on has the L and the property is located under the elevated railway, the Mark 8 -Frankford line.
The resulting effect is that the windows of the rooms facing North Front Street on the first three floors of the project will have views into or under the rail line.
A 38 -foot height limitation means that only one floor would have views above the rail line to the sky, whereas the subject and proposed project 62 feet in height would have three floors with sky visibility in the residential units.
Thus, the 38 -foot height versus 62 -foot height emphasized on our refusal is tremendous in terms of its economic consequences and its effect on the quality of life of future occupants.
Additionally, the 2035 comprehensive plan for the city for the Lower North District Plan does not recommend a zoning change for the property.
That's emphasized on pages 81 and 83.
In fact, the district plan recommends the following for the area around York and Dauphin Station located under two blocks from our property.
It recommends to adjust the zoning to allow higher densities. That's zoning recommendation,
page 74 and 77, and direct development subsidies to these areas, which is emphasized on page 57.
Further, the lower north district plan notes that almost 60 % of households on the lower north do
not have access to a car, which is on page 10. Thus, dense residential development in close
proximity to a rail station as proposed here is appropriate and beneficial to the public,
here is appropriate and beneficial to the public even in absence of on -street parking which neither
even in absence of on -street parking, which neither
cmx2 or two and a half require the plan also proposes that the front and kensington commercial
quarter of which this property is part um at the time of the plan's publication provided a 34 .3
vacancy rate accounting for 207 000 square feet of land area the subject proposal would actually
insist in curing this condition and the condition itself indicates that the area is well positioned
to accommodate new developments of significant densities. Finally, the River Wards plan,
district plan, which governs the other side of North Front Street, calls for financing and zoning
relief to owners of large buildings and former industrial sites around the market and Frankfurt
line to encourage redevelopment. That's on page 34. The market Frankfurt line is directly in front
of this property. And while the applicant is not sure as the details of the property's past usage,
there is the presence of a hazardous materials permit in the city's archive issued to this
property in 2001. As a result of this, what we're hearing in front of you guys, we believe that
we're seeking the least modification possible to code, again, just for the density allowed
and permitted under CMX 2 .5 and height on this project out of the 38 feet to 65 and conformity
with the co -required reduction of this project to a drastically smaller scale, 24 feet shorter
and 19 fewer residential units. The variances we steep are the minimum necessary to enable relief
and are again designed pursuant to CMX 2 .5. I'd like to bring on Chris Class from Design Blends
Architecture to go through the plans and specifically discuss the design of the project
and how it relates to some of the challenges around light and air if we were not able to
obtain relief from the code. Chris, could you raise your hand in the audience?
Mr. Klaas, you're free to speak.
Hi, could you state your name and spell it, please, for the court reporter?
Christopher Klaas, C -H -R -A -S -T -O -P -H -E -R -C -L -A -S -S, representing the design of Glenn's architecture.
Okay, do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Proceed, counsel.
Chris, can you share your screen and go through the plans for the board and make sure to discuss the design and the light and air considerations related to the L and its location directly on that railway line?
Would someone be able to permit access for me to share my screen, please?
I'll promote you to panelists then.
Thank you.
is everyone able to see my screen yes thank you as rachel mentioned uh upon
inception of this project, we evaluated the lot, expecting to provide a by -right project
at their request. The parcel was determined to be within the CMX 2 .5 district,
which permits high -density residential development and ground floor commercial uses.
You can see in these photographs its proximity to the L and some of the size of the adjacent
and structures. Within this district, buildings of this size are permitted to be within the five
to six story range, and the proposal included 31 dwelling units, which would have been provided by
Wright, utilizing the permitted density bonuses and would have also given us additional building
height allowing a total of 62 feet. Since the change of the CMX 2 .5 to CMX 2 that drastically
reduced the permitted building height and density permitted, we felt at the time of this project's
inception that the density being proposed was entirely in line with what is being built within
the community in both north and south and is shown in the adjacent structures but as I go through
the floor plans you can see that the basement is dedicated to much of the utility spaces for
the building so that we can maximize the ground floor commercial space along front street as we
get up to the ground level there's approximately a thousand square foot commercial space with some
dwelling units to the rear and a small lobby area the building will be fully accessible by the
and a small lobby area. The building will be fully accessible by the means of an elevator
and all of our trash for the building will be enclosed within the building with access to Hope
Street. And there are four dwelling units on the ground floor. As we go through the typical levels,
each level has six dwelling units. They range between smaller one bedrooms and two bedrooms,
anywhere between 550 and 850 square feet in size there's a partial amenity roof deck on the sixth
floor and then the roof will be a mix of green roof and space for mechanical units the stormwater
management was evaluated as part of the zoning application that was completed reviewed by the
Philadelphia Water Department. In the building's design, we're really looking to mimic the adjacent
structures and visually reduce the size of the building so that it is more appearing and
pedestrian -friendly. We're proposing four levels of brick to match the adjacent structures and
then toning the building back with panels as we get into the fifth and sixth story,
uh looking to open up as much as possible the ground level and storefront uh to capitalize
on the commercial space that we have available and you can see the use of these materials all
the way around the building looking to include some more detailed brick fenestrations
that also match some of the historic structures
And finally, our zoning application, which illustrates items that we previously discussed, but I can review anything in detail if I request them.
Thank you.
Chris, can you just touch on, for the record, if this had to be compliant with the code at 38 feet, what concerns or design considerations, how that would affect the light and air, especially given the L?
Sure. So, you know, some of the advantage of having the taller building is that we're able to get over the rail. If we were within the 38 foot requirement for the CMX2 district, almost the entire building would be in shadow and we'd have a difficult time getting fresh air, especially from rooftop mechanical units. So that, you know, there's some advantage from a level of living that we can provide in the taller structure.
thank you
um if the board doesn't have any questions for the architect i want
we're fine with the architect awesome uh can you unshare your screen and then
i just want to talk about the community portion of this and then i'm happy to
get my client on and wrap up
are you able to see my screen again yes it's up it's up great so uh we met with the north square
civic association uh north square community alliance as the coordinating rco on may 11th
at 530. We also had subsequent meetings with the near neighbors who formed an organization and will
put their testimony on the record. They provided us with a letter of support as we negotiated a
community benefits agreement and essentially also provided the vote from the RCO meeting that we had
on May 11th in support, 13 in favor, four in favor with conditions, one opposition, and two
continuance, which obviously wasn't necessary at this point. The community benefits agreement is
provided for and the board is welcome to read that at its leisure. I won't go through the details of
it. Lastly, I do want to also mention for the record that we did speak with the directly
affected near neighbors who will speak. But aside from that, we did also speak with the only other
directly adjacent near neighbor at 215 hope street who submitted a letter of support as well for the
project uh so i want to make sure that that's uh mentioned for the board um other than that um i
just would appreciate being able to bring on uh phil balderson who is the uh managing member or
member of Front Street Lofts LLC to adopt my testimony.
Mr. Balderston, you can unmute yourself.
Could you please state your name and spell it for the court reporter?
Sure. It's Philip Balderston, P -H -I -L -I -P, Balderston, B -A -L -D -E -R -S -T -O -N.
Sure. It's Philip Balderston, P -H -I -L -I -P, Balderston B.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed.
Thank you. Bill, have you heard my testimony today?
Yes, I have.
Do you believe it to be true and accurate, and do you adopt it as your own?
Yes, it is, and yes, I do.
Thank you very much.
Questions? Go ahead.
Yeah, just nothing further from me.
all right questions from the board no mr chairman questions or comments from the virtual audience
as excuse me chair we have sloan folks okay
uh good uh good afternoon chairman bergman as you go
i think i swore you this morning right sir yes you did sir okay proceed um uh the count um
The applicant, having met with the coordinating RCO, members of the community, and near neighbors, and receiving letters of support from the RCO, near neighbors, and other members of the community, the council member supports this request. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Folks. Any other comments from the virtual audience?
yes chair we have another uh someone who would like to speak who last name begin with the p i'm
sorry yeah sure that's fine that's fine okay please unmute yourself yes hi nilda i think
you were already sworn but just mention your name and spell for the court reporter one more time
Sure. My name is Nilda, N -I -L -D -A, last name Pimentel, P -I -M -E -N -T -E -L.
All right. Thank you. Proceed, counsel.
Yes. I'm presenting on behalf of NASCAN, the Nori Square Community Action Network, which is a coalition of residents representing over 100 households within a 10 -block area in the neighborhood.
We have a steering committee, which is comprised of captains and other residents from these blocks.
Our group was part of the Community Benefits Agreement Committee, put together after the community's only meeting of May 11th, convened by the RCO.
this committee completed after many many hours and consultations completed its work
and made its recommendations to to the RCO zoning committee
NASCAM was to go on record in support of the application that you're considering today
We support this project because we badly need to revitalize the block where the development
is being proposed, which was, as many or some of you recall, was part of a vibrant commercial
Strip, mentioned earlier known as the Kensington Commercial Corridor. This development will also
help enhance security and give a much -needed business in the neighborhood a business that
will be recommended hopefully by the residents. But besides these reasons, the developers have
agreed to provide a set of benefits to make this development acceptable by many sectors of the
community. I want to close by reminding and asking both parties in this case, developers and the RCO
to please not lose sight of the fact that our group expects nothing less than full compliance
to the substantive provisions that were negotiated and the terms and the conditions of the CBA.
I really believe that the goodwill that has been built between the developers and the residents
will help make this happen is enough of an incentive to make this happen and also for
this project to become a model of what a good relationship and collaboration can be developed
between developers and residents. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you very much for
calling in. Is there any other comments in the virtual audience? I see no hands, Chair.
is there any other comments in the virtual audience i see no hands chair planning commission
hi mr chair and members of the board this is mason austin representing the planning commission
these lots are designated for commercial mixed use in the comprehensive plan and their cmx2
zoning matches that designation while the lots were up zoned from cmx2 to cmx 2 .5 in 2016
they were returned to their current zoning in 2021 following a community -led remapping process.
Whereas under this current zoning, 12 units are permitted by right, even under CMX 2 .5, only 21 would be permitted.
Under that previous zoning, the requested 31 units could be earned with participation in the Mixed Income Housing Bonus Program,
but that would require either a payment of over half a million dollars to the City's Housing Trust Fund
or the institution of a deed restriction whereby at least three units are reserved for and made
affordable to very low -income households for at least 50 years. While some affordability has been
promised as a component of the CBA, these agreements have not been reviewed by the Planning Commission
and are not enforceable by the city. Consequently, as there are no features, unique features to the
lot that present a hardship that would necessitate the inclusion of more than double the units that
are allowable by right, PCPC staff recommends denying the requested variances. Thank you.
MI 2022 -001 -772 -2112 North Front Street.
I vote yes.
Harold Teneri, my vote is yes.
Thomas, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Thank you, counsel.
Thank you.
Moving on to number 12.
MI 2022 -001 -803 -2406 Cawley Drive.
Michael Mattione is the attorney.
There is a letter of support from the Packer Park Civic Association.
Mr. Mattione?
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman. I'm appearing on behalf of Mr. Mattioni.
Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Yes, it's Matthew Liley, M -A -T -T -H -E -W -L -E -I -L -I.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client in a relationship to this property?
Sure. My client is Penrose Park Associates LP. They are the owner of the property.
our our vice chair carolton area has a few questions hi 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 under plans of the property
five days in advance of this hearing and have you met with the rco and do you have a letter
The exhibits have been mailed. The RCO declined to meet with us, but they did send a letter of no opposition, and I will explain the circumstances of that.
Okay. There's always something new. You may proceed and please share your screen.
All right. Thank you.
Thank you.
Okay. So as I stated, my name is Matthew Liley and I represent the property owner, Penrose Park Associates.
Our project, 2406 Colley Drive, is within a subdivision that's been created in South Philadelphia of over 300 houses.
I have my exhibits before you. I have the real estate tax clearance, the notice of refusal, the RCO letter from the Packer Park Civic Association, which I will go ahead and explain now, I suppose.
So the Packer Park Civic Association referred the application to the Siena Place, which is the name of the subdivision, to the Siena Place Homeowners Association for review.
The Siena Place Homeowners Association reviewed our application, reviewed our project, and decided that they have no opposition to it, that they were in favor of it.
they reported back to the Packer Park Civic Association. And due to the very minor nature of
the variants being requested, which again, I'll explain, they decided that they didn't want to
expend the resources and the time. They had a very busy meeting schedule and that they
declined to hear a presentation from us um like i said we did receive a letter from
Like I said, we did receive a letter from the president of the Packer Park Civic Association indicating that they have no opposition to this project.
the president of the packer park civic
Additionally, after consulting with Ms. Emerson, we mailed out notices to the community informing them that they can provide our firm with any feedback that they have, as well as attend this CBA hearing.
I will go to that in the exhibit list now. This is the affidavit of service, as well as the letter, which was sent to 50 of the nearby property owners, again, presenting them with a chance to offer their opinions.
I have not received any feedback from any neighbors, and I'm not sure if there are any in attendance today.
as I said, the refusal is for a very minor variance to include a balcony. The zoning code
requires the balcony to not intrude into the required rear yard space. We do have the required
rear yard space of nine feet for this project, a little over nine feet. The balcony, however,
over extends four feet into that rear yard space,
which necessitates a variance.
Our, this is just our site plan.
You can see there's a three -story semi -detached residence.
2406 Kali Drive is on the end of this.
it's on the right section, I believe, and we can see on the second floor here that the balcony
extends into the rear yard. Again, the balcony extends four feet into the nine -foot rear yard.
Essentially, we would need a 13 -foot rear yard to comply with the zoning code.
um this map here demonstrates the lot's location within the subdivision the subdivision itself is
very insular it's very self -contained it's bounded by crx railroad tracks on the west portion
it's bounded by i -76 on the north portion and by penrose avenue on the south and the east
portions. So it's a very cohesive, very uniform neighborhood. In fact, I will go now to
these are photographs of the site. Construction hasn't started on this property or on the nearby
properties yet. They're currently vacant with just earth being moved. This is photographs of
nearby properties. You can see again it's very uniform in nature. There's two or three floor
plans that residents that homeowners can choose from that are built to order.
This picture shows a couple of the floor plan with a roof deck option. This picture shows
the model with the rear balcony and this is the same model that
is going to be built at 2406 Cawley Drive. This is the balcony that we're proposing
that extends into the rear yard. This property did not require a variance because they have
nine feet at least nine feet at the rear behind the balcony and our project does not.
Every property, all 300, and I believe it's 13, houses that are constructed have either this roof deck or balcony.
The balcony is in uniformity with the neighboring properties.
Excuse me, council.
The balconies, the deck, they're open?
Yes, sir.
to the okay thank you
sure just to make sure i understand uh you there's no roof structure is that your question
no the deck floor is uh open to below oh yes yes um you know i don't think you can so they open to
the to the rear yard there's no no there's no stairways or anything okay thank you yeah the
yeah the only point of entrance is from the rear doors here on the second floor
The only point of entrance is from the rear doors.
is this sienna place it is yes okay okay sure so as i stated um the need for the variance is just
that this one proper there's actually four properties that require a variance they're all
in this little corner of the property here that abut the rail tracks to the west um there simply
isn't enough room in the in the subdivision to configure it so that we can have the required
13 feet in the rear yard area with the four foot balcony um matthew matthew do you have an owner's
rep with you i do all right david want to have him come in and sure uh david bartinski um if you
could raise your hand i see no hands up at this time matthew well what you're an officer of the
court we will take your testimony okay thank you questions from the board no mr chairman
No, Mr. Chairman.
All right, questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I see no hands, Chair.
Planning Commission.
Mr. Chair and members of the board, this is Mason Austin representing the Planning Commission.
This lot is designated for single -family residential use in the comprehensive plan,
and its RSA 5 zoning matches that designation.
While there are no features unique to this lot that present a hardship,
given the minimal impact in the support of the RCO staff of the planning commission have no
objection to the granting of this variance thank you Mason MI 2022 001 803 2406 Cawley Drive I vote
yes Carol Tenere my vote is yes Thomas Allen my vote is yes James Snapp my vote is yes
Ishmael Shahid my vote is yes thank you counselor number 13
MI 2022 -001 -779 -2564 North 31st Street.
Mr. Nocklinson is the attorney.
Letter of support from Strawberry Mansion Community.
Yes, Mr. Chair, Alan Nockamson, A -L -A -N, last name Nockamson, N -O -C -H -U -M -S -O -N, 123 South Broad Street, Suite 1600, Philadelphia, PA, 19109.
Thank you. Mr. Nockamson, could you identify your client in relationship to the property?
Yes, the property is owned by BW Construction Villa, LLC.
Okay. Our Vice Chair has a few questions.
Hi, Mr. Nockamson. Welcome back.
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? Yes, in all respects.
Okay, great. You may proceed and please begin to share your screen. Thank you.
hi so i'm here to present uh 24 excuse me 2564 north 31st street uh first thing that we're going
to show uh is the notice refusal and letter of support from the strawberry mansion community
concern the coordinating rco for this project a certificate of district classification and legality
of use just showing that this has had this property has a long history of multi -unit use
maps maps of the area photographs of the property in this around the area
our floor plans are rco meeting notice showing that we did meet with the community and proof that
notice did go out to the community as well as the affected properties
our applications for appeal to the zba are deeds of property showing that bw construction villa
but LLC is the owner of the property, and our Certificate of Tax Clearance as well.
Notice refusal. This is an RSA 5 property.
You will see that originally we asked to put commercial on the ground floor and two units above.
This property has been used for three units across this history,
most recently as a church on the ground floor and two residential units above.
after communications and conversations with community members they prefer to have
three residential units here so if this board should be inclined to grant our variance request
So if this board should be inclined to grant our variance request, we would ask for a proviso use as three residential family dwelling units.
And the reason why we're being refused, whether it's a commercial and two residential or three residential, is this is an RSA 5 property and multi -unit use is not allowed in this zoning classification.
But, you know, again, the community is in support of this project.
with provisos. I believe that there are only two provisos that would be applicable to notice
a decision which would be granted by the ZVA. The first is the trash to be stored outdoors.
We have no objection to that. So along with our request to have three family dwelling here in
In terms of a proviso, we would also request that they forward, if they were to grant this zoning appeal, to have a proviso trash to be stored in rare property outside.
And again, just to go to the certificate of district classification of legality abuse, you can see at one point many, many, many years ago, this was a two -family dwelling in a vacant store and most recently used as
a church and two residential units above so you can see where we are we're in the corner of 31st
and west huntington we're in the strawberry mansion section of philadelphia again from a
google maps perspective and just wanted to show an outline of the building because the pictures
we showed aren't great but there's more than sufficient room to store the trash in the rear
Again, corner property, the great thing about corner property is that, you know, each of the units can have access to the rear yard for trash storage and maintenance.
And that's what we would request by way of proviso, and that's what the community requested as well.
And for the graphs of the property, this is the property in 2018 where it was most active, as you can see from the crosses and the double front doors, that it was a church.
I think even if you go onto the state's website, I think one of the maps actually shows this still being a church.
But this is a map we got from Google in 2018.
This is Huntington. This is a property from West Huntington Street.
This is the property from North 31st Street to the right of the property, North 31st Street to the left of the property,
West Huntington Street to the right of the property, West Huntington Street to the left of the property.
And then my client is a general contractor.
So just examples of some of his work product.
He puts a lot of pride into his work product.
He is actually from the Strawberry Mansion area too.
You know, that was helpful in terms of with the community because he's a known quantity
and he has deep roots in Strawberry Mansion.
So just examples of sample interiors.
And then our plans and drawings.
And just floor plan, no basement use, everyone has access to a rear yard, but first floor is a two -bedroom, one -bath, second floor is a two -bedroom, one -bath, and then the third floor is a one -bedroom, one -bath.
And then our meeting notice, we met earlier this month at 6 p .m. on June 13th.
There were 208 people that were notified of this community meeting, listed the addresses, proof of mailing, application for appeal that we filed with the ZBA, along with the notice of refusal, the project information form, deeds of property showing that BW Construction Villa, LLC is the owner of the property, and their certificate of tax clearance and showing payment of an average that was due.
So with that being said, I do apologize.
Mr. Thomas, who's the owner's representative, is not available today.
But as an officer of the court, I would ask that you take my testimony as true.
That's fine. Your testimony is fine.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
chair we had a strawberry mint excuse me strawberry mansion community yep
hi could you state your name as spelled please for the court reporter
hi good evening everyone afternoon my name is bonita cummings director strawberry mansion
community concern rvco my name is spelled your name please good b as in boy o -n -i -t -a
cummings c -u -m -m -i -n -g -s right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole
Cummings, C -U -M -M -I -N -G -S. Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth,
nothing but the truth? I do. Thank you. Proceed. Right. We just wanted to note that the community's
decision was based on this property being configured in this manner for over 40 years.
Also, it was felt it would be safer at this present time for the community to have the
first floor more defined than just an event space or open space. So the meeting with the
community felt that because of also how the property is configured, a unit on the first
floor is not like compounding people all over top. It really has a separate entrance. It's
separate from how the residents will go in on the side to the second and third floor.
it's a very large space and we wanted to make sure that this building wouldn't just sit and
continue to deteriorate without being able to define at least what the first floor use could
be so there was support for the three units along with our understanding of of course trash
there was an external conversation and making sure that the maintenance because it's such a large
corner there, that that building takes up that whole corner. It goes off of 31st all the way
around to Huntington, and that those grounds will be kept on maintenance.
Thank you very much, and thank you for calling in. We appreciate it.
Anyone else in the virtual audience?
Yes, Chair, we have a calling user. Please unmute yourself.
hi could you state your name please and spell it for the court reporter
yes it's adrian fernandez h -e -n -a -d -r -i -e -n -n -e fernandez f -e -r -n -a -n -d -e -e -z
do you swear a firm association okay do you swear a firm to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing but the truth? Yes. Proceed, please. Okay. We just address some of the RCOs as no
opposition, and we just ask that the applicants provide all restricted RCOs with, I believe,
there's an amended notice of refusal and also with the amended drawing, which will convert
to vacant space into a third unit thank you very much we appreciate you calling is there any one
else in the virtual audience i see no handshare planning commission thank you mr chair and members
of the board this is mason austin representing the planning commission the lot was designated
for residential use in the comprehensive plan and was in free zoned and to in uh to rsa5
in 2014 to match that designation. Due to the historic records of dwelling units on the site,
the proposed reuse of the structure, and the lack of opposition from the RCO, PCPC staff have no
objection to the granting of the request variance. Thank you very much. MI 2022 -01779 -2564 North 31st
street i vote yes with the following provisos trash stored outside inside yard maximum three
residential units no vacant space carol on mute carol tennery my vote is just proviso
thomas holland my vote is yes with proviso james snell yes with proviso
ishmael shahi yes we're proviso thank you mr nackamson here one thing though
you said no vacant space did you mean no commercial space um
i will mr yeah mr mr nackamson i just said no vacant space because that what was was what was
on the refusal it didn't specify commercial space so i wanted to use the same language
to clarify that that space was being substituted out for residential unit okay that's fine i just
don't have a situation where you're like oh the space is vacant you can't use it no no no no just
just i was matching the language on the refusal all right thank you thank you okay number 14
M -I -2022 -002 -15E, 3031 -49 North 21st Street, and 2044 West Clearfield Street.
Eileen Quigley is the attorney.
Letter of support from Allegheny West Civic Association.
mr chair this is hillary i just want to note that we also have a letter of support from
councilwoman bath as well very good thank you yes good afternoon
very good thank you yes good afternoon chairman bergman members of the board eileen quigley e -i -l -e -e -n
q -u -i -g -l -e -y on behalf on behalf of the applicant do you swear or affirm to tell the
truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do could you tell tell us who your client is
in the relationship to the property yes our client is 3031 north 21st street senior dash
michaels llc and they have entered into a lease option agreement with the ownership which is
deliverance community development corporation and i'd like to share my screen if i may
wait a minute hold on one minute our vice chair has a few questions for you
just so so our client has entered into the lease option agreement with the ownership
okay okay hi elaine do you agree to waive reading the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy
yes 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 this property five days in advance of the hearing
and have you met with the RCO and do you have a letter yes to all the above okay great you may
proceed and begin to share your screen thank you thank you I'm Miss Quigley this is Tanya
I hate to interrupt. How are you?
Oh, well, how are you?
Good, thank you. Could you make your face more visible in our screen for the video?
Thank you so much. We need to see your lovely face. That's wonderful.
I need to put my chair up, maybe.
Thank you very kindly.
Oh, no. Wait, wait. I'm falling.
Okay, yes. Thank you, Tanya. I just need to share the screen.
You are welcome to do so.
Tanya, I want to see your face.
She's not testifying.
I'm sorry.
I am trying to find the share screen.
Here we go.
Okay, so just for clarification, we first would like to ask the board to allow us to
substitute our original Exhibit B with the executed lease option agreement that we did
forward to board's counsel, Ms. Hillary Emerson, today.
We also include the deeds which show ownership in the deliverance CDC, as well as the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania Department of State Articles of Amendment, which is evidence of the name change
for the owners from Deliverance Center of Hope Incorporated to the Deliverance Community
Development Corporation Incorporated. So as I said, my name is Eileen Quigley. I'm here on behalf of
the applicant. We're here today seeking a variance from the zoning regulations to allow for the
adaptive reuse of an existing warehouse which has been vacant for many years
for use as multi -family affordable dwelling units this these properties lie in the i1 zoning
district where multi -family use is prohibited as noted we have our deeds our letter of
our commonwealth department articles of amendment certificates of tax clearance
and i'll be moving through here
So with me are the Reverend Glenn Spaulding and Andrew Davenport on behalf of the owners and applicant, respectively.
We also have Thomas Fries and Caroline Voitsberger of Pannoni and Christina Davis, Brian Yoder, and James Haley of Urban Practice.
Here's our certificates of tax clearance.
Here are photos of the posted zoning notices at Exhibit E.
photos of the site are at Exhibit F. And just to clarify for the board, as noted, we did
communicate with the community and RCOs. We sent out our notice letters with the address list
at Exhibit L and M. We met with the RCOs and the community on April 19th, 2022.
And the coordinating RCO, Allegheny West Civic Association, submitted their letter of support,
which we have attached as Exhibit B.
Here are photos of the existing site and surrounding area.
This is the building.
Here is our zoning site plan that was submitted to L &I.
And with that, I would like to turn it over to Urban Practice, the architects on this project.
on this project.
So I believe it's James Haley.
If he could raise his hand.
Mr. Haley, unmute yourself.
You're free to speak.
Mr. Haley, could you state your name
and spell for the court reporter?
Sure. My name is James Haley.
J -A -M -E -S -H -A -L -E -Y.
Right. Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
I do. Could you possibly just give us a quick overview of what what you intend to do there?
Can I just quickly ask him some questions just to qualify him as an expert witness?
Would you like me to give my background? Yes, please. Could you just tell us your education work experience?
Sure. So I have degrees in architecture from Temple University and Drexel University.
I have 30 years of work experience. I am a licensed architect in the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware.
And I've testified in front of the city of Philadelphia for multiple times.
Thank you, Chair. And I just want to affirm that your resume is at Exhibit O in our exhibits packet, correct?
Correct.
Thank you, Mr. Haley. I would like to offer Mr. Haley as an expert witness in this matter.
that's fine is he the designer yes i'm the i'm the architect of record for urban practice he's
the designer that's that's fine okay okay can you um just describe the improvements to the building
as you noted it's an existing industrial building in dire need for renovation it's it's in the
process of failing um the facades are failing as well as the roof structure um we're lucky that
it's an incredibly robust building because of its previous use and that of an industrial use but
again in dire need of renovation we're going to do a full restoration adaptive reuse to convert
it to a senior apartment community that will include a recreation of the roof structure
as well as a full new facade including energy star windows and brick restoration
we intend to build 56 senior apartments of those 50 of them will be one bedroom
and six will be two bedroom apartments the one bedrooms will range in size from 770 to 850
square feet the two bedrooms will range in size from 1080 excuse me 1042 to 1080 square feet
beyond um the um conversion of the apartments we're also planned for a large management suite
on the ground floor a beautiful lobby these these floors have very large uh floor plates so we're
very very high ceilings with beautiful um columns that will be exposed throughout the design large
windows we have a beautiful lobby we're introducing an elevator we're also introducing a beautiful
corner community space on the ground level on the upper level where more lobby space as well as
some amenities such as a fitness center a grandparent suite laundry facilities and more
more lobby area on the on the highest level and then on the roof we would like to do a roof garden
amenity space beyond that we're proposing a number of parking spaces behind the building
And again, as I noted previously, a full restoration of the building, which will achieve energy efficiency at the ENERGY STAR level, as well as we'll apply some sustainability initiatives to create a very sustainable building.
Thank you, Jim. So, as you know, we're here today to seek a variance for use of this existing
warehouse for multifamily because it is prohibited in the I -1. In your expert opinion, is this the
least modification of the zoning regulations to allow for this use? Yeah, as you noted,
it's currently zoned I -1, and yes, the proposed multifamily use is a variance.
And in your expert opinion, will denial of the variance present a hardship given the physical conditions existing on the lot, meaning the existing warehouse?
Yes, we don't think the building will ever be used again for its initial intended use of industrial.
Granting this variance will offer a higher and better use for the original intent.
The current building is a shell.
There are no systems in place to support industrial uses such as fabrication, manufacturing, assembly, or processing materials that do not create smoke, gas, odor, dust, noise, with the exception of office use, which this neighborhood would not support.
The property has no value for any purpose permitted by the zoning ordinance.
So in your expert opinion, will the multifamily use fit in with the character of this neighborhood?
yes location is um is is uh adjacent to rs
Yes, location is adjacent to RSA -5 lots along West Toronto Street and North 21st Street. It will enrich the existing single -family fabric. Multifamily living supports the elderly citizens in the area by offering inclusion within the neighborhood fabric.
And in your expert opinion, will the grant of variance for multifamily use affect light and air for adjacent properties?
This multifamily use will have no detrimental effect on light and air.
It'll actually bring life to the community.
Street lighting will be added, offering security and visual activity.
Minimum change to exterior volume will maintain the air and views from the adjacent properties.
Will the Granted Variants place any undue burden on public facilities?
No, Granted Variants will support and provide revenue to the existing neighborhood businesses.
Public transit has been hindered over the past few years due to the pandemic, and additional support with new neighbors will provide potential revenue.
The 56 units, mostly one -bedroom, will be supported by internal management.
The infill development will tap into existing utilities.
Overall, the proposed use will enhance the neighborhood.
And finally, Jim, in your expert opinion, will it grant the variance endanger the public health, safety, and general welfare of the community?
No, there's no adverse effect on the public health, safety, or welfare.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Anybody have any questions for Mr. Haley?
We're fine at this point.
Thank you.
May I call Reverend Glenn Spaulding and Andrew Davenport quickly, please?
Is it the owners of the building?
Yes, the owner and developer, yes.
Hi, could you state your names, please, and spell it for the court reporter?
Pastor Glenn, G -L -E -N, last name Spaulding, S -P as in Paul, A -U -L -D -I -N -G.
Reverend, do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman, and to the zoning board.
we do appreciate your time. And Deliverance Evangelistic Church has been a staple in the
community, doing all that we can to help people. And this affordable housing for low -income
seniors would continue to be a blessing to our community. And it's just a privilege to be able
to have this, to offer this to our community. Seniors are in dire need, not only in our church,
but in the North Philadelphia area of a place to live. So we trust that this will go forth as we
have worked hard to put it together. We thank Brother Andy Davenport for Michael's development.
And we trust that the Zoning Board, as we are applying for this low -income tax credit, will do all that you can to see that we can have it by the 29th of this month to expedite the approval of the variance.
It's critically important for the application.
And we thank you for your time.
And you've been here a long time.
I don't want to bore you anymore with me.
So thank you.
Thank you, Reverend.
Thank you, Reverend.
Andy, did you want to just wrap that up quickly?
Andy, could you state your name
and spell for the court reporter?
Yes, it's Andrew Davenport.
A -N -D -R -E -W -D -A -V -E -N -P -O -R -T.
All right.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth,
the whole truth is nothing but the truth. I do. Proceed. Yes. So pleased to talk to you. Thank
you, Chairman Bergman and the rest of the board. As Pastor Spaulding was alluding to, Michael's
and Deliverance have partnered to create a 56 -unit senior building that will serve low -income
seniors over the age of 62. And a critical path for that is evidencing to the state that issues
the low -income housing tax credit that we have made strides in our zoning approval.
So I'm making a special plea to staff if there's anything they can do to evidence, if this were to
be approved, to evidence that so that I can throw that into our application. It could be
as little as an email to our council saying the board met on such a date and approved it.
and approved it um but it just is one more thing that helps us uh be successful in a very competitive
But it just is one more thing that helps us.
financing process um i don't want to belabor this any longer and i appreciate uh all that you guys
do in hearing us and thank you for your time thank you so eileen i'm going to call any questions from
the board no mr chairman no mr chairman no mr chairman no mr chairman oh mr chairman questions
or comments from the virtual audience chair we have charles richardson thank you good afternoon
mr chair hi morning mr good afternoon mr richardson i'm sorry could you spell your name
for the court reporter please certainly charles richardson c -h -a -r -l -e -s -r -i -c -h -a -r -d -s -o -n
office of councilwoman cindy bathroom 312 city hall right do you swear or affirm to tell the
truth the whole truth nothing but the truth i do proceed councilwoman is very highly in support of
granting this variance thank you very much anyone else in the virtual audience
i see no hands chair planning commission hi mr chair and members of the board this is mason
austin representing planning commission the law is designated for commercial uh mixed use in the
comprehensive plan but a zone for light industrial the recommended icmx zoning is intended to preserve
of a transition zone between the small -scale residential to the west and the heavier industrial
uses of the east. While residential is also prohibited in that zone, the proposed repurposing
of the existing property would also help to address this goal while also addressing a critical
need for accessible affordable housing for seniors. Consequently, PCPC staff recommend
granting this variance, but with the proviso that at least 50 % of joists in the existing
structure preserve as a part of the development okay i'm sorry could you repeat what the proviso
was what your planning commission is asking for sure the proviso is um that 50 of joists be
preserved as a part of the redevelopment which is one way that l and i use this to
to signify that it's a rehab of an existing building as opposed to the demolition
and rebuilding of a different property
okay and mi2022 -002 -158 -3031 -49 north 21st street and 2044 west clearfield street i vote yes
harold tenary my vote is yes thomas holliman my vote is yes james snell my vote is yes
thank you may i move to um enter our exhibits into the record sure absolutely thank you that
concludes my business may i please be excused you can thank you very much by the way thank you and
good good luck number 15 and um what we're going to do is we're going to do 15 and then we'll take
a quick five -minute break and go to the 330 list. Number 15 is MI 2022 001678 3445 West Westmoreland
Street. Mr. Nockamson. No letter of the RAH Civic Association at this point.
Mr. Chair this is Hillary uh we did receive a copy of that letter um and it is um I'm sorry
give me one second here um it is a letter of support all right thank you RAH RAH stands for
what Roxborough Allegheny Hunting Park oh okay good perfect all right thank you
mr knockamson oh yes i'm sorry um um i guess you've just been here the whole day i mean i'm
the booking i'm betting lead off and i'm i'm closing it out here at the two o 'clock list
alan knockamson a -l -a -n last name knockamson n -o -c -h -u -m -s -o -n -1 -2 -3 south broad street
suite 1600 Philadelphia PA 1910. Could you identify your client and relationship? Yes it is 3443
W West Westmoreland LLC and with me is David Ross a member of that LLC. Our vice chair has a few
questions. Hi Mr. Nockmson do you agree to leave the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its
accuracy? I do. Have you emailed the exhibit packet with the required documents consisting
of proof of ownership, tax compliance, a copy of the refusal or referral, photos under plans
of the property five days in advance of this hearing, and have you met with the RCO, and
do you have a letter? Yes, in all respects, I have a letter of support from her. Okay,
Yes, in all respects, and I have a letter of support from her.
Okay, great. You may proceed and please share your screen.
Okay, great.
You may proceed.
Thank you. So I am here to present 3445 West Westmoreland. The property is being developed by Argo Property Group. Obviously, they have an entity of 343 W Westmoreland LLC.
but Argo Property Group is well known in the Philadelphia region for this type of design of
clean architecture and single -family use and that's what they're trying to do here with this
pretty substantially sized lot to divide into into three single -family houses each with off -street
parking. So we'll go through our presentation notice refusal our letter of support from Ross
Civic Association, directly address the refusals, showing nearby properties with comparable lots,
and we'll explain why later. Property history showing curb cut in parking, again, goes towards
our refusal. Maps of the area, photographs of the property of the surrounding area, our plans and
drawings, our RCO meeting notice showing that we mailed a community meeting notice to the affected
properties and proof of mail in that notice. Our deed to the property showing that corporate entity
owns the property. Our application for appeal to his EBA and our certificate of tax clearance
showing that that entity is in good standing with the city of Philadelphia. And again, at the
conclusion of my presentation, David Ross, one of the members of the corporate entity, will adopt
my testimony and then we'll be more than happy to take any questions from the boards. So our notice
refusal. So this is an RSA by property. And what we're looking to do is take a 3 ,400 -square
footstruck vacant lot and divide it into three single -family homes and into a parcel C, D,
and E with off -street parking. And we have four refusals for each. First of which is for each
of the properties, we have a refusal for off -street parking. And you'll see from the drawings that
this property has curb cuts already, has been used in such a way over the course of its history,
and we have Google Earth photographs since 2000, I believe, seven or eight, which shows at different
intervals that are occurring. Then we have three -dimensional refusals, the width. While 16
feet width is required for RSA 5 zoning, we are proposing slightly less than that, and you'll see
that we're not out of character because the properties on that block there nearby are of
equal or comparable size. The lot size were required as an RSA 5 property to have a lot
size of 1 ,440 square feet. You'll see that we do not meet that minimum requirements, but that the
properties nearby do not as well. So it's not outsourced what we're asking for. And third is
the front setback. While 0 % is required, 20 feet is proposed. Again, we want to set these properties
back. We're at the end or at a cul -de -sac, we're providing more light and air feeling for that
cul -de -sac. The property that's to the right of us, you'll see at 3443 West Westmoreland,
we have an alley that gives light and air to that property. But more importantly,
that property goes straight, basically from front to back, almost full lock coverage. So
sending that property back the way we are, we're still not as far back as that property building
structure is. So we're not affecting their light in there. So we'll go over that as well. And
that's consistent that those four refusals for each of those parcels. So the letter of support
uh from raw uh they voted overwhelmingly in support of this project uh argo property group
does a lot of uh work in this area of philadelphia and they have a very good reputation in this area
of doing the work product and respecting their neighbors nearby comparable lots so here we are
at 3445 west westmoreland if you see like and we'll show it um we have you know visually but
You'll see that the lot size widths are comparable.
The lot sizes are comparable.
And those are two of the refusals and you'll see.
So again, our proposed lot width is 14, 852,
14, well, almost 15 feet.
Here, we would be the largest lot width
of comparable properties nearby from us.
The lot size. For parcel C, we're 1 ,078. For parcel D, we're 1119. And for parcel E, we're 1160. We fall well within the parameters.
and for parsley we're 1160. we fall well within the parameters of the lot sizes nearby to us
so in comparison what we're offering is not out of sorts if we were required to comply with the
code that would be out of sorts we would have a substantial lot which would not make sense
for this for this community and then the history of showing curb cut and parking so this is a
picture from google earth in 2019 you can see there's an existing curb cut right here again
we're at the end of a cul -de -sac you can see a car is parked you know on the sidewalk so one of the
things we wanted to do is to is to push our building structure you know deeper so that would
prevent that type of use of people parking on the sidewalk and then here's 2018 to have a better
view but again it shows again a curb cut here and 2012 a curb cut and then 20 2008 also a curb cut
again someone parking on this on the actual curb cut itself and on the sidewalk which was you know
not supported um by the community and that's why we're pushing the building structures back
the maps of the area again we're at west west moreland and north uh 35th street it looks like
There's actually a private street right here, but we're really, for all intents and purposes, at a cul -de -sac.
And then this is from a Google Maps perspective as well.
And then photographs of the property.
As you can see, we're still at vacant lots.
We've been at vacant lots since 2008.
We're looking to develop that lot.
And you can see West West Moreland, so right in the property, and that's kind of where the cul -de -sac is.
West West Moreland, so left of the property.
north 35th street from the front of the property and then our plans and drawings again we're just
trying to like line up this cul -de -sac area and by pushing these building structures there it's
going to provide more ability for the children in the neighborhood uh to kind of play outside
where there's not a lot of traffic here and to provide more laying air honestly for these
these properties uh which face us to the rear and then as you can see here is here's our building
structure set back but three four four three west westmoreland you can see the building structure
goes much deeper than ours so we're not like affecting their light in there and we purposefully
have a side yard or an alleyway area where there's an easement uh to um to provide more light in there
for 3443 West -West Maryland.
And then just our simple floor plan for all these,
you know, we have a garage, front -loading garage.
We have a flex space where we anticipate
people who purchase this property
is going to create that as an office.
You go up a flight of steps,
it's an open floor plan,
living room, dining room, kitchen with a half bath.
And then we have two bedrooms,
a laundry facility,
and a full bath on the third floor.
And then on the fourth floor is the master suite, again, with a roof deck up top.
And then we met with the community on April 28, 2022 at 5 .30 p .m.
62 addresses were notified of this meeting.
Again, well attended.
I believe it was like over 20 people in support and three not in support.
These are listed the addresses, proof of mailing of that notice, our deed to the property showing that my client owns the property or my client owns the property.
our applications for appeal to the ZBA and our Certificate of Tax Clarence.
With that being said, I would ask that Mr. Ross virtually raise his hand to adopt my testimony,
and then again, we can take questions.
Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Sure. David Ross, D -A -V -I -D -R -O -S -S.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
yes proceed counsel uh yes mr raj you heard everything i stated today
yes is it true and correct yes and do you adopt as your own testimony yes i do all right thank
you questions from the board no mr chairman no no message thank you ish questions or comments
from the virtual audience?
I see no hands, Chair.
Planning Commission.
Mr. Chair and members of the board,
Mason Austin representing the Planning Commission.
This lot has been designated for commercial,
sorry, for single -family residential use
in the comprehensive plan,
and its RSA 5 zoning matches that designation.
The proposed lot size would be by right, if not for the presence of an overlay that was
The proposed lot size would be by right,
if not for the presence of an overlay
that was opposed by the Planning Commission.
opposed by the Planning Commission.
The unusual partial shape and railroad adjacency represent material hardship to creating rear
access driveway for parking, with a lack of a sidewalk on 35th Street limit the impact.
The remaining variances are for lot width and are de minimis.
As a consequence, PCPC staff has no objection to the granting of these variances.
Thank you.
MI 2022 -001678, 3445 Westmoreland Street.
I vote yes.
Harold Tenere, my vote is yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shahid, my vote is yes.
Thank you, Mr. Nachamson.
Thank you.
Have a great day.
Have a nice day.
We're going to, let's everybody take a five -minute break, and then we'll back out, and we'll knock out the 330 list, okay?
Good afternoon. My name is Bill Bergman and I will be chairing this afternoon's ZBA hearings.
With me is Carol Tenere, our vice chair.
Present, Mr. Chair.
Ismail Shahid, our board secretary.
Present, Mr. Chair.
Thomas Holliman, our board member.
He should be on shortly.
James Snell our board member. Present Mr. Chairman. Also here is our Executive Director
Tanya Sunkett and our Board Attorney Hillary Emerson. Before we begin 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 Tanya Sunkett at phil .gov.
For the benefit of our court sonographer, we ask attorneys and witnesses to identify themselves before testifying.
If you are 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 last, please note the question and answer box on the screen is not for testimony or comments.
Any comments should be directed to Tanya Sunkett, our Executive Director.
Let's look at continuances for this afternoon's hearings.
Number three, MI 2022 -001 -056 -2223 -29 -North 31st Street.
That's continued. And number seven, MI -2022 -001 -928 -6830 Ogons Avenue. That is,
case is continued. Are there any other requests for continuance?
I see no handshare. We're going to go to number one case, MI -2022 -000 -764 -1157 -South
12th Street. Letter of non -opposition from Pashong Square Civic Associate with Proviso.
Mr. Josh Horvitz is the attorney.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman and members of the board.
Hi, could you spell your name for the court reporter, please?
Sure. It's Joshua Horvitz, J -O -S -H -U -A, H -O -R -V as in Victor, I -T -Z.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client and their relationship to this property?
Sure. My client's the applicant and the owner of the property, Andy Dinn.
Thank you. And our vice chair, Carl Tenere, has a few questions.
Hi, Mr. Harwitz. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership, tax compliance, 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?
We emailed the exhibits, we met with the RCO and we have a letter.
Okay, great. You may proceed and please share your screen.
Thank you. Will do.
So I'm going to share my exhibit packet here.
And at the end of this, I'll just ask my client, Andy Dinn, to join and adopt my testimony.
So Mr. Dinn bought this property.
I'll show you the deed here, my exhibit packet.
It's the first of our exhibits.
We have the tax clearance certificate and all of the prerequisites.
Just to tell you the little story here, it's a very simple matter.
He bought this property as a triplex. It had a zoning permit and a building permit for a triplex in February of 2021.
He bought this property as a triplex.
It had a zoning permit and a building permit for a triplex.
And when he went to L &I to get the rental license, they said the prior owner never picked up the certificate of occupancy.
And since it had been 10 years, there was no alternative but to restart the zoning process.
So he got the tax clearance and posted them. And we met with the RCO and they understood here in their letter.
It says that they appreciate the new owner was misled into believing the triplex was
legalized and that the prior owner made those investments, three water heaters, three separate
electric meters and hardwired fire alarm and separate electric heat for each unit.
So they agreed, you know, they understood where we were coming from and we're basically
just asking for the same use that this board already granted.
here we have a granting of the variance on June 11th of 2012. And so we're just asking for that
same variance. Everybody thought it was a triplex for the last 10 years until my client bought it
and went to LNI and they told him he had to go back and complete the process. And here's the
zoning permit, which was issued in 2012 as well for three units. We did attach plans, which are
building plans we're going to submit hopefully after we get a variance today. And to go through
and they'll get the sort of figure of occupancy that the property needed for the past 10 years.
And we submitted pictures. It's all waiting. They're being updated and my client's waiting to
get to the next stage of the process to complete the updating. And here's all the separate heating,
air conditioning, and so on. So there were a couple of
um questions about that the rco raised which were related to the front facade of the building which
my client agreed to clean up and to provide trash uh uh area a trash area for the second floor um
their stated uh um conditions in their letter were a little bit um the second one was a little
different than what we were um talked to them directly just because they're they'd mentioned
a communal trash, outdoor trash space if it could be provided. But there is no outdoor communal
space. But my client's going to provide a trash space for the second floor. So we're hopeful
that's okay with everybody. And if we're going to add those conditions as provisors, I'd just like
to offer that we change the second one. Mr. Horvitz, quick question. It says trash compactor?
yeah so basically they offered him two options a trap it's only one of the three units that needs
um okay the other two have an outdoor space to help to store trash so the second unit so he
basically said well trash compactor or he's going to create a trash area in the basement and give
just that unit a key to put the trash keep it inside fine thank you um and so um excuse me mr
This is Hillary. I just, if you, if the board is inclined to grant this application and would like to put a proviso about trash storage, it could be something more broad, such as, you know, provide a separate trash storage space for second floor unit.
And that would encompass whatever the applicant is able to accommodate since the communal space is not possible.
great that would be very acceptable to us thank you do you want to bring your client on and adopt
your testimony yes please if i could have andy dinn please raise his hand
andy could you state your name and spell it for the court reporter
Andy Dinh, A -N -D -Y, D as in David, I -N -H.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed.
Hi, Andy.
Have you heard my testimony today?
Yes, I have.
Was it true and correct, to the best of your knowledge?
And do you adopt that testimony as your own?
Thank you.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Jones.
no mr chairman no questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no handshare planning commission ron bednar city planning property is indicated for
residential on the city plan given the site's physical circumstances and its documented uses
three recommend the request for guidance be permitted thank you ron mi 2022 000 764
1157 south west wall street i vote yes with proviso to create a second floor a separate second floor
to create a second floor, a separate second floor trash facility.
How's that?
It might not be on the second floor.
You would say to create a separate trash facility for the second floor unit.
Create a separate trash facility for the second floor unit.
Or trash storage facility, yes.
Trash storage facility, okay?
All right, I got it.
All right, okay, thank you.
Carol Tenere, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Thomas Solomon, my vote is yes with Proviso.
James Snell, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Thank you, Al Shahid, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Number two, MI 2020 -003 -265 -1224 Herbert Street.
The attorney is Michael Lambert.
any hands up no chair okay didn't he become a judge um yeah i think so mi 2020 003 265
1224 herbert street i vote to dismiss this i voted to dismiss yeah i'm sorry i hate to interrupt
This is Tanya. May I beg that you continue this and let me reach out to the applicant because I believe he no longer practices zoning in front of us.
I believe he became a judge.
And if I know, but this is the fourth listing.
All right. Yes. I was just thinking the applicant might not know anything about what's going on with their application.
All right, but, okay, we'll do that, but it has to be tried.
Sounds good, Chair.
I appreciate your indulgence.
This will be the fifth one.
MI 2020, 003265, 1224 Herbert Street.
This case is continued, must be tried.
Number four.
MI 2021 -003 -748 -2401 South Older Street.
There is an attorney.
I don't have his name yet.
We have a hand up from all of them to the panelists, Chair.
Okay, thank you.
Yes, thanks.
Oleg will be the attorney for this.
Good afternoon, Chair Bergman, Oleg Sokolov, on behalf of the applicant.
All right. Could you spell your name for the court reporter, please?
Sure. That's O -L -E -G -S -O -K -O -L -O -V, 1700 Market Street, Suite 1005, Philadelphia PA, 19103.
All right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client and their relationship to this property?
The actual record owner of the property is Infina Homes LLC. I have with me a Jen Ning Tang, who is one of the members of the LLC and will be testifying after my presentation.
Okay, our vice chair has a few questions.
Hi, good afternoon. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership tax compliance a copy of the refusal
photos under 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 personally have not emailed them but the exhibits have been emailed
um if i may there was prior counsel on this that just fell ill so to be perfectly honest with you
I'm taking over just today.
The applicant did meet with the RCO as well,
I believe in November of 2021.
Okay, great.
You may proceed and share the screen.
Thank you very much.
Oh, excuse me.
What does this mean?
i'm very sorry i think i'm sharing the wrong screen
can everybody see that yes is that is it a table of contents that's showing up i apologize it's a
little yes yes a table content okay thank you so much
So, Mr. Chair, members of the board, this is a request ostensibly to legalize an existing use of the property. If I may go through the exhibit packet, 2401 South Alder Street is Philadelphia PA 19148. The property is currently zoned RSA 5, but has been used as a three dwelling unit for the near history and is that is what we are here seeking a variance to continue to do.
so mr chair members of the board this is a request ostensibly to
I just want to share that this is a listing that was on Zillow of the property, and if you can direct your attention here, it explains the property as a two one -bedroom units on the first floor and a two -bedroom unit on the second floor.
Here's our notice of refusal. The refusal is issued based on the fact that the proposed use
of three dwelling units is expressly prohibited in the RSA 5 residential district. That is the
only variance request that we are asking. Here's the tax clearance for the entity that owns the
property. Here's our application for appeal and our project information form.
Deed Evidencing Ownership in Infinite Homes, LLC.
And you can see here that this was purchased in, excuse me, October of 2021.
These are pictures of the notice of the ZBA, I'm sorry, prior counsel just mislabeled
this, but of the ZBA hearing that was rescheduled to today.
I also, and I'll show this later, but I just want to show that the notice was posted on all three doors of the property, which are the three separate entrances to the three various dwelling units.
I'll have Ms. Tang testify about this, but Ms. Tang actually hand delivered all of the RCO notification notices and that packet, which she was given permission to do so by Mr. Todd Schwartz, who's the head of the RCO.
Here is the Lower Maya Mensing Civic Association letter. As you'll see, this is a letter of
opposition. However, they do state that they would allow the property to be used as a two -family
dwelling. However, obviously, at this point, that would necessitate a total renovation of the
property. This property is a unique corner lot. It's about 120 degree triangle, two triangles.
I'll show some other properties that are very similar in this area.
Here's the exterior of the property. I just want to once again direct your attention that the
property as currently set has three separate entrances to the three separate dwelling units
and has been this way since it was originally constructed.
Once again, here are the photos of the ZBA notice.
I'd also like to direct your attention to the fact that the property has specific
outdoor stored and enclosed trash so as to not create a burden
on the neighborhood or have trash littering the street.
Just a quick explanation of the floor plans. However, I'll go through the actual floor plans
themselves, but each unit is at least 500 square feet. The larger unit is significantly larger
than that. That's the second floor unit that is the two bedroom. These are the floor plans for
properties. This is the second story unit and you can see the layout of the entirety of the building
here. Some other triplexes that are in the area however they are zoned CMX1 but as you will see
they have the same lot parameters as our subject premises this is 2401 South Warnock Street once
again you will see that it is a similar corner I don't want to say particularly exactly a triangle
but a triangular lot shape and here is here is a view of that property again once again
very similar to ours or almost identical to our the subject property it has three separate
entrances, one on the front edge of the property and two along the side. This is another property
with similar lot parameters. And once again, a similar design in
and once again, a similar design in the entrances
to the three various units.
So this is our subject premises here,
the outlined in black,
the other red triangular units that we've outlined here
are the CMX1s that are currently being used as triplexes.
You can see that they're almost identical in shape
to our subject premises and part of the reason that we're, you know, requesting this use or
believe this use should be granted. Just a list of the properties that are CMX1 that we just
outlined on that map. So just to finish out, the subject property is a unique shape that
should be used, is difficult and to use as a single family residence or as an RSA5.
The other lots with similar dimensions and similar shape in the neighborhood are all CMX1, many of them being used as triplexes.
It was purchased as a triplex, although I know that has little bearing on these proceedings.
There will be and has been space for garbage disposal.
So nothing about the requested variants will change anything in the neighborhood as this premises has been used for this same purpose for a long time at this point.
At this point, I would just like Ms. Tang to raise her hand, please, so she may testify quickly.
Hi, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Yes, my name is Janine Tang, J -I -A -N -I -N -G, Tang, T -A -N -G.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Proceed.
Ms. Tang, were you able to hear my presentation today?
And will you adopt that as your own testimony?
And just a few other questions.
Did you hand deliver the notices for the RCO meeting in and around November 17th of 2021?
yes i did that afternoon um all of the required copies to all of the um uh the properties
near and you have you have not done anything to create the the um existing condition on the
premises for it to be a three unit you did not construct three units on the premises is that
correct no i haven't not at all okay thank you very much thank you questions from the board
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
Carl, you're muted.
It's okay.
No, Mr. Chairman.
I'm sorry.
That's okay.
That's okay.
Questions for the virtual audience?
I see no handshare.
Planning Commission.
Ron Bednar, City Planning.
Properties indicated for residential on the city plan,
given the physical circumstances of the site and the surrounding use context,
we recommend the request of variance be granted.
Thank you. MI 2021 -003 -748 -2401, South Alder Street, I vote yes.
Carol Tenere, my vote is yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shahid, my vote is yes.
NUMBER FIVE, PROCEEDE, PROCEEDE, I DON'T KNOW WHERE HE IS, OKAY, NUMBER FIVE MI 2021 -003 -593 -4829
longshore avenue no exhibit second listing
any hands here we have evan hughes i'll allow him to speak if it's okay okay
mr hughes please unmute yourself hi uh good good are you the attorney on this yes i am i was just
retained and we noticed uh some defects uh okay okay so first first could you state your name
and spell for the court reporter sure my name is evan hughes that's spelled h -u -g -h -e -s right
counsel for appellant right do you swear affirm to tell truth told truth nothing but the truth
i do oh so you want to continue it yes please all right so this is going to be mark must be tried
because this was the second listing, so you'll be the third, okay?
So MI 2021 -003 -593 -4829 Longshore Avenue.
4829 Longshore Avenue. Case will be continued, must be tried. Okay? Thank you for coming on.
Case will be continued, must be tried, okay?
Thank you for having me. Okay. MI 2021 -003 -759 -5616 Lansdell Avenue. Jeffrey Young is the attorney.
Letter of support from the coordinating RCO HMC Square.
Mr. Young is coming back in as a panelist.
Hello, Mr. Young.
Mr. Young?
I think you're muted.
Jeffrey, you're not muted.
You're unmuted, but it appears as though we can't hear your audio.
Can you hear me?
Yeah, we can.
Okay, great.
Mr. Young, how are you?
Good to see you.
Good afternoon.
Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter?
My name is Jeffrey Young on behalf of the appellate,
Jasper Smith.
My name is spelled J -E -F -F -E -R -Y -Y -O -U -N -G.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth,
the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Our vice chair has a few questions.
Hi, Mr. Young.
Do you agree to wait the reading of the refusal
and stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed the exhibit packet
It was proof of ownership, tax compliance, a copy of the refusal or referral, photos under plans of the property five days in advance of this hearing, and have you met with the RCO, and do you have a letter?
Okay, great.
You may proceed, and please share your screen.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Is my screen being shared?
i'm sorry i can't really see here jeffrey just make it a little larger great will do
so again good afternoon members of the board my name is jeffrey young here on behalf
of my client miss jasmine smith owner of 5616 lansdowne avenue
miss smith is on the line as well i'm here you see our the the table of contents uh for our
presentation. As I go through, you'll see this is the tax clearance for Ms. Jasmine Smith
obtained on 6 -16 -2022, showing that she's in compliance with the City of Philadelphia
tax regulations. Here is a copy of our refusal. We are refused for use as a two -dwelling unit.
The property is currently zoned in an RSA -5 area, and the proposed use of two dwelling units is prohibited in the RSA -5 zoning district.
Here is a copy of the deed where my client purchased the property in late December of 2019.
And here is a copy of our appeal application, along with a copy of the neighborhood notification
that was sent to the neighbors on November 10th of 2021.
We had our meeting with the community group on December 9th of 2021.
The next form is our letter of support from the HMC Squared Community Association.
There were a total of 10 members at the community meeting, and no one opposed our project.
All members were either in support, support with a proviso or in non -opposition of the proposed use as two dwelling units.
And here from the summary, the community noted that there are other duplexes on this block and stated reasons why the community were in support of our project.
here's proof that we've mailed letters to the community groups to the community at large rather
of the community meeting here I just want to give us
uh of the uh community meeting um here i just want to give a sense of the uh surrounding
neighborhood um so we are uh at 56 in lansdowne um as lansdowne avenue is a pretty heavily
traveled street uh there's 10 trolley stops along lansdowne avenue the 10 trolley rather
um as i go uh show this next page on the overview um you can see that there are also bus stops on
the corner of 57th and Lansdale as well as 56th and Lansdale. This is the G bus, I believe.
So this area is heavily used by public transportation. Given the zoning map of the area here, we
are in this outlined area of the yellow RSA 5. However, if you see along Lansdale Avenue,
there's a variety of dense uses here. Just a couple doors down, this area here is all CMX2,
which allows commercial on the first floor with residential units, multiple residential units
above. If you go across the street here, we'll see that there's a zone RM1 in this orange,
Again, across the street, more CMX2 dense units that are surrounding this neighborhood.
Just to show a picture of the property here, this is our property.
As currently designed, the property has two doors, one for access to the first floor unit
and one for accessing the second floor unit.
Again, these are just pictures to show
what the neighborhood looks like to our east.
Again, these are the commercial units
on the first floor level
with the multiple residential units above.
This next picture here gives a sense
of other similarly designed properties on the block.
This is a block down. Actually, this is a 5542 Lansdowne Avenue, which is a block to our east.
This property here is 5544 Lansdowne Avenue, again, to our east.
This block is directly to our, this property rather directly to our west on our same 100, 5622 Lansdowne Avenue.
again two units two doors same same makeup and again this property here is 56 I believe 30 56 36
Lansdowne Avenue again same similar design as our property the next slide I'll zoom in
is the floor plan makeup again their their proposed second floor unit and the first floor
unit will consist of the basement and the first floor. And with that, I'll ask my client, Ms. Jasmine
Smith, to be elevated to a panelist so she can adopt my testimony.
Hi, could you state your name and spell it, please, for the court reporter?
Hi, my name is Jasmine Smith, J -S -M -I -N -E, S -M -I -T -H.
right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
yes proceed mr young thank you uh miss smith did you hear my testimony yes and do you uh
stipulate to my testimony's uh accuracy yes and you adopt my testimony as your own
yes thank you uh any questions of the members of the board questions from the board
no mr chairman no mr chairman no mr chairman questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no he has shared planning commission this is uh ron bednar city planning property is
indicated for residential and the city plan given the surrounding use context and its proximity to
nearby public transit recommend the quest for variance be granted thank you mi 2021
21 -003 -759 -5619 Lannisdale Avenue.
I vote yes.
Carl Tenere, my vote is yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Ms. Miller Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Thank you, Mr. Young.
Thank you.
Is there anyone in the audience whose 330 case has not been called?
I see no handshare.
thank you thank you everyone great good day work a lot a lot of nice cases thank you all
next week we have off right yes yes we don't return to first week in july second week in july
yes yes we don't return to first week in july second week in july
okay maybe i can talk to you ton okay what's the date time
the date that you return yeah yes let's see
that would be july 13th will be the next hearing so we're we missed two days two weeks right
correct okay it's a four month of my week you're we're closed because of the holiday and then the
last week of june we're closed due to inventory and purging of records right okay so it's we're
not back we're not back for three weeks right so just now we come back to 13. so that's two weeks
and today's date is
so you returned
for hearings on July 13th
that's all we have to remember
that works for everyone
that's three weeks
oh okay
I'll send you an email
no problem
that's three weeks
is there ever a month
or is it each month that we have
hearings Tuesday and Wednesday
and which part of the month is that third week i'm sending you all an updated schedule now
right okay so you should get it within the next few days an updated schedule
it's always one the third tuesday of the month and then as necessary we'll add special
no problem everybody have a nice time off and thank you thank you go to ocean city and enjoy
yourself with the kids thank you thank you thank you thank you everybody dpz uh zoom thank you so
very kindly no problem take care and john kelly court reporter thank you so kindly thank you
i will think of you all next week at the beach it sounds good and i will send jennifer the new
schedule, okay? Thank you. All right, good night all. See you next time. Bye -bye.
Good night.