ZBA Hearing - April 19, 2023

This would be, I think, on the corner here, the main entrance to the residential lobby.

And then this is the Susquehanna Avenue elevation as planned.

Just want to go back to that aerial image for one second.

So one of the sort of hardships in this case is that we have discussed with SEPTA that there is a piece of structure,

and I have a close-up of it in our zoning poster photo here that is actually in our property. It

is beyond SEPTA's property boundary and SEPTA has agreed that we may remove that structure which is

comprised of some metal and some stone. I'll tell you that it is there because this before the 80s

was a coal storage house and we believe that this was a service track into the facility.

But to this point, SEPTA has said that we must pay for the removal of this, which is going to add to construction costs, because anything affecting a passenger rail line is hyper-regulated under the FRA and other agencies and has to be done in a very sort of precise manner.

I just want to speak for a moment about other aspects of why we believe there's a hardship and that some residential must be developed on this site of over 5,700 square feet.

So this is the zoning map. It's just a zoomed out version of what I've provided in the packet on Atlas.

And what you'll see here is that the light blue is the master planning district for Temple's campus.

the remainder of the map is yellow orange and red mostly those are different residential

districts with the red being mixed use commercial residential and then you've got some purple and

the purple are various types of industrial designations and what you'll see is that those

industrial properties mostly exist in a ribbon that follows the septa train track and what I've

discovered from research in this case and other cases in the past is that while the planning

commission may, I don't know genuinely, but may support pushing for industrial uses on these

parcels, this zoning is not new. It's really a, it's a, it's a holdover from many, many,

many decades ago. These properties have not been rezoned, but the reason that they're industrial

These properties have not been rezoned, but the reason that they're industrially zoned is no longer relevant.

What is that? Well, before SEPTA owned this rail line, it was owned by the Reading Railroad Company.

You may know that. This is the track that used to terminate at Reading Terminal.

And they allowed private users of this line. The Reading line was famous for coal transport, among other things.

So it's purely a passenger line now. The presence of the railroad does nothing to attract industrial users to these parcels.

And the railroad itself makes a lot of these parcels really oddly shaped.

So while the rail line maybe was a benefit and a reason for the zoning, today the zoning is outdated and the rail line and the zoning both present a hardship.

I'll quickly note, and this is in my memo of law that I offered to the board, that this board has recognized this exact issue in the past.

Two years ago, the zoning board on another triangular, I believe, parcel a couple blocks from here along the same rail embankment allowed 35 dwelling units to be developed on another I-2 zoned parcel.

I also found a case, although this was 10 plus years ago, a much larger parcel where

that property was zoned G2, which I think is the predecessor to I2. That project ended up with 92

dwelling units. So there is a sort of well-established pattern of zoning relief being

reasonable and necessary for industrial parcels in this area.

One of the things that's sort of nice about this block is that there is only at the moment one single family home on this block, at least on our side of the train tracks.

So we are not disturbing sort of a developed block.

And beyond that, you know, I just want to show you the letter that the chairman mentioned.

Let's see. There we go.

So what we did is we asked a commercial real estate consultancy that's based here in Philly called Scope.

There's their letterhead.

To take a look at this and basically analyze whether this could be developed without residential use.

And the answer was no, particularly because as this gentleman sort of helped us figure out, you know, the market on a parcel of this shape and this size for a ground up new building that is only going to be commercial or residential, that market just isn't there.

And he encouraged my client to put in commercial or industrial space on the ground level, but

explained that to finance this or to attract a future buyer for it, it's going to be necessary

to have residential units upstairs.

And that's just sort of an explanation of the hardship from hopefully what you'd see

as an objective source. This guy at the bottom wrote that he'd want us to call him if we ever

wanted to sell the site. So suffice it to say, he's sort of a broker as well,

not someone who's a part of our project team. What else can I tell you quickly?

um the um i mentioned that septa piece that we're going to have to remove um and i mentioned the

extra quality of um uh sort of the the right side of the building that because we're going to have

windows on that side so that way the the residents have um you know sort of a peaceful atmosphere

There's going to be various types of units, I believe, ranging from two bedroom units up to four.

So that way, sort of everybody has a shot to live here.

It's not specifically targeting any audience.

And, you know, as far as the parking situation, it's difficult.

So that would basically mean that we're going to have to put parking inside the building because there's just really no space for a significant number of parking spaces on the ground, given the shape.

It would have to be in the front. That means our building would have been wedged into the back.

So to keep sort of the development reasonably sized and not have to build even more units to make it work, we skipped the parking.

You know, we skipped the parking. We presented all of this to the ward, who was the coordinating RCO. The ward basically explained to us that this property, to their knowledge, has been vacant for at least 25 years. And before that was either a junkyard and coal storage.

We presented all of this to the ward who-

So there hasn't been a structure on this property in a very long time.

They were very pleased, the leadership of the ward, that somebody took an interest in dealing with SEPTA and turning this into something productive.

They are, you know, they are hesitant about displacing existing residents.

But what they liked about this project is it doesn't do that.

This is how you accommodate new residents in the greater Temple area without affecting existing neighbors.

And the RCO letter speaks specifically to the fact that that one single family homeowner who I did mention, who I believe is here on the map where my cursor is, we worked with her.

We actually have assisted her in making some repairs to her home that were needed.

So, you know, my client's done a really nice job engaging with the community, in my estimation.

So that's my presentation.

I do have the architect here who has additional plans and information if the board has questions.

And I have Tamaria Davis, who is the client's representative today to adopt my testimony.

Why don't we have your client come on?

Thank you. Ms. Davis, could you raise your hand?

She's been allowed to speak, sir.

Thank you.

Hi, could you state your name and spell, please, for the court reporter?

Sure. Tamaria Davis, T-E-M-A-R-I-A-D-A-V-I-S.

Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

Yes.

Proceed, counsel.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

um tamaria were you able to hear my testimony in this case this morning yes was it true and

accurate to the best of your knowledge information and belief yes it was would you therefore adopt

it as if it were your own testimony yes i will and are you authorized to speak on behalf of the

property owner you work for them yes thank you questions from the board no mr chair

Thank you, Chair. Questions or comments from the virtual audience?

I have a Mr. Robert Cashin with us, hand raised. I have allowed him to speak at this time.

Sure. Hi, sir. Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?

Yes. Hi, my name is Rob Cashin. C-A-S-H-I-O-N.

Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?

Yes, Your Honor.

Are you a neighbor?

Yes, I own 1013.

okay proceed sir okay uh so uh i i am hoping that a building like this will get built there

so i'm not i just want to say i'm not opposed i went to a community meeting uh the person

presenting indicated they also built the units that are under construction now and the one

across the street and that they're helping entrepreneurs with a community space so that

part i like um on the other side of that train track it was just mentioned here 2132 north 10

that building was on one of these calls with no parking but the this this team this board asked

that they find a way to make underground parking. So my main thing is, instead of giving up all 10

spaces, I think that there is definitely a way to put probably two to five spots underground.

That's one. I work both in an office and part-time as a builder myself. So I have a car with tools I

need to drive around okay the other part is uh for trash um right now the other building that's built

which was presented as from the same developer has garbage dumpsters outside because which is

nice for clean keeping it clean because otherwise people would throw garbage bags that's what

everyone else does but there's while it's being built there should be a place to store garbage can

or dumpster inside the property so that's the other and then also there were no trees put

on the one across the street and i'm hoping that tree pits can be left

at this site so that there can be street trees and then the last part is when the uh

and then the last part is when the uh you might have seen that the signal and the traffic light

I'll show you my

caved in at the corner because the ground was excavated without the uh shoring of the walls

and this is presented as by the same developer so i'm concerned that if it's done that to the

train tracks um that there could be a commotion similar to a cave-in and i just want to make sure

somebody is taking more care this time than on the previous project at the adjacent site all right so

you you have your suggestions but you're in favor of the project if if it can have parking i'm in

favor of it okay thank you sir we appreciate you taking the time to call in is there anyone else

in the virtual audience i see no further answer mr chair planning commission

Thank you, Chair Bergman, Sarah Bond,

Philadelphia City Planning Commission.

The comprehensive plan recommends no change

to the existing industrial zoning at this location.

The appellant has not shown with respect

to the number of units that dimensional compliance

would cause a significant financial burden.

The city planning commission recommends

that the zoning board denied the variance.

However, if the board is inclined to grant the variance,

the commission suggests a proviso

for one bicycle parking space for each dwelling unit.

Mr. Chairman, I'll just add, the building is in compliance with all dimensional requirements of

the zoning code. We have no dimensional refusals. So, Brandon, I'm going to take this to the

executive committee, and we'll vote on this next Wednesday at 9.30 a.m. Sure. And one other

comment, there is, and you have the floor plans in my submission, there is an indoor trash room.

um there there this developer did complete uh a project on the the western side of 10th street

much smaller and i believe there's a photograph of that in my packet as well that all right all

right thank you very much for your presentation thank you okay we're going to move on to

number 14,

MI 2022-003-316-5700

Wayne Avenue. Jeffrey Stacy is the attorney

for the tenant. Letter of support from

West Germantown neighbors. Letter of support

from Councilwoman Bass and a letter of support from State

Representative Stephen Kinsey.

Good morning, Mr. Stacey. Could you state your name, please, and spell it for the court reporter?

Sure. Jeffrey Stacey, J-E-F-F-R-E-Y, S-T-A-C-E-Y.

Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

Yes, I do.

Could you identify your client, the relationship to this property?

Sure. My client is Mass 3 Charter School Pickett Campus, which is a tenant to a lease with the

school district of philadelphia and our vice chair has just a few questions sir good afternoon

counselor do you agree to where the reading of the refusal is stipulated to its accuracy

yes i do have you emailed all the required documents and exhibits needed to proceed

with this case five days in advance of this hearing yes i have thank you please proceed

and share your screen

we see it you can see my screen yes sir great um good morning mr chair and members of the board

my name is jeffrey stacy from the firm o'donnell stacy uh with me here in the virtual audience

It's a couple members from my client's team, and I will be calling on Matt Troja, the Chief Operating Officer for Mastery Charter Schools, a little bit later on this morning.

the um the appeal that is before you here today um is the result of an application filed in

february 2022 by my client at the 5700 wayne avenue site which is the site of the former

school district school clarence pickett school now run by mastery there is a large field in the

back. And my client's desire is to turn that field into an athletic field, a synthetic turf

athletic field, by making various improvements to the land and putting some fences around it

in order to ensure the safety of the players and the community. And in doing so, must also

And in doing so, must also move some land or disturb some land that has grades at a level greater than 25 percent.

move some land or disturb some.

So we put together an exhibit package here for you today, which I'll go through in short order.

But just as a measure of background, as I mentioned, Pickett is a school district school, a former school district school.

5700 Wayne Avenue is owned by the school district of Philadelphia, and my client leases that property from the school district.

The Pickett School was first opened in 1970 and has been continuously used as a school since that time.

My client took over the school in 2007 and has been operating a public charter school at that site since that time.

Currently, students in grades 6 through 12, over 800 of them are educated at the property.

And the purpose of the plans set forth by my client are to give those students an opportunity

to compete, to take gym class on a more modern athletic facility and athletic field.

first i'll jump down just sort of give you an idea of what we're talking about

um so the picket school is located in the germantown section of philadelphia um looking

at the map view the property runs uh along wayne avenue rittenhouse street on the north side

and Pulaski Avenue on southwest side. And it is close to Shelton, the intersection of Shelton

and Wayne Avenues. That is, that's the location of the property. Looking at the aerial view here

where my cursor is hovering, that is the school building that is used by my client

and the big green space below it is the field that they're seeking to improve.

Down here below, this is Pulaski Avenue, and up top here is Wayne Avenue. There is also a

community garden, which has been continuously in use for at least the past 12 or 13 years,

which we'll talk a bit more about in a moment, but that is a continuing use here at the property

and also very near and dear to many of the community members' hearts.

So the reason that we stand here before you today is that the improvements sought by my client

would require the erection of fences greater than four feet in height,

which is not permitted in the RSA3 zoning district in which the property sits,

and also that there's a disturbance of slopes greater than 25%.

Mastery Charter Schools, for those of you that don't know, is an organization and a network of over 24 charter schools in Philadelphia and in Camden, New Jersey, and the organization has a track record of excellence and quality.

And actually, Mastery Charter School was selected by the School District of Philadelphia in 2007 to operate a charter school at the picket site.

Mastery is run by a very highly competent leadership team, and that leadership team brought all of its skills to bear over the past two years or so in order to get to this point.

even prior to any zoning permit application there were various meetings in the community

regarding the proposed project by my client who from the community wants what various meetings

with stakeholder groups in order to get an idea of a feel for the community's needs and wants with

respect to the space the end result of that after going through the zoning process and meeting with

the RCO twice in two formal public meetings is that we are here with revised plans. We've

submitted a proviso plans form, which I'll go through in a moment. We have a letter of support

from the West Central Germantown neighbors. We have a letter of support from Councilwoman Bass.

And we've also entered into a community benefits agreement with the West Central Germantown