Our project will add immense taxable value to the property and resolve a terrible ISO for the neighborhood.
The denial of the variance will result in an unnecessary hardship on the property, and it will remain a dilapidated blight in the community, something we want to avoid seeing.
The unnecessary hardship has existed for over 20 years and has shown, as shown by the prior attempts to rehab the property, and since we took ownership in late 2021, we have tried to make a better use of it.
Sitting as a vacant, dilapidated property is not in the best interest of the neighborhood from a safety, economic, or aesthetic viewpoint.
Our plans for this renovation involve the inclusion of a garage, and therefore a zoning variance for a curb cut, which is the subject of the conversation today.
We have worked diligently with our architect to ensure neighborhood safety and maintain the aesthetics of the block.
Alan, our architect, will go into those details separately.
There is precedent for a similar curb cut a few doors to the west of this property.
You can see that in the visual in the top left. The garage is shown in the far right, about four houses to the west.
Additionally, and to mention, that curb cut has not caused any harm or danger to the neighborhood.
There have been no reports of pedestrian issues or any other concerns.
Additionally, the depth of the sidewalk and the projection of stair landings on this street cause a natural walk path away from the housing line.
enabling visible sight lines enough and enough safety away from cars exiting garages again alan
will go into that detail but the picture at the center of this board shows the stairs to
my existing property and a tree box and a natural line at the center of the sidewalk
with a about a five foot or six foot buffer away from the housing line
our design for the property includes a single width garage with a car lift
allowing us to trade off our two street park cars for one curb cut dimension already reviewed by the streets department.
This dimensional assessment shows that we are asking for the minimum necessary for the variance
and that this dimension would not cause any loss of any phantom parking spots,
essentially amounting to only one car length removed from the street parking by the curb cut variance.
Again, it would be our two cars off of the street in exchange for the one dimension of the street cut.
Additionally, merging the two properties would effectively remove three or more potential parking permits from the neighborhood, which would readily be granted to 1732 Catherine Street, should it be converted into a single family home or rental property.
In speaking with our neighbors, many in the community would welcome a break from the continuous line of parked cars to enable safer access to board a paratransit or a CCT vehicle, temporarily pull in to load or unload children, groceries, and the like, or allow other similar use and access mid-block.
This concept was also previously raised in 2011-2012 from SOSNA's own efforts with the Better Blocks Philly program, and we would be happy to work with the Neighborhood Association and City to support further safety measures.
safety measures such as a bump out or a crosswalk designation at either end of the curb cut to make
this block even safer for neighbors and those visiting the very active basketball court or
pool at Marian Anderson Rec Center. That visual is shown in the midline left which was taken from
the Better Box program initiative that shows in fact a dimensional a crosswalk mid block the street
that we're referring to is at the bottom of that visual and you'll see that approximately halfway
down I'm sorry it's at the top of that visual across from what's the blue area of the pool
and that's exactly essentially the line where our home property is.
is that essentially the line where our home property is allowing for that dimensional cut there
we had ample discussion of all of what i've just mentioned at our rco meeting at sasnang in february
2023 many of our neighbors attended and together with several of the committee members voiced their
own opinions in support of the proposed zoning variance for a curb cut we have included several
letters of support from our immediate neighbors for this proposed plan in the exhibits these
These neighbors spoke passionately for their own reasons why this project is in the best
interest of the neighborhood, and that was reflected by the letter from SOSNA deferring
the decision to this zoning board.
The project design considers and does not endanger the public safety, health, or general
welfare of the population, and the immediate adjacent neighbors are in support of this
project.
To wit, we have a letter of support from the immediate adjacent neighbors as part of the
exhibit as well.
We similarly have a letter from our councilman, Kenyatta Johnson, deferring the decision to
this board.
Approval of our variance request in this project would not set an easy precedent for other
seeking garages, because it involves consolidating two properties, removing five plus cars and
permits from the street, and has overwhelming neighborhood support, including letters of
support from our near neighbors.
Frankly speaking, it's our opinion that it's projects like ours that will address the remaining
blight in our otherwise thriving neighborhood, as the easy renovation projects have already
been completed. And many in our community agree. We hope to have your support for our
forever home project and in helping to keep our family in the city of Philadelphia.
How many, how many, how many garages on the block? One? There's the one existing garage
correct. And across the streets of the playground? Across the street of the playground. There are
adjacent, there are other curb cuts on adjacent blocks. Is there parking on both sides of the
street there? Yes, sir. Okay. Questions from the board? No, Mr. Chair. Questions or comments from
the virtual audience? Mr. Chair, I have two hands raised. The first one is from Alan Henderson. I
am allowing him to speak. Okay. Sir, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court
reporter? Sure. It's Alan Henderson, A-L-A-N-H-E-N-D-E-R-S-O-N. Do you swear or affirm to
tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? I do. Are you a neighbor, sir? No, I'm
the Shah's architect. Okay. There are just two things I wanted to reinforce that Jamin brought
up. The first is sort of the existing conditions of 1732. We're actually a design build outfit and
And we did the make safe work out there in conjunction with Ingram Engineering, who's done assessments of the building structure, the front facade, kind of giving us the overall sense of this structure and building.
We rebuilt the south and west walls in the rear, removed an illegal pilot house, patched the roof, took out a structurally questionable stare and are kind of monitoring the front facade, which is in deteriorating shape.
So just to speak to this is a very unique condition on the block.
It's the only only lot left that hasn't been lived in continuously and and maintained.
And it's in bad shape and deteriorating.
Even in the last two years that we've monitored it.
And then the only other point I'd want to make is the the stairs that come out at 1730 and 1736 come directly out of the front doors and protrude.
at least four and a half feet into the sidewalk, effectively moving the path of travel off those
facades at least five feet, which gives a much better sight for a driver backing out or for
pedestrians going by the proposed garage entry. Thank you, sir. I appreciate your comments.
Thank you. Who else in the virtual audience?
Chair, I have a Greg Newman with their hands raised. I have a lot of them this time.
State your name, please, and spell for the court reporter.
Sure. Good afternoon, everybody. Gregory Newman, G-R-E-G-O-R-Y-N-E-W-M-A-N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Proceed, sir.
Good afternoon, everybody. I'm a neighbor here. I live at 801 South 18th Street,
which is on the corner of 18th and Catherine. I'm actually the house that you can see in the
photograph here that has the other garage on the block.
Yes. And I just want to state my overwhelming support for this project. I think that it's an unusual use case because, again, this is combining two houses into one. And I do want to highlight the advantages of having a break.
into one. And I do want to highlight the advantages of having a break in the parking
along this particular block, which I think does add some significant safety into our block.
Because of the vibrant basketball court scene, as well as the pool and the rec center,
we have quite a bit of parking congestion on the block here, including frequently in crosswalks,
in the middle of the intersection, and it can be a dangerous spot. We have a number of neighbors
who have young children, as well as some elderly neighbors with mobility issues. And having a break
like mine in the block, which is just a little break in front of our garage, as well as a few
doors down for the proposed break, gives a place where people can safely pull in for a minute or
two, drop off groceries, get folks who have mobility issues into the building without having
to either literally be stepping out of vehicles in the middle of a busy intersection or walking
for, you know, blocks where there is another break. So I really do support this. And, you know,
in addition, again, just want to highlight with that congestion of parking, I'm able to take my
vehicle and my former work vehicle off the street and free up those spots combined into one without
any, you know, ghost loss of further spots for my garage, and Jamin would be doing the same,
which is taking two vehicles off the street for the cost of one spot.
Thank you for your comments, and thanks for calling in. Is there anyone else in the virtual audience?
Yes, sir. Richard Summon, I've allowed him to speak at this time.
Could you stay your name and spell, please, for the court reporter?
Mr. Salmon, if you're still available, please unmute and wait to be sworn in.
Mr. Salmon?
Mr. Salmon is not responding.
Okay, is there anyone else in the virtual audience?
um yes i have a mr charles peruto with the hand raised i've allowed him to speak okay
sir could you state your name and spell please for the court reporter
yes my name is charles peruto c-h-a-r-l-e-s p-e-r-u-t-o do you swear or affirm to tell
the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes i do mr prudo are you a neighbor
I am. Okay. Rasheed, sir. So I live opposite street from this project, but for 16 years,
I lived at the corner right there. I've only moved one block and I have three children and
they frequently use this rec center and the playground and the basketball courts. And I've
been interested in this project. I have noticed that it's not really going to lose more than one
car of parking. But the other thing is that even though there's a high fence by the basketball
court, balls do like come over that fence fairly often. And in that little area, we have kids and
teenagers kind of running out to get balls a lot. And I feel that having the like less cars on the
street right there is a very good thing. It really does improve the sight lines. And I just think
that it's definitely a variance that should be granted. We're all for it. All right. Thank you
for calling in, Mr. Prudhoe. Is there anyone else in the virtual audience? Yes, Catalina Loveman
with their hand raised. I have a lot of them to speak at this time. Could you state your name
and spell, please, for the court reporter? Yes, my name is Catalina Loveman, C-A-T-A-L-I-N-A.
The last name is L-O-V-E-M-A-N. Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth,
the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do are you a neighbor i am i live in the in the
graduate hospital neighborhood along with the shahs okay a couple blocks away on waverly are
you in favor of this project i am in favor of this project we've seen similar projects um happen on
our street it's been a wonderful addition to the neighborhood um i think seeing uh buildings like
Like the one, like the property at 1732, someone take the time, the effort, you know, make the investment to renovate properties, which have sat for years and years blighted, make them a part of the vibrant community.
I think it's a tremendous asset to the neighborhood overall, and certainly from an economic perspective supports the continued growth of SOSNA and the graduate hospital area.
All right. Thank you for taking the time to call in. We appreciate your comments. Is there anyone else?
All right. Thank you for taking the time to call in. We appreciate your comments. Is there anyone else?
Yes, sir. Jonathan Katzenbach with the hand raised. I have allowed them to speak at this time, sir.
Could you say your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Certainly. I appreciate the opportunity. My name is Jonathan Katzenbach. It's spelled J-O-N-A-T-H-A-N. The last name is K-A-T-Z-E-N-B-A-C-H.
Right. Do you swear or affirm, tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
We've had quite a bit of testimony about this. Are you in favor of this project or against it?
I'm in favor. I'll keep it short and sweet. I live just a couple of doors down from Jamin and Mina.
I've known them since the day they moved in. I'm in full support of the project. I have no
problems with it whatsoever. I wrote a letter to that effect to the Sassana meeting back in February.
I just want to make mention of Jamin and Mina and their family as individuals and what they
add to the neighborhood. And I think it's seen in the care with which they've approached this
particular project. And I'd just like to make note of that for the public record.
I thank you for calling in. We appreciate it. Is there anyone else?
Yes, one more chair. Gabriel Torres. I've allowed him to speak at this time, sir.
Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Yes, my name is Gabriel Torres, and that's G-A-B-R-I-E-L, and last name T-O-R-R-E-S.
Right. Do you swear if I'm going to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Are you a neighbor, sir?
Yes, I am. I live about three doors down from Jamin.
Are you in favor of the project?
Yes, I'm in favor of the project.
Okay. We've had a lot of testimony as to why. We appreciate your calling in, and we have you on record as being in favor of the project. Thank you. Is there anyone else?
No further hint at this time, sir.
Planning Commission.
Good afternoon. Thank you, Chairman David Fecteau, F-E-C-T-E-A-U, with the City Planning Commission.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, sir, I do. Proceed, please. Thank you, sir. Mr. Chairman and members of the board, the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the residential single family zoning at this location. The applicant is applying for a parking space accessed via the front of the lot, which sits across the street from the recreation center and a block of row homes with only one garage. There is no unique physical condition or circumstance of this property that would prevent it from being used in conformance with the zoning code. The city planning commission recommends that the board deny the proposed variance.
Thank you. Mr. Shaw, we've had a lot of testimony on this in your presentation. I really want to take some time and bring this up at our executive session next Wednesday, and we will look to vote on this project next Wednesday at 2 p.m.
And thank you for your time, and I appreciate the presentation you made, okay?
Thank you, Chair. If I could add the Planning Commission's comments, we did dig deep efforts to try to make this a project that was worthwhile in conformance with the existing zoning laws.
As I said, had this property been able to do so in an economically viable manner in conformance with the zoning board, it would have been done as it sat vacant for the past 20 years.
There's been investor after investor that's tried, and it's not possible.
Alan had made mention about the incredible amount of concern and issues with the property,
and we've now uncovered as many of those as possible and already worked to account for
those in our make-safe efforts.
The property is safe, and that's because we made it so.
I understand your comments, okay?
So you will know where we stand next week at 2 p.m., okay, after we have some time to
talk about it.
Thank you, sir.
All right. Thank you. All right. Let's go to number two. MI 2022-006-184-242 Callow Street.
And this will also be in conjunction with number 13, MI2022-006-182-242 Callow Street.
This is a resumptive hearing.
Alan Nockamson is the attorney.
We do have a letter of opposition from the Wissahickon Interested Citizens Association,
but this is a resumptive hearing. Mr. Nockmson. Just state your name for the record.
Yes, Alan, A-L-A-N, last name Nockmson, N-O-C-H-U-M-S-O-N.
Hold on one minute here.
Hold on one minute here. I'll be right with you, sir.
I'll be right with you, sir.
Hey, Chair, I'm back.
Okay, thank you.
Thank you.
So, Mr. Nockmson, this is, as you know, a resumptive hearing, and our notes show that we would look for comments from the RCO, public testimony, planning commission, recommendation, and then a response by you.
Yes. So, yes, we did meet with the community after our hearing. And I'd like to just briefly go over it. I'm going to kind of share my screen.
okay thank you
so we have these two vacant lots here and here um well here and here um as you can see there's
an existing curve cut uh there um and what you can also see from the photographs here which i
probably didn't do a great job of there's off street parking uh excuse me to the left of us
um so it's not uh and there's also off-street parking across the street from us or here's
actually a good photo showing all of the off-street parking right next to us so left
so what we're proposing is not enough character for the property itself its history is to have
off-street parking and if you saw the original refusal that we had one of the two properties
um with the the off-street parking was recognized i don't know why um and we didn't receive a
refusal for off-street parking for one of the two properties uh it's the um let's see it is
essentially uh 242 klo street where if you look at the original refusal there was no refusal for