Yes, I can.
Hi, Drew.
Could you change your name for me, please?
Change my name.
I don't.
I'll try.
Let me see if I know how to.
what does it doesn't it just say my name is it what does it say
drew it has my name because it's it's i sent you the link oh it came in on yours yeah
um no worries thanks we just want to identify who's who yeah yeah that's totally big because
didn't realize it always defaults to my name. Got it. Thank you. Thanks, Drew.
Here we have 49 attendees and we can start when you wish.
We're ready to go. Thank you. Good morning, everyone. My name is Bill Bergman
and I will be chairing this morning's 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.
Thomas is here.
James Snell, our Board Member.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Also here is our Executive Director, Tanya Sunkit, and our Board Attorney, Hillary Emerson.
Before we begin, here's our virtual format. Be advised, proceedings are being recorded.
By participating, you acknowledge your agreement to be recorded. The video will be available by
contacting TanyaSunkett at phila.gov. For the benefit of our court stenographer,
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 address the property in question.
And finally, the question answer box on the screen is not for testifying or comments.
Any comments should go to our Executive Director, Tanya Sumter.
So let's look at our continuities that we have this morning.
Mr. Chair, this is Tanya. Would you mind if I just ask a check?
Mr. Holloman, can you just check in and do a voice audio check?
Yes, I'm present. I was disconnected for a while.
I saw that. I just wanted to check. Thank you, Chair. May you continue.
Sure. Thank you. Number two, MI 2022-001-065-131 West Walnut Lane.
Number three, MI 2022-001-059-1830 West Erie Avenue.
Number 9. MI 2022 001 062 439 West Susquehanna Avenue. Number 12. Hold on one minute. Hold on
one minute. Hold on one minute. Oh boy. Tanya, I have to go out a minute. I just got knocked
out here in a minute i'll be right back okay no worries chair tanya are we hearing number seven
first do you remember that is the plan i would ask attorney emerson to step in and state it
yes i i can confirm that we'll be hearing number seven first okay so six is continued
nine's continued for some reason i'm so mixed up this morning i don't know why no worries
thank you tanya you can continue number 12 has continued well well we haven't gotten to
number six yet um we had i'm sorry we had we continued number nine
um and right number 12 was the next one that needed to be called out for a continuance
but 11 is continued or will be said that we will continue we will we will yeah we will discuss
but 11 is continued or will be said that we will
11 after we finish the other continuances okay hi bill uh mr chairman sorry tanya i got knocked
out i'm good sounds good chair we're waiting for you to continue the continuances i'm good so
So number 12, MI 2022, 003-880-610-40 High Street.
And number 13, MI 2022, 001-110-6619 Musgrave Street.
All these cases are continued.
Is there any comments relative from the virtual audience about these cases?
Mr. Chair, if we could, sorry, Mr. Chair, number 13, the continuance was from the RCO.
Can we see if there's anybody here for 6619 Musgrave Street before we get any other comments?
Right. MI 2022-001-110, 6619 Musgrave Street.
contingency requested by the RCO. Is there anyone else here?
Good morning, Chair. I see no hands at this time.
Thank you. So all the cases I called were continued. Are there any comments?
Chair, we have someone by the name of Marvin Kilgore with his hand up.
Mr. Kilgore, you can unmute yourself and wait for the chair.
yes Marvin Kilgore here 24 good morning morning do you swear state your name and spell for the
court reporter please uh Marvin M-A-R-V-I-N Kilgore K-I-L-G-O-R-E do you swear for him to tell
the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes okay what case do you have Mr. Kilgore
uh number 24 um 2409 2410 north 19th yep right okay that's mi2022001116
you request to continue it's mr kilgore yes i do okay mr kilgore that'll be
must be tried to your next case
okay could you say that again your next listing will be marked must be tried you have to go on
the next time um chair this is time if i could explain a little bit um mr kilgore you um have
another date that will be scheduled where you must provide the exhibits timely as well as
If you post the property for your specific and detailed instructions, please contact our office.
And then we can assist you with how you can make sure you're going to be heard at the next date, okay?
Okay, and you guys will send me the next date as well?
Yes, just reach out to our office and we'll assist you further, okay?
Sir, I'm going to ask the staff to email you and then you can reach out with the information.
provided okay no problem thank you this is yeah so sorry this is this is hillary emerson um mr
kilgore are you uh do you either own or lease this property as a business or non-profit
organization uh as a business yes okay um if you are if you own uh if you own a lease as a business
entity you will need to have an attorney representing you at the next hearing okay
Okay. So you will not be able to move forward without that. So that is something we can provide you further information with, but I wanted to flag that for you based on the information that we saw for you as the applicant. Thank you.
Okay. Are there any other requests for continuances?
Chair, we have Rachel Ergood. Ms. Ergood, you can unmute yourself and wait for the chair, please.
Good morning, everybody. I'm sorry. I am a resident at 600 East High Street. And I'm just reaching out and question.
Do me a favor. Hold on. Hold on one minute. Rachel, hold on one minute. Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter?
Sure. Rachel Ergoode. R-A-C-H-E-L-E-H-R-G-O-O-D.
right do you swear for him to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
i do well proceed okay so um it's just been um with the 610 east high street property
it's been um two continuances and um we haven't had any communication um from this
And we haven't had any communication from this property owner about this, their proposal or appeals, and it's not posted.
And I'm just curious to how many.
So here's what we'll do is that'll be marked, must be tried.
Thank you.
Any other requests for continuances?
Here we have a Ms. or Mr. Sosa.
Mr. or Ms. Sosa, you can unmute yourself and wait for the chair, please.
Hello.
Hi, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Yeah, my name is Dofis Geraldino Sosa.
I'm calling in reference.
Do me a favor.
Spell your name, please, for the court reporter.
Doffy's D like David, O F like Frank, I S, Geraldino, G E R A L D I N O Sosa, S O S A.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
What case, sir?
I'm on the 1830 West Erie Avenue.
yeah i'm it's gonna be very quick i just received yesterday night a notice from the zoning board
that my case will be continued okay so i know we're going to continue i i announced that case
is continued uh and yeah and my my thing is because they say it's going to be continued
i'm sorry i'm sorry i'm sorry the cheers said the case is continued please reach out to our
office for further information.
Thank you, Chair. You can continue.
Thank you. Is there any
other requests for continuances?
Chair, we have a Mr. or
Ms. Smith.
Mr. or Ms. Smith, you can
unmute yourself and wait for the chair, please.
Hi, could you state your name,
please, and spell for the court reporter?
Yes, good morning. It's
A. Luke Smith,
L-U-K-E
s-m-i-t-h right do you swear for him to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
i do and you you're case number two right correct right and 131 west walnut lane
correct and i apologize if i missed it i was just confirming that that um has been
that case is continued okay okay thank you thank you thank you any other requests for
continue. Chair, I see no hands at this time. Okay. Mr. Chair, I'm sorry to interrupt. This is
Ian Hegarty with the Commission. I wanted to note for the record and for the staff in regard to 610
to 40 High Street, this case is also scheduled for civic design review, which will need to be
completed prior to the board hearing this item um so if and they haven't yet initiated that process
for the city planning commission so just wanted to make a note for that um tanya we can coordinate
that thank you leon i appreciate that thank you that sounds great but chair if i could
since he already spoke just make sure that ian yeah thank you right you know he'll swear in next
time. Case number 11, MI 2021-004-665-5832 Old York Road. Lori Maislin is the attorney.
Can Ms. Maislin get on, please?
Ms. Maislin, if you're in the virtual audience, can you please raise your hand?
she's coming back in as a panelist here thank you
Ms. Baselin please state your name and spell for the court reporter
good morning mr bergman my name is laurie l-o-r-i j is my middle initial and then han h-a-h-n
and maslin m-a-s-l-i-n and to make it easier for you it's just maslin thank you um do you swear
for him to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth yes we are continuing your case
today we have to have it posted the proper way and the posting has to be up for 21 days
um here's uh my problem uh we uh i entered my appearance back on march 19th uh nothing was sent
um and uh nothing was sent to me my understanding is an email was sent on march 27th i believe
27th, I believe, to the applicant. He indicates, and I believe he is on, that he has never received
to the applicant.
anything. I called the offices, the administrative offices. I was told to post the letter in advance,
which I did, and I made sure it was posted. Unfortunately, the letter did not have
the specific instructions for signing on so so listen to me the letter was not what needed to
be posted the zoning poster had to go up it didn't go up it has to be up for 21 days we're
continuing the case okay this was um and and i apologize but this has been um this was posted
this was on an expedited can we get a short date my guys have been put off what we're going to do
is we will talk to our executive director
and you can call the office
and we'll see what we can do.
But we have to move on today
and your case is going to be continued.
This is Chai Chair.
This is Tanya.
We did discuss this via email.
Ms. Maslin, if you reach out to me,
I can assist to ensure
that you will get a timely
continuing state.
Thank you.
All right.
Thank you.
I appreciate your time
and uh have a great day all right thank you we're going to move to our add-on number one
mi 2021 mr chair this is hillary um uh attorney stern uh has his hand raised i believe he's trying
to request yeah i was waiting for him i didn't see him before okay thank you yes yeah he just
put it back up hi mr stern could you state your name and spell for the court reporter
mr stern please unmute yourself i'm sorry can you hear me now
we can can you hear me your name and spell for the floor reporter douglas stern
s-t-e-r-n attorney for applicant for 103 widener right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth
the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do so mi2022-001-087-103 widener street
you're requesting a continuance yes i am there's some issues i'm having with that
applicant okay all right thank you very much is it possible that i have another case listed
in october is it possible to put it on october 19th you'll have to call mr stern call the others
I'll call him. Thanks. That's all I need to know. Thank you.
All right.
Okay. Add on. MI 2022 004041 1820 West Venango Street.
I vote yes with provisos.
Maximum four units.
No balconies.
Interior trash storage.
one page of revised plans
which can be
stamped by the ZBA on July
13th, 2022.
Mr. Chair, am I voting
on this case? Yes.
Yes, everybody
can vote on this case.
Thanks, Hillary.
Carol Tenere, my vote is yes.
Thomas Holliman, my vote is yes.
With provisos.
With provisos.
I apologize.
James Snell, yes, we're provisos.
Ishmael Shaheed, yes, we're provisos.
Thank you.
Number four, MI 2022-003-645-2071 Auburn Street, Henry Clinton is the attorney.
letter of support from Somerset
Neighbors for Better Living
non-opposition from
Councilman Squilla
Chair, Mr. Clinton is coming back in
as a panelist now
Hi, this is Tanya
I might be a little confused, Chair
but were we going to do 7 first or no?
Let's do whatever
and I'll get to 7
i know but i'm just saying i mean i'm not fine
morning mr chairman members of the board
hi state your name and spell please mr clinton
you're henry clinton h-e-n-r-y clinton c-l-i-n-t-o-n
do you swear for him to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
i do all right we're going to incorporate the record and testimony from a prior hearing
hearing is going to be limited to the presentation of evidence and testimony
not offered at the prior hearing could you identify your client in the relationship to
the property sure my client is mark and request h-e-n-r-i-q-u-e-z
and request h-e-n-r-i-q-u-e-z mark m-a-r-c and he is on the call all right our vice chair has a
few questions mr clinton 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?
Yes, to all of the above.
Okay, great.
You may proceed and begin sharing your screen.
Is that visible?
It is.
All right.
Good morning, Mr. Chairman, members of the board.
Henry Clinton for Mark Enriquez.
And as the chairman indicated, there was a prior hearing.
I did not participate in that hearing.
that was March 30th, at which time I believe my client had technical difficulties and could not,
according to what he told me, present fully what he wanted to to the board. I don't want to be
redundant with what happened in the past, but I would like to go through briefly through this
presentation if that's okay with the chairman. That's fine. Just try to avoid much with the
pass, Henry. I will. The issue really is simple. This is an RSA 5 zoning district, and the request
is for a duplex on this block. What I don't think was presented the last time was the fact that he
had a letter of support from the Somerset Neighbors for Better Living, which is attached
to my packet, and that was issued February 16th of 2022, and also he had a letter of support from
the councilman. The other thing that I don't think was brought up to the board was photographs of
the block. There's only about eight to ten houses on this block. In fact, my applicant's mother
lives on the block, and she's the block captain. And since there's so many empty lots on the street,
I think the feeling of the community was, let's see if we can get a little development going,
perhaps with a duplex as a start, and this may generate other interest on the block.
And if other applications come before Somerset, and they want to limit it to single-family,
family, which is this area zone, then that would be their opportunity to do that at that
But right now, as you can see from the photographs, there are very, very few houses on this block
of a residential nature.
So there are two issues that were not presented to the board before, and it's also been a
long vacant lot according to my client who can adopt my testimony of approximately 10
years or so.
So with the fact that the community group supports it, my client had technical difficulties. There's many, many vacant lots on the property. A duplex, which would be a two-family dwelling, would be more accommodating to the block at this time.
And at later times or later hearings, I can understand where the community group may decide to stop the progression of duplexes. But in this instance, we believe it's warranted.
So, and sorry about this confusion with back and forth on the presentation packet.
So, basically, Mr. Chairman, in conclusion, the request is in harmony with what the neighborhood wants.
It's in harmony with the code in general because it's going to provide residential to a residential block.
The block is long-blooded in the sense there's no development on the block.
this property will be a two-family dwelling and hopefully we can get some more foot traffic
and individuals on the street and with that I would rest and ask if my client could adopt my
testimony and see if there's any questions from the board or from the chairman
I could you state your name please and spell for the court reporter
mr clinton what is your client's name mark henriquez h-e-n-r-i-q-u-e-z
mr henriquez can you unmute yourself and wait for the chair please
hi could you state your name please and spell yes state your name and spell for the court reporter
Hey, my name is Mark Henriquez. It's M-A-R-C-H-E-N-R-I-Q-U-E-Z.
Right. Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Thank you.
Mark, you heard my testimony during this presentation?
And did we bring to light some additional facts that you weren't able to bring forward when you presented in March 30th of this year to the DBA?
of this year to the DBA? Yes, and the reason they denied me is that you can't do a multi-family
Yes, and the reason they deny me is that you
in an RSA 5 neighborhood, but they allowed two multi-families that's three blocks away from you.
Right, but today's hearing is really limited to additional information that wasn't presented the
first time around. Yes. Was my testimony correct that there were only about eight to ten houses
on this block in the entirety? Yes, correct. And is it also correct that this lot has been
vacant for at least 10 years maybe about 20 okay is it also true that the neighborhood group was
looking to spur some development on this block with the approval of a two-family dwelling yes
i have nothing further and mr arriquez if you had the opportunity to testify would you adopt your
my testimony as your own and as true and correct true thank you mr riquez thank you mr chairman
with that i rise hi thank you questions from the board no mr chairman no mr chairman
questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no answer this time chair planning commission morning chair bergman
ian hegarty for the philadelphia city planning commission all right do you swear affirm to tell
the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes sir i do proceed thank you sir good
morning board members the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the residential single
family zoning on this block in both the initial hearing on march 30th and in this hearing the
applicant has failed to support their hardship claim with evidence of unique physical conditions
of this 885 square foot lot that would prevent it from being used in conformance with the zoning
code. Letters of support are not conditions of approval for zoning variances, nor are the
presence of empty lots. We need evidence that the lot cannot be developed as a single family dwelling
because of some unique physical condition. City Planning Commission therefore recommends that the
board affirm its prior denial of this use variance. MI-2022-003-645-2071,
Auburn Street, I vote no. Thomas Holloman, my vote is no.
James Snell, my vote is no. Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is no.
Thank you, Henry. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
number seven we're going to go out of order here mi 2022-001-090-241476 avenue
jasmine schlay is the owner pro se um letter of support from the 50th ward executive committee
Hillary Emerson will recuse herself for this case, and Drew Aldinger will be our attorney.
Good morning, Mr. Chair. This is Jason, and I will be temporarily serving as the co-host.
Good. Jasmine Shillet, please.
Okay, sir. Ms. Shalai has been promoted to panelists to be rejoined shortly.
Hi, can anyone hear me? Good morning. Good morning. Could you state your name
and spell it for the court reporter, please? Good morning. My name is Jasmine, J-A-S-M-I-N-E,
schley s c h l e y do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
yes i do okay um uh our our board secretary just has a few questions for you ishmael sounds good to
me. Did I lose you? No, no, you're here. Ishmael? Yeah, hold on, I'm just pulling everything out.
Okay, thank you.
Hi, Hillary.
hi chair this is tanya ishmael if you're having technical issues time might be available
yes i will do it go ahead thank you did you email all of the exhibits and documents as required
such as proof of ownership tax clearance copy of the refusal or referral pictures or drawings of
property five days in advance of this hearing and did you meet with the RCO and do you have a letter?
Yes and yes.
Yes and yes. Please proceed and share your screen.
Please proceed and share your screen.
Okay, let's share.
All right.
I think I hit share.
Can everyone see?
we can okay so i bought the property and i'm looking to turn it into a legal duplex
when i bought it the utilities were already split it already had separate entrances it already had
people living on both floors and i believe there might be a couple other duplexes at the ends of
the blocks they might not be legal um but i do believe there are a couple others um i met with
RCO. I have the letter that they are in support. The property has a large basement, and that's
just something that I plan to use for personal storage. I can go through the pictures or answer
any specific questions. I don't know. Let me just run through a couple of your photos first.
Sure. So this is the front of the property. It faces 76th Avenue. The intersection is 76th and
Ogontz. It's right at the end of the kind of row of houses. Like I said, when I bought it,
it already had these two separate entrances that you can see right here. This one on the left is
the first floor. This one on the right goes up to the second floor. Don't know how long it was
being used like that as a duplex, but that's how it was when I purchased it.
So this is the back of the property. A little dusty, but I try to keep things nice.
We have the inside of the property. This is the first floor. The first floor has
two bedrooms. This is just when you first come in. Nothing fancy going on.
Still on the first floor, we have the kitchen here. This is the second floor of the property.
have the kitchen here we're looking at one of the bedrooms uh if i scroll down this is
the bathroom on the second floor one of the bathrooms uh
and actually no that was the first floor sorry this this is the first floor bathroom excuse
me but these are the second these other pictures are the second floor um this is all second floor
These are the bedrooms. This is one of the bathrooms. There's one bathroom and a half bath.
Still on the second floor, this is the second bathroom. It's like a half bath kitchen, the other
bedroom up there. And this is the basement. Like I said, it's a large basement.
it. I just intend to use it for storage.
Questions from the board? No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman. Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Sir, I see a Mr. Dillon Mahoney with his hand raised. I have allowed him to speak.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Hi. Good morning. Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, Dylan?
Dylan Mahoney, D-I-L-L-O-N, last name M-A-H-O-N-E-Y, from the Office of Councilwoman Parker.
Hi. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, sir.
Proceed.
Again, from the Office of Councilwoman Parker, we have received the letter of support from the 50th Ward Zoning Committee, and the office is also in support of the variants. Thank you.
thank thank you very much any other comments from the virtual audience
sir i do not see any more planning commission thank you chair bergman ian hegarty for the
philadelphia city planning commission members of the board of the comprehensive plan recommends no
change to the existing rsa 5 single family zoning on this block however the applicants demonstrated
that the proposed use is consistent with the existing physical configuration of the building
City Planning Commission recommends that the board grant this variance thank you MI 2020
city planning commission recommends that the board grant this variance thank you
mi2022-001-090-241476 avenue i vote yes thomas halliman my vote is yes
james snell my vote is yes ishmael shaheed my vote is yes
thank you all right that was easy have a great day everyone oh thank you
Thanks. Number five, MI 2020, 002-336-2222 North Front Street. Letter of support from NARA Square Alliance.
I'm ready, Chair.
Okay, thank you, Ish.
Mr. Mulvihill?
Mr. Chair, Mr. Mulvihill put a note in the chat and asked if his cases could be pushed to the back of the list because he has to be in court until about 1030.
So we can move on.
All right, thank you. That's fine.
Yeah. So we can move on to number 10.
Number 10, MI 2022, 001-066-4731 Walnut Street.
Robert Greenbaum is the attorney.
Walnut Hill Community Association has a letter of support.
mr greenbaum good morning mr greenbaum if you're in the virtual audience please raise
your virtual hand so that you may be um promoted and sworn in
mr greenbaum will be rejoining as a panel sir thank you
i'm mr greenbaum could you state your name and spell for the court reporter please
yes good morning mr chair my name is robert greenbaum i am counsel for the property owner
of 4731 walnut right do you swear a firm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the
truth? I do. Could you identify your client, please? Yes. My client is Justin Green, and also
on the call is the architect, Michael Cole. Thank you. Our board secretary has a few questions.
Thank you. Do you agree the way the reading of the refugers instimulate to its accuracy?
Did you email all the exhibits and documents that are required, such as proof of ownership,
tax clearance, a copy of the refusal or referral, pictures of drawings of the property and submitted
the documents within five days in advance of this hearing, and did you meet with the
RCO, and do you have a letter?
Yes to all of these.
Please proceed and share your screen.
you should hopefully be able to see my packet. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'll proceed as quickly
as I can, so I may just rapidly go through some of the exhibits of the refusal, asserted four
reasons for the refusal for which we are seeking variances. The first issue is that this is an RSA
a three-zone. We are seeking a three-family dwelling, which is not permitted in that
zone. The next denial related to the size of the side yard. The requirement is eight
feet. We are proposing a slightly larger side yard than the existing, but still non-compliant.
it's non-compliant because the property's physical characteristics
are such that the wider side yard is not possible
the next basis for denial was the size of the rear yard we're proposing a 16 foot rear yard
rather than a 20 foot rear yard the current rear yard is two and a half feet or slightly under two
and a half feet. As you will see from the presentation, the front yard is 20 feet rather
than the required eight feet. That is to keep the building in line with the existing properties
on the block, particularly the other half of the twin. This is a twin property.
particularly the other half of the twin this is a twin property the other twin has already
received a variance from the board permitting three family dwelling then the final variance
that we are requesting relates to the fact there is no parking provided in the property
although the zoning requires a spot for each unit, excuse me.
Then my next exhibit is simply the application.
This is the deed for the property owned by Ja'el Property Group, LLC.
Mr. Green is the principal member of the LLC or the managing member.
this is the zoning map i would just like to point out the property in question here
is this portion here and it's sort of grayed out the adjoining property to the right
is a merged two property parcel that received a variance from the board for essentially two
three family dwellings and you'll see photos of this later on. The property owned by my client
is as I mentioned the other half of the twin that is at 4729 Walmart. As you will also see
much of the neighborhood is a denser zoning than this portion of the block. In this portion of the
block is a very large rental building and you'll see photos of that later on in my presentation
this portion directly across walnut street is the former west philadelphia high school
which is also now multi-family with hundreds of units in the property
Sorry, I have to shrink the size of this so you can see the drawing. Hopefully you'll still be
able to read it. This is the plan for the property and it shows up here the areas where we're seeking
a variance of particular importance is to note that the zoning code requires a width of a lot
of 25 feet. This lot is just slightly over 21 feet, so the missing four feet turns out to be
quite significant, particularly for the side yard. We will be expanding the side yard from a current
two feet to three and a half feet to create as much distance as possible but given the narrow
size of this lot the physical characteristics make it impossible to add that additional four feet.
I will note also that of course the other half of the twin there is no side yard by definition
But significantly, there is no side yard for the properties from 4727 and 4729, which are the immediately adjacent properties that received a variance from the board.
um this next page just simply shows the layout for the property um starting at ground level
is what is labeled as a basement although it is walkout level in the back as you will see
there's a door here from the bedroom for access to the rear of the property
I don't know if I mentioned the rear yard is also needing a variance it's proposed to be 16 feet
rather than the required 20 feet the neighborhood actually has either no rear yards or rear yards
similar to what the existing condition is which is slightly under two and a half feet
So we're increasing it quite significantly. The unit on the ground floor is a two-bedroom
unit with windows and, as I said, rear access at ground level. The first floor has access from
the front as does obviously the ground floor unit also has access from the front of the building
access from the front of the building through a stairway. This is a stair tower here that provides
through a stairway. This is
access up and down, so it provides access to the ground floor unit as well as access
to the unit on the second and third floor of the building. This first floor unit actually is
by level one bedroom is on this level and the second bedroom for the unit is up on the second
floor of the property which is accessed by a stairway at the an internal stairway obviously
at the rear of the property the final unit is also a bi-level unit accessed through this stairway here
The first bedroom is located at the back of the second floor, and then there are three
additional bedrooms on the third floor.
These are pictures of the existing property.
You will notice this is the new construction three-family building next door.
This is the building that we proposed to replace.
That is the posting of the zoning posters.
Now increase the size again because we're on to.
So this is a view across the street from the I'm sorry, this is a view of from across the street of the property in question.
4731 Walnut, showing the new construction of the two three-family dwellings and the
Verona Plaza apartment building just a few doors down. This photo is now standing in front of the
property in question, looking across Walnut at what was West Philadelphia High School,
And again, this has been converted into a residential multifamily with hundreds of units.
This is another shot of the property in question with better visibility for the recently constructed three-family building here and three-family building next door as well.
just a slightly different angle showing uh the property the subject property as well as the two
adjoining properties i'm just rolling through these quickly this is a picture of an apartment
building on the 100 block of south 48th street this is a half a block away from
the property in question. This is another view of the apartment. This is the alley that runs
parallel to Walnut Street and the subject property is down this alleyway a little bit. But the point
of this photo is to show that these properties have essentially either no rear yard or very
minimal rear yards. This is simply the letter announcing the RCO meeting and the proof of
mailing. Sorry to go through it so quickly, but it's a technical matter. This is the tax
certificate. And this is the letter of support from the Walnut Hill Community Association.
I would just like to emphasize that the physical characteristics of this property are what
have dictated the design of the building, in particular the 20-foot setback in the front,
the narrow space of the width of the property impacting the size of the side yard, and the
general problem of having a large enough rear yard in order to comply with with zoning is
the consequence of creating the 20-foot front yard which aligns the front of
the project with the front of all of the adjoining buildings on on the rest of the block.
um and so it's both a physical and economic necessity to uh move forward with the plan as
proposed uh mr chairman i would ask that my client uh be permitted to adopt my testimony
absolutely his name is is uh justin green okay mr green please unmute yourself and wait for
Mr. Green, please unmute yourself and wait for the chair.
for the chair.
Hi, Michelle.
Hi, Mr. Green, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter?
Sure. Justin Green, J-U-S-T-I-N-G-R-E-E-N. Green.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Go ahead, Mr. Greenbaum.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Green, you've heard my testimony before the board this morning.
um do you adopt what i stated as true accurate and correct and as your testimony if you were
given the opportunity to testify before the board yes i do thank you thank you thank you
questions from the board no mr chairman no no mr jim questions or comments from the virtual audience
chair we have jihad ali mr ali you can unmute yourself and wait for the chair please
uh good morning uh good morning mr ali did could you state your name and spell for the
court reporter please sure my name is jihad ali j-i-h-a-d-a-l-i um this um i'm a member of the
wait wait one minute jihad wait a minute do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth
I'm sorry, Mr. Ali and Cheer. This is Tanya. May you re-spell your name slowly, please?
Sure. It's J-I-H-A-D-A-L-I.
Thank you kindly. You can proceed.
Hello, Mr. Chairman and members of the board.
Counselor, I don't know if you recall, I was attending that meeting that night.
um and also there was several neighbors there that were at that meeting that night
do you recall that i do um and i know that the only issue that we had was uh the adjoining house
i believe that was one of the neighbors that had a position because there's an arch in the
on the adjoining house and we asked how was that going to be uh resolved because that was a that
was a masonry Roman arch that goes across the front of the house to the adjoining house.
And at that meeting that night that I was present, I recall there were several people
in opposition to that. So I'm with, if Walnut Hill has issued that letter of support, and
I stand with the community, but I just wanted to put on the record that there was some concerns
and there was some concerns about that Roman arch. Thank you. Thank you, Jahad. Any other
comments from the virtual audience i see no hands at this time chair planning commission
thank you chair bergman ian hegarty for the philadelphia city planning commission
board members the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing rsa3
zoning at this location however we agree that the adjacent non-conforming multi-family uses
and the site's location along walnut street make single-family redevelopment impractical city
planning commission recommends that the board grant all the variances thank you mi 2022 001 066
4731 walnut street i vote yes thomas halliman my vote is yes
james snell my vote is yes ishmael shaheed my vote is yes
thank you thank you mr greenbaum thank you very much panel i appreciate all of your attention
thank you yes you can thank you very much thank you number 14 mi 2022 002 824 6523
43 to 43 lansdale avenue neil sklaroff is the attorney
um letter of non-opposition from the neighbors of the overbrook association
chair mr sklaroff is coming back in as a panelist now
good morning mr sklaroff could you state your name and spell for the court reporter please
Mr. Sklaroff
my apologies
that's okay
Neil, state your name and spell for the court reporter, please.
Neil Sklaroff, N-E-I-L-S-K-L-A-R-O-F-F.
Right.
All right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do, Mr. Chairman.
Yes, I do.
Mr. Sclair, for the record, could you identify your client?
School District of Philadelphia.
Okay. And our vice chair, our secretary, board secretary, has a few questions.
Do you agree to weigh the reading of the refusal and stability to its accuracy?
Yes, I do.
did you email all the exhibits and documents as required such as the proof of ownership
tax clearance copy of refusal or referral pictures or drawings of the property within
five days of this hearing did you meet with the rco you have a letter yes we do
please proceed and share your screen
Good morning again, Mr. Chairman, members of the board.
Can you see my screen?
Has that successfully?
We can, Neil.
All right.
With me today from the architect Ewan Cole are Conrad Itali and Angela Rocchi, the project architects.
And we also have from the director of capital improvements at the school district, Nicole Ward.
In accordance with Section 14.303.14F, I will make the presentation, and if there's no objection from any party, I ask that my statements be made, the statements of the client, and are suitable for findings of fact.
um we're here on uh 65 2343 lansdowne avenue which has been for more than 100 years the site
of the lewis c cassidy elementary school that building has been removed and we are asking for
some dimensional variances and some use variances having to do with parking uh in order to construct
this rather unique new building. We have a list of exhibits. We have our certificate of tax
clearance as well as the deed to the property which I will race through. The property was
acquired by the school district in 1910. A copy of our zoning notice that was posted at the property
as well as a key plan for the photographs you're about to see which is not only the posting
but the surrounding neighborhood. As most urban districts have done, elementary schools were
placed in the middle of residential districts. You'll see the residences are mostly two-story
attached homes in the community. They were placed in the middle of residential
communities so that students could walk to school.
You'll see it's a very nice neighborhood, well kept.
This is a photograph of the school that was removed, built in the teens of the last century.
Some additional photographs of the building.
It became obsolete due to asbestos and configuration of the rooms and lack of facilities, and so it has been removed.
It's a copy of what was our initial application through Eclipse.
This has been added to our exhibits at the request of your solicitor.
This is a site plan showing the configuration of the new school, as well as playground areas, outdoor cafeteria areas, substantial plantings, as well as faculty parking lot.
This is the site plan that was submitted with the application. It's a little difficult to read.
And here are the elevations, and we'll show you some renderings of those elevations in a moment.
This is the floor plan of the building. To the right here is Lansdowne Avenue.
to the rear is Haddington Street. Above would be Atwood Street and below Kenwood Street.
There are basically two sections to the school. The section that appears at the top here is the
academic classroom area. Again, this is a pre-K through eight school. And these are all the
And these are all the classrooms, and there are two stories for that.
classrooms and there are two stories.
This is the assembly program wing at the bottom, which has a gymnasium, which also serves as an auditorium, as well as the cafeteria and cafeteria preparation areas.
Our next exhibit is a rendering.
This is a rendering of the front of the building.
To the right, we have those assembly areas, and to the left, you'll see the classroom areas.
This is at one of the corners that wouldn't have windows because it has the assembly areas.
The motif of the mascot of the school is a pride of lions, and you'll see here in Boston
the brick is an interesting rendition of a pride of lions. This is the showing from the playground
area. The playground equipment is all natural materials, wood and the like. Some of the
playground is man-made materials so that it's soft. What we're looking at is the side of the
classroom. You'll see there's some color added to make some interesting parts. This is where
the students would enter the building. This is I believe this is the Atwood side
showing an interesting rather than blank set of windows.
This is a copy of our Notice of Refusal and Referral. I'll go through them briefly,
starting with the second one down. This is, as I said, an RSA zoning district. However,
the school that was here was here for 100 years, and we believe that one, we qualify
for a special exception if a new one were required. But having been a school and there
had been no abandonment of that, we were entitled to a pass on this as a non-conforming pre-existing
lawful use. One of the first one listed here has to do with the size of the fences.
our fences are six foot in height the state type fencing and for security reasons they
must be six feet in height the third listed refusal has to do with the height of the building
as a residential district as you know the maximum height is 38 feet and we have proposed 45 feet
However, the original building was 55 feet in height, and so this is actually bringing it more into conformity than it has been.
With regard to parking, technically 83 off-street parking spaces would be required, but the school district has determined that 33 spaces are sufficient for staff, and therefore we're not going to provide any more.
There's no reason for more macadam than is necessary.
In addition, the code requires two electric vehicle parking spaces, and the district has chosen not to provide those.
Lastly, eight bicycle spaces are required.
While there are none on the plans, there will be a handsome number more than those provided when the building is built.
So we filed our application for appeal along with our PIF.
We sent notice to the RCOs that included our refusal.
Then we sent notice when the neighbors of this area were chosen as the RCO.
we sent a letter to the neighbors as required. We have a letter of non-opposition from the
Neighbors of Overbook Association 19151 and we also attached for your interest the comments from
the CDR committee staff which we think are very positive of the design here and of the
functionality of the building. We have completed the CDR process and I imagine a letter will be forthcoming.
process and I imagine a letter will be forthcoming. Mr. Chairman that concludes my presentation.
We ask that we be granted the variances and the special exception
as outlined in the notice of refusal and we're prepared to answer any questions.
uh questions from the board no mr chairman no no no questions or comments from the virtual audience
chair i see no hands at this time planning commission thank you chair bergman members
of the board ian hegarty for the philadelphia city planning commission the comprehensive plan
recommends no change to the existing zoning on the site however um as council has demonstrated
the proposed use and dimensions are consistent with the long-standing use of this property as
an educational facility in this community city planning commission recommends that the board
grant these variances thank you mi 2022 002 824 65 23 to 43 lansdale avenue i vote yes
Thomas Tollman, my vote is yes
James Snell, my vote is yes
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes
Thank you, Mr. Sklaroff
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the board
Have a great rest of your day
Thank you
Number 15, MI 2022-003-158-89 Bethlehem Pike
Henry Clinton is the attorney
letter of support from the Chestnut Hill Community Association.
Good morning, Mr. Klemens. You've already been sworn. Could you identify your client
and the relationship to the property? Sure. I have two clients, husband and wife,
Amanda and Arthur DeBruc, that's D-E capital B-R-U-C, and Amanda is on the call with me.
okay um our our board secretary has a few questions
yes do you agree to weigh the refusal to stimulate to its accuracy i do did you email the exhibits
and documents required such as proof of insurance approval ownership tax clearance copy of
refusal or referral pictures and drawings of the property within five days of this hearing
did you meet with rco and you have your letter yes to all the above please proceed please proceed
Good morning, Mr. Chairman, members of the board, Henry Clinton, on behalf of an LLC,
Maison Bouc, owned by Arthur and Amanda de Bruc, and Amanda, as I indicated, is on the
call. This concerns the installation of a freezer at the rear of the building that they
intend to lease for an authentic French cafe. Mr. Mrs. DeBrooke moved here to the States about 10
years ago. They had a successful authentic French cafe in Georgia and they want to replicate and
duplicate that model here in Philadelphia. This is my presentation package containing exhibits AA
through A12. I'll walk through each document. Certainly the key document here is the refusal.
We really only have one issue.
We don't have any issues with regard to use or zoning.
We have one dimensional issue indicating that the minimum rear yard depth is nine feet and it's proposed three feet.
It's really a bit of a misnomer here.
We still have a nine foot rear yard, but as I will show you with photographs, because the size of the freezer is six feet by six feet in dimension,
Obviously, the L&I examiner looked at the length that the box is protruding from the
rear of the property, and since there's only three feet remaining between the end of the
box and the fence line or the property line, it resulted in the refusal.
But as you will see from the photographs, the box, the freezer box does not take up the
entirety of the rear yard.
As you mentioned, Mr. Chairman, Chestnut Hill Community Association did vet this project
in three different public meetings, and they have a letter of support in the package.
We also have letters of support from 11 individual property owners, which are the majority of
the individuals who surround this property, as well as a letter from a large property
as well as a letter from a large property owner in the neighborhood Berman properties who own
the owner in the neighborhood.
10 properties near near this site as well as 12 buildings near the site so I'm not going to go
through each letter but they are all attached and then I'll go move on to the photographs
the top left you'll see a photograph an aerial photograph the yellow area is the outline of the
parcel itself you can see within that is situated uh the proposed cafe the front of the building
is to the right the side of the building is the next photograph where my cursor is and then the
key photograph is right here where my cursor is now located the rear of the building uh this is
the delivery door and an employee access and the the freezer will be basically where uh the window
opening is right now or jealousy window in this location that's what it looks like now where my
cursor is and the proposal is the walk-in cooler location will be right here so you can still see
that there is distance between the edge of the cooler and the fence as well as to the side of
the building and to the other side so it's not taking up the entire dimension of the neighborhood
of the yard. One thing I neglected to mention is
one of the provisors that Chesson Hill
Civic Association requested is that the applicant, Amanda
and her husband, Arthur, make their best effort to find a cooler unit with a
detached compressor. And if this is not available, that a baffle
should be installed on the unit so that the noise level is acceptable
to new neighbors. And my clients are certainly willing to do that. They hired
an acoustical engineer who looked at the sound levels and the frequency of operation.
He basically determined that the operation of the core is about the same noise level
as a typical HVA unit to serve this property.
So what follows is the letters of support from the majority of the near neighbors,
more than the majority, frankly.
that's the letter from bowman properties the majority landowner
in these letters of support this is our notice to the community and again just some photographs
to give you some perspective on bethlehem pike as well as the other surrounding properties
and again the unit will be installed to the rear of the building
and this would be the key photograph again here the rear of the building this is the employee
entrance the delivery entrance and where the glass blocks are I said jealousy but glass block
this will be covered over and the unit will between be between the HVAC unit
AND THE DOOR APPROXIMATELY SIX WIDE BY SIX DEEP.
SOME INTERIOR PHOTOGRAPHS TO SHOW YOU THAT THE PROPERTY IS UNDER RENOVATION AND HOPEFULLY
THE BOARD WILL LOOK KINDLY UPON THE APPLICATION AND THEY GOT AGAIN ONE ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPH
THAT YOU JUST GIVE THE BOARD SOME PERSPECTIVE ON HOW THE FREEZER WILL BE SITUATED THERE WILL
BE A DOOR HERE SO IF YOU COME OUT THE REAR DOOR YOU'LL EASILY BE ABLE TO ACCESS THE FREEZER
box which is a necessity for them my clients to move forward with their cafe i want to show the
board the plans this is the site plan bethlehem pike cafe entrance is here on the side of the
building and then again the walk-in box will be in the rear of the building the majority of the yard
is certainly still available and there's a walkway here opening on about three feet to access the
HVAC unit and any other necessities on the other side of the freezer box
again some dimensionals on the rear of the property so you can see that we do have space
ample space to walk behind the unit to get to the 10-foot area on the other side
and just to show the board this is the interior rendering of what the cafe will look like and
And again, we did not get any refusals for use or for occupancy or anything of those
The rest of the documents are the typical documents you would see in a presentation.
Tax clearance, the application for appeal.
We also have a copy of the relevant pages of the lease, our project information form,
the zoning map indicating that it is in the CMX2 district.
Here's a lease indicating that my clients are ready, willing, and able to move forward
with that cafe uh if the board again looks kindly upon this application uh the hours of operation
are 8 a.m to 7 p.m we have ample storage in the back for trash um and
we have ample storage in the back for trash um and we do need this cooler so we can get our
permits in place and move forward with the cafe so mr clinton do you want to have your testimony
adopted sure uh mr brooke can you uh unmute yourself and i'll ask you a few questions
mr brooke can you please unmute yourself and wait for the chair
hi could you state your name and spell for the court reporter please
sure my name is amanda de brook and it's spelled a-m-a-n-d-a-d-e-b-r-u-c
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
yes i do proceed mr clinton thank you mr chairman mr brook were you with a call when i presented
your project yes and if you had the opportunity to testify would you adopt my testimony
testimony as your own and as true and correct? Yes, I would. Thank you very much. Questions from
the board? No, Mr. Chairman. No, Mr. Chairman. No, Mr. Chairman. Thank you. Questions or comments
from the virtual audience? Mr. Richardson, please unmute yourself and wait for the chair.
Morning, Mr. Chair. Good morning, Mr. Richardson. Could you state your name and spell for the court
reporter yes sir charles richardson from the office of councilwoman cindy bass richardson r-i-c-h-a-r-d-s-o-n
room 312 city hall do you do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but
the truth i do proceed councilwoman has no opposition to granting the variance
thank you very much any other comments from the virtual audience
planning commission no other hands at this time planning commission thank you chair bergman ian
hegarty for the philadelphia city planning commission the comprehensive plan recommends
no change to the existing cmx2 zoning at this location the proposed accessory structure supports
the primary use and uh we believe it has been designed to minimize impacts on adjoining
properties so the city planning commission recommends that the board grant this variance
Thank you. MI-2022-00315E, 89 Bethlehem Pike, I vote yes.
Thomas Holliman, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Thank you, Mr. Clinton.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Have a great day, everyone.
Okay. Number five, MI2020-002-336-2222 North Front Street. Leo Mulvihill is the attorney.
And a letter of support from NARS Square Community Alliance.
Chair, Mr. Mulvihill is coming back in as a panelist now.
okay good morning chairman members of the board hi mr mobile state your name is spelled for the
court reporter please certainly it's leo l-e-o last name mulvihill m as in michael u-l v as in
victor i h-i-l-l right right do you swear a firm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the
truth i do uh so mr mulvihill before we start um you're you and you have another case which is
mi2022-001-061 2322 north district mr mobile hill we're going to continue that case
oh what's the reasoning for that one well i i we did not get the documents until yesterday
i see my apologies for that that's not a formidable so we'll continue that you'll
be in touch so let's let's go back to this case that you have here on 2220 north front
all right so members of the board i'm here today on behalf of the applicant 20 could you identify
who the applicant is oh of course so the applicant in this case is 2319 amber street llc
principal of that mr chair i'll get you and our vice our our board secretary has a few questions
Go ahead, Ish.
So do you agree to waive the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Did you email all the exhibits and documents as required, proof of ownership, tax clearance,
copy of refusal and referral, or referral, pictures and drawings of the property for
the five days of this hearing, and did you meet with RCO and you have your letter?
Yes please proceed great thank you so members of the board I should be showing my screen
great thank you so members of the board i should be showing my screen i'm here today on behalf of
I'm here today on behalf of two three
2319 amber street llc for the property at 22 22 to 24 north front street in my table of contents
which i have on the screen now i have our original application refusal on appeal at page one our
petition for leave to amend as we changed our application at page seven letter granting leave
from the board at 8, a revised refusal at 9, area zoning maps at 10, deed at 13, commercial activity
at 21, tax clearance at 22, notification at 24, letter of support from the RCO at 27, photos of
the property at 29, plans at 41. So members of the board, we had originally, as you see, this is a
rather old application under the Hanson system back in 2020. We had originally submitted an
application and i'll go to the prior refusal as you can see it was received march 11 2020
we have received we had received the refusal because we initially put in an application
for this property which is zone cmx 2.5 at the time we were seeking to have 10 dwelling units
at this location after meeting preliminarily with the community group which in this case
was not square. They made the specific request that we actually make this project denser to make
it more affordable for folks who may be living in the neighborhood. So then what we did is submitted
an amended application. Again, here's that letter. And we can see also the letter dated May 10, 2021,
granting us leave to amend the application, at which point we received the attached refusal here
that I'm now showing on our screen, dated 10, 19, 21. By this point, this property had been
down zone from cmx 2.5 to cmx 2 but our application with respect to the dimensional variances is
exactly the same as before we are simply seeking to have additional units for a total of 14 units
altogether as requested by this community group north square civic association so looking to the
right we can see our property indicated in blue it's actually a double wide lot so it's this and
lot directly to the north or located right there on Front Street, just north of Susquehanna.
Here's the overhead view. So we can see just zooming in on that. We're right by York Dolphin
Station to the north. We have Burke Station to the south. So relatively close to the number of
public transit options. This is our deed.
My client's commercial activity license and tax clearance.
Our notification letter. Proof of mailing. This is the letter of support. It is dated March 16th, 22. There was a total of 13 eligible residents to vote. And overall, we did receive a letter of support.
if you go back into this letter itself what we can do is take a look and we can actually see
the history of this project as explained by the rco we did initially bring this out with fewer
units we came back with a revised plan at a significant expense and time because we wanted
to be amenable to what the neighbors were requesting which was specifically more affordable
smaller units in new construction so here we have photographs of the property again it's currently
a vacant lot directly behind us is new construction single-family homes but our lot does not go all
the way through that's looking northbound on front street
that's directly across front street
and now this is looking southbound on front street
we can see the new construction multifamily going down front street there's been a lot of infill in
the time since we initially set this application but there is a significant number of multifamily
projects now on the block this is upside down so I'm going to fix that I'm going to try to at least
now well members of the board it appears there's some sort of issue with the floor plans here so
allow me to reopen those in a different folder so that we can actually see what we're taking a look
at rather than what we have here which looks like a bunch of gobbledygook
all right just one moment members of the board as I stop my share and then change my share
all right so members of the board you should now see the floor plans for the property
and more or less what we're looking to do is have the second and fourth floors before studio units
we're seeking to have either refuse or common,
pardon me both refuse and common area washing and dryers in the basement there's commercial
pardon me, both refuse and common area
washing and dryers.
space on the ground floor along with that refuse and potentially where we may be putting our
washers and dryers in the basement we have storage this may also be a place that we put refuse and or
the washer dryer we haven't really figured that out yet elevator space and then bike storage the
front along with building storage in the middle for the tenants we can see the layouts of the
second and fourth floors here. And then on floors three, five, and six, we have a mix
of units. Units one and three in the building will have one bath. Units two and four in the
building are going to have two baths. Pardon me, two beds, two baths. Altogether, each
floor is about 1850 to 1900 square feet. And I will show you a rendering as well, but one moment
as I must change my screen share. And members of the board, this is what we're looking at along
the property for 2222 to 24 north front. We're with, we are a little bit taller than what's
allowed in CMX2. We would be allowed to go to this height in CMX2.5, which is where we originally
were when we first submitted this application. So I suggest the zoning
chain underneath of us going through this zoning application present itself to
be a hardship and ought not be taken against my client. So we're gonna have
little balconies in the front to allow for outdoor space. Roof is for
mechanicals only and the rear yard is open for the use of the commercial
tenant on the ground floor. Finally I'll just get to our actual zoning submission.
so this is the property members of the board we're going to look to do some sort of a cast stone
brick and metal paneling on the front the rear is going to be either hardy board or vinyl same thing
with the sides this is the existing one-story building that's directly to the north of us
and if you take a look here members of the board we can see this is our backyard
which is just going to be more or less for trash storage for the commercial tenant
this is our pilot house elevator and pilot house for roof access only we need to have the two
pilot houses to minimum steps for egress. And that's essentially it, members of the board.
There's been a lot of development going up and down Front Street and Kensington Avenue recently.
My client hopes only to add to this. We have a hardship in developing this project by right,
especially considering the zoning was changed directly under us, and we have the full support
of the community. So I'd ask the members of the board here to vote in support of this project.
Mr. Melvihill, is your client here to adopt your testimony?
He may be, Boris, or if you're available on the line, would you please raise your hand and unmute yourself?
Mr. Schottler, can you please unmute yourself and wait for the chair?
Hi, could you state your name and spell it for the court reporter, please?
Yes, hello. My name is Boris Stoller, spelled B-O-R-I-S, last name Stoller, S-H-T-O-L-E-R.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
I'll proceed Mr. Mulvihill. Mr. Schuller you've heard my testimony with respect to this project today. I did. I know it's been going on for a long time but is everything that I've said been true and accurate to the best of your knowledge? Yes. Do you have anything you'd like to add at this point? No. Questions from the board.
testimony as your own mr scholler no uh yes um mr gentleman uh counseling yes you have four
zoning refusals what is the hardship for all four zoning refusal so members of the board i'll go
back to my presentation packet there we go share
one moment members of the board just trying to get back to my packet here there we are
and can everybody see my screen we can okay so initially and mr halliman i want to go back to
our original refusal since that's kind of where this started way back in march of 2020. so when
One-year zone CMX 2.5, we were allowed seven units.
We went for 10, and the community group asked us to put more in there because simply they're
not able to afford the new construction that's going up, two, three-bedroom condos all in
the area.
Maximum occupied lot allowed 75 for post 89.
We just have a small rear yard for the commercial space, and the reason we're asking for that
variance is just with respect to the overall lot depth and making habitable units that are priced
and making habitable units that are priced and laid out accordingly for the neighborhood.
and laid out accordingly for the nation.
We were initially put at 64 feet for the height but that's only due to the fact that we have at
a very front of the structure our pilot house which needs to be located to the front because
of the layout of the building there's simply no other way we have a place we can put our stairs
and just for the record that pilot house is only for use for roof access for mechanicals it's not
for recreational use and we don't have a roof deck set back as initially proposed simply because it
was just going to be used for mechanicals members of the board what I'll do now is I'll switch over
to my amended refusal so what happened when we switched over from cmx two and a half to the
downgrading of two we were only allowed three dwelling units we were proposing 14th request
of the community group so that's a huge difference in what we were allowed initially versus what
we're allowed now since the property has been downgraded uh bike parking spaces um we do a
bike parking spaces proposed in the basement in the floor plans we just don't have any on the
sidewalk building height because of the down zoning we're only allowed to go to 38 feet now
under cmx two and a half when we initially submitted this application it was taller
and as i suggested the reason for that height had to do with the location of the elevator
and stairs in the pilot house to the front of the structure only used for rooftop access for
mechanicals maximum occupied area is still the same as before again we only needed the small
back door space for the storage of trash and whatever else for the commercial unit
and to allow for a slightly larger footprint of the building to maximize the usefulness of
the units we're proposing i'm not sure where our minimum rear yard depth of three feet came from
because very clearly in our application, we don't have a three-foot rear yard.
We have a five-foot rear yard. So I'm not quite sure where the examiner got the three
from. So I would submit that that's an error. So the hardship essentially is one,
this got zoned under us, re-zoned under us, and down-zoned. So that would be a hardship
with respect to this application as we had no bearing on the rezoning of the parcel and at the
time of the zoning it was two and a half the open space we asked for slightly larger units so we can
put more units in at the request the community so they are more affordable for members of that
community and that would I that's what I would submit are the hardships here simply that everything
got switched out from under us and we purposely and intentionally delayed this project over two
years so we could have this discussion back and forth with the community to better incorporate
what they want into the building versus what was allowed under the zoning code and we met with a
community group at least four if not more times with respect to this project before we arrived on
this final version of it members of the board thank you all right any other questions from the board
no mr jim now questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no hands at this time chair planning commission thank you chair bergman ian hegarty
representing the philadelphia city planning commission members of the board as council
has stated this property was affected by a zoning map amendment from cmx 2.5 to cmx 2 in 2021
we reject the hardship claim related to the zoning code in this case circumstances or conditions
generally created by the provisions of the code are specifically noted as not being eligible as
grounds for hardship in the code while the presence of the elevated train we believe
does create a unique physical condition that could be considered grounds for hardship here
We also feel that the applicant's dwelling unit density exceeds the minimum variance
necessary to overcome this hardship.
Further note for the board that a dwelling unit density bonus would have been earned
by the participation in the mixed income housing program, which the appellant has neglected
to do.
We would recommend that the board act as follows, and I'll address each refusal separately.
We recommend granting of variances for the rear yard setback, for the occupied area,
and for the roof deck setback. We recommend that the board grant the variance for bicycle parking.
And then we recommend that the board grant a height variance for height not to exceed 55 feet,
as shown on the amended application, and grant a dwelling unit density variance up to a maximum
of no more than seven dwelling units, which is what would have been allowed under the
previous CMX 2.5 zoning district without any bonuses.
uh if i may address the city planning commission's comments so because this application was originally
If I may address the City Planning Commission's comments.
submitted back in 2020 this wasn't something that we had initially considered for the bonus that was
brought up at our community meeting but my understanding is we'd have to resubmit and
simply this project has been lingering for so long because of the meeting with the community and then
our choice to respond and react to those comments as to affordability to add the additional units
So that's why the density bonus wasn't really taken into consideration.
With respect to the height, again, the height, we're right up against the elevated train.
There's buildings of similar height up and down Front Street at this point, probably
due to when these projects were all zone CMX 2.5, but there's a number of five, six-story
apartment buildings up and down Front Street and Kensington Avenue at this point just to the north
such that this project is not out of scope or out of bounds with anything and just with respect to
the affordability one last time two bedroom units are going to rent for 1750 $2,000 easily which is
what we had originally proposed upon hearing those numbers we went back and we had got to these
smaller studio units which are going to rent for closer to a thousand dollars which was much which
was much better received by the community simply because with the cost of new construction there's
no way that we can make something that's more affordable with only seven units and downgrading
the number of units that we're requesting from our current apps to seven will only continue to
put the squeeze on long-term neighbors in the area and make it even less affordable for them
to live in new construction um and could you go back over your list again yes uh thank you chair
the uh the recommendation from the city planning commission on this application is as follows
we recommend granting of variances for rear yard setback occupied area and roof deck setback
and for bicycle parking we recommend that the board grant a height variance for a height not
to exceed 55 feet and we recommend a unit density variance up to a maximum of seven dwelling units
thank you mi2020-002-336-2222 north front street i vote yes with uh graining a rear yard
interior and bicycle parking height of 55 feet and density of seven dwellings
Thomas Holloman my vote is no. James Snell my vote is yes with proviso.
Thank you sir. Thank you Mr. Chair can I just clarify the provisos for the record
you were granting for. Ian will go over them again. Okay so the the rear the rear yard depth
the occupied area you did not mention the roof deck setback i'm sorry roof deck okay and the
bicycle parking um height variance not to exceed 55 feet right and then the seven dwelling units
okay all right thank you mr chair thank you um is there any is there anyone in the audience
who their case has not been heard yet or called?
I see no hands at this time, Chair.
Okay, everybody.
We are continuing to 2 p.m.
Thank you, everyone.
Thank you.
Thank you, sir.
Good afternoon, everyone.
My name is Bill Bergen, and I will be chairing this afternoon's EBA hearings.
With me is Carol Tenere, our vice chair.
You're muted, vice chair.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Okay. Ishmael Shaheed, our board secretary.
He should be here.
And James Snell, our board member.
President, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you.
Also here is our executive director, Tanya Sunkit, and our board attorney, Hillary Emerson.
Before we begin, here's our virtual format.
Be advised, the proceedings are being recorded.
Be advised, the proceedings are being recorded.
By participating, you acknowledge your agreement to be recorded.
By participating, you acknowledge your agreement.
The video will be available by contacting tanyasunkett at phill.gov.
For the benefit of our court stenographer, 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.
Finally, the question and answer box on the screen is not for testimony or comments.
Any comments should be sent to our Executive Director, Tanya Sunkin.
I'm going to take a look at our continuances for this afternoon.
number one
m number one hold on hold on a woman i'm sorry
be right there
number one
I'll be right there, I'm sorry
my computer went a little
off here, here it is, number one
MI 2022
001-919-1831 East Airedale Street, and number 11, MI-2021-005-233-5018 North 12th Street.
Both these cases are continued. Are there any comments from the virtual audience relative to the cases?
chair i see no hands at this time do i have requests for additional continuances
chair we have mr jared klein mr klein you can unmute yourself and wait for the chair please
thank you good afternoon mr chair hi could you state your name and spell for the court reporter
please mr klein sure it's jared j-a-r-e-d last name is klein k-l-e-i-n do you swear
firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Yes, I do. Your case is
2036 to 38 South 3rd? Yes, it is. And we are requesting continuance to have additional
conversation with the RCO. Thank you. MI 2022-001-810-2036 to 38 South 3rd Street.
This case is continued. Any other requests for continuances?
Chair, I see no hands at this time.
Okay, we're going to go to the add-on list.
Okay, the first case is...
Hi, Chair, this is Tanya.
I'm sorry to interrupt it, but did we do any requests for withdrawals?
Are there any requests for withdrawals?
Chair, we have a Ms. Rosa Golding.
Ms. Golding, please unmute yourself and wait for the chair, please.
Ms. Golding, could you state your name and spell it for the court reporter?
Chair, I'm getting a message that I can't unmute her because her version of Zoom is too old.
It's telling me to promote her to panelists.
That's fine. You can promote her.
okay thank you she's coming back in as a panelist now chair
hi could you state your name and spell for the court reporter please
miss rosa can you unmute yourself
miss rosa can you look at okay thank you
All right, could you state your name, please, and spell it?
Her name is Rosa Golding, R-O-S-A-G-O-L-G.
I think she's talking, but not near the mic.
Tanya, can you share?
Yes, helper that's there with Ms. Rosa.
Can you raise the volume a little and see if that works?
and if miss rosa could get closer to the mic that would be helpful
And if Ms. Rosa could get closer to the mic, that would be helpful.
let's try speaking miss rosa see how that works
all right could you speak your name please and spell for the court reporter
right do you swear from the tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
yes you have a case you want to withdraw no i don't want to withdraw it i thought we were
talking about a lot on 60th street that's not the subject okay i'm sorry chair ms rosa are you
Yeah, I talked to Mr. Craig, and he told me to zoom in on this, and I was told to zoom
in on this meeting, and they won't have a meeting about your situation on the street.
Ms. Rosa, we're going to meet you.
In the case of Paul, you can then raise your hand again, okay?
Say that again for me.
We're going to meet you, okay?
any other cases for withdrawal
here i see no hands at this time all right we're going to go to the add-on list
the first add-on is mi2022 001 068 601 gall street i vote yes for reconsideration and rehearing
I cannot vote.
Carol Tenere.
Yes to reconsideration and rehearing.
Yes to reconsideration and rehearing.
Thank you.
So the next seven cases are related,
but we're going to do each one separately
because there's a slight difference in the provisos.
Number two, MI-2022-001-581-1848-North 17th Street.
I vote yes, proviso.
Approved use in units C and D is group living, not rooming housing, and other previously approved uses to remain.
Carol Tenere, my vote is yes with proviso.
James Snell, yes with proviso.
Ishmael Shaheed yes we're providing. Number three MI 2022 001 578 1818 North 17th Street
approved use in unit C and unit D is group living not rooming house with other previously approved
uses to remain. Mr. Chair can you just say yes or no on that one first please. Oh I vote yes I'm
sorry. It's okay. We then state the proviso. Proviso. Approved use in unit C and unit D
is group living, not rooming house, with other previously approved uses to remain.
Carol Tenneri, my vote is yes with provisos. James Snell, yes with provisos.
mi 2022 001 580 1822 north 17th i vote yes with proviso recommendation for all or wait a minute
existing units c and d same in the building hold on a minute here this one's
Oh, here it is. Here it is. I'm sorry.
Approved use in units C and D is group living, not rooming house, with other previously approved uses to remain.
Carol Tenere, my vote is yes, with proviso.
James Snell, yes, with proviso.
Ishmael Shaheed, yes, with proviso.
Number five, MI 2022, 001-579-1820 North 17th Street. Proviso, I vote yes with Proviso.
Approved use in units C and D is group living, not rooming house with other previously approved uses to remain.
Carol Tenere, my vote is yes with Proviso.
James Snell, yes with Proviso.
Ishmael Shaheed, yes with Proviso.
Number six, MI 2022, 001769, 1857 North 17th Street.
I vote yes.
Approved use in units C and D is group living, not rooming house with other previously approved uses to remain.
carol tenary yes with proviso james snell yes with proviso ishmael shahib yes with proviso
Carol Tenere, yes, with Proviso.
Jamie.
mi 2022 001 577 2015 north 17th street i vote yes approved use for units b c d and e is group
living, not grooming house. Carol Tenere, my vote is yes, with proviso. James Snell, yes, with proviso.
Yes, with proviso. Number eight, MI 2022-001-783, 2019 North 17th Street, I vote yes, proviso.
No. Approved use in units C, D, and E is group living, not grooming house, with other previously approved uses to remain.
Carol Teneri, my vote is yes with Proviso.
James Snell, yes with Proviso.
Ishmael Shaheed, yes with Proviso.
We're going to go to our regular list.
Number two, MI 2022, 001-975-1900 South Broad Street.
Jennifer Tintenfoss is the attorney.
Here are a letter of support, operator of Constitution Health Plaza, Broad Street.
Also a letter of support from South Broad Neighbors Association.
chair miss tinton fast is coming back in as a panelist now thank you good afternoon can you
hear me i can't good afternoon thank you could you state your name and spell for the court reporter
please yes my name is jennifer tinton fass j-e-n-n-i-f-e-r last name t-i-n-t-e-n-f-a-s-s
and I'm an attorney with Royer Cooper Cohen-Bronfeld.
I'm the attorney for the applicant.
Thank you.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth,
the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client, please?
Yes, I can.
My clients on the call today are Max Silverstein
and Jonathan Weiss of 1900 SOBLLC.
Okay, our vice chair, Carol Tenere, has a few questions.
Hi, good afternoon.
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal
and stipulate to its accuracy yes we 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 yes we have
and yes we do okay you may proceed and you may begin by sharing your screen
can you see my screen yeah i have them clear yes great um great again mr chairman miss
chairwoman and the board my name is jennifer tittenfoss i'm an attorney representing the
applicant on the property at 1900 South Broad Street. This application was submitted and received
a refusal for certain variances required and requested for use and development of the site
for medical office use. This development project is a proposal for 49,400 square feet of medical
office in a five-story building in an existing RSA 5 location. The property will also propose
12 spaces for parking on-site and 35 off-site parking spaces at a neighboring property on the
same block. As you can tell and see here on the screen, the existing property location is at the
corner of Broad Street and Mifflin. And as you can also see that the property, the lot size is
currently 9,958 square feet. The property is currently used for medical office. However,
as you might see from some photos, it's an obsolete structure with aging infrastructure
and inaccessibility for ADA compliance. It's the intent and belief that this property can be
improved and to provide more modern medical office for the community and for the neighborhood.
At this time, I'd like to introduce my clients, Max Silverstein and Jonathan Weiss.
First, I'd like to have Jonathan Weiss join as a witness.
Mr. Weiss, please raise your virtual hand.
Mr. Weiss, please raise your virtual hand.
Mr. Weiss, please unmute yourself and wait for the chair.
Hi, could you state your name and spell it, please, for the court reporter?
Hi, Jonathan Weiss, J-O-N-A-T-H-A-N-W-E-I-S-S.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed Jennifer. Hi John, how are you? Great. Do you accept my testimony as your own? Yes I do.
What is your relationship to the application? I am a partner on the development project
with our intent to acquire this property to develop this office building and my firm Equinox
management construction would also be the general contractor and property manager for the property
once it's completed. And do you have experience in this practice, in this area, in the City of
Philadelphia? We do. We have extensive construction management and development experience. We've been
developing in the City of Philadelphia for over 20 years. Our offices have been in North Philadelphia
for most of that time. Okay, thank you. At this time, I'd also like to introduce our other client
and for testimony, Max Silverstein.
Mr. Silverstein, please unmute yourself. We'll wait for the chair.
Hi, could you state your name and spell, please, for the court reporter?
Yes, my name is Maxwell Silverstein.
That's M-A-X-W-E-L-L-S-I-L-V-E-R-S-T-E-I-N.
Hi, everybody.
Do you swear a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Jennifer?
Hi, Max.
Will you accept my testimony as your own?
Yes, I do.
Thank you.
Max, what's your relationship to this application?
In partnership with John, I am part of the development team in the ownership group for
this property planning to take title to it soon and develop an office building on site and then
also in my capacity as head of property management at Equinox I will be managing the property upon
its completion. And Max do you have experience in this field in the city of Philadelphia? Yes I do
I've been developing and working for developers for quite some time now. At this time if the
chairman and the board will permit I'd like for the client to provide some insight as to where
we are in the application process and our experience with our registered community
organization in the neighborhood. Max, you can start with this page and let me know when it's
time to move. Yeah, absolutely. So Jennifer and John, thank you for the preliminary introduction.
As you mentioned, the existing property is a small obsolete medical office building
formerly attached to St. Agnes Hospital. The existing improvements are non-conforming to
the existing zoning, which is RSA-5 for single-family, even though it's a medical office
building. We are planning to demolish the existing structure, which you can see doesn't have the most
curb appeal and isn't particularly functional on the inside. It's about half-occupied right now,
and as Jennifer also noted, access is impaired. The ramp for ADA access in the rear isn't a code,
and there's actually no comfortable access through the front on Broad Street.
If you could flip to the next page, Jennifer.
So our development plan, as you noted, is to build a new state-of-the-art five-story structure
with approximately 49,400 total gross square feet, including a partial basement that will
contain mechanical space, about 2,300 square feet of tenant and lobby space at grade.
The remainder of the structure at grade will be home to 12 parking spaces that we are hosting on site, and we are attempting to meet the intent of the code through an agreement with our neighbors and the controlling or coordinating RCO with 35 spaces on the block in the large parking structure that is attached to Constitution Health Plaza.
We're looking for just medical office use. This is a non-conforming use for the current zoning course, but medical office use matches the current non-conforming use.
So, Jennifer, if you could flip to the next slide, please.
So, as part of our entitlement process, we sought support from the community.
We held a couple of public meetings with the coordinating RCO, South Broad Street Neighborhood Association.
The primary feedback we received from SBSNA through those sort of community interaction
processes were a concern over parking and also the concern over certain uses.
and also the concern over certain uses. The neighborhood did not want to see our site used
for a safe injection site that had once been proposed adjacent at Constitution Health Plaza.
We're sensitive to the need for that broadly in the city, but we were on board with prohibiting
that use in our property. So we've agreed to that in the community benefits agreement,
And then to meet the neighbor's parking concerns, or rather to mitigate the neighbor's parking
concerns, we secured a long-term lease for 29 years in an adjacent parking structure
that's on the same block.
So we were meeting the full 47 spaces that would be required for non-residential uses
in an RSA 5 district with this off-site parking.
And as you can see, here are some photos of our notices being posted at the site.
So, you know, in terms of before and after, we believe this project represents a dramatic
improvement to the South Broad Street streetscape.
Also worth pointing out that although we're planning a project in a building in excess
of the RSA 5 height limits, we are roughly equivalent to the height of the historic building
adjacent on Mifflin Street and other sort of taller points throughout the whole complex
on the block that is Constitution Health Plaza.
we also believe that we're going to be making a substantial improvement to nighttime security and
safety we'll have a lot of cameras on the street and monitored security that we think will improve
neighborhood security and then finally just to touch on parking again we have 12 spaces at grade
that will be accessed via the same curb cut that will be slightly expanded from the existing curb
cut but again we think we're improving the curb appeal from a sort of odd dilapidated parking lot
with barbed wire fencing to an enclosed parking structure with nice wooden screening. We're
creating an additional parking at grade of six extra spaces versus what's there today and then
again we secured the lease for 35 spaces right around the corner. And here are some of our zoning
plans which were submitted along with our application and here's an example of a typical
floor plan for the proposed project. Here are some elevations, select elevations with materials
to demonstrate what the look and feel of the property will be. And if you notice here on the
sheet there is a dense health care corridor. Obviously this area has grown in its ability to
support health care services and the community in the medical space. Yeah and Jennifer if I could
interrupt for a second. I mean, I think it's important to point out that there's a tremendous
density of healthcare use. I actually live on South Broad. There's a tremendous density of
healthcare users that range from our region's premier healthcare systems to single, you know,
sort of solo private practices that run, you know, all of South Broad, but really in a dense
pocket from basically Tasker down to Wolf and Rittner where Methodist is. A lot of this space
is older, and we are certain from our preliminary marketing of our proposed development that
there's a real demand and need for new state-of-the-art medical office space on South Broad.
And this is our project contact information list to let you know who's been working on
this project and furtherance of the application.
And as you've already heard from Jonathan Weiss, Max Silverstein, also Kyle, our architect,
and Sarah and James, our civil engineers.
And in this application, of course, we've also included copies of our refusal, our application
for appeal, our project information form, certificate of tax clearance, a copy of our
community benefits agreement, and our meeting summary forms of letters of support from our
neighbor. And this is from our neighbor, and this is the letter with provisos connected to
our community benefits agreement from our RCO. That concludes our presentation at this time on
this application. Carol, I'm going to step off for a minute. I'm going to recuse myself for this vote,
so could you take over? Absolutely. And your client has already adopted your testimony. Is
that correct? That's correct. Okay. Does the board have any questions? No.
Okay, is there anyone in the virtual audience with questions?
Madam Vice Chair, we have someone by the name of Peter Zutter.
Mr. Zutter, can you please unweight yourself and wait for the Vice Chair?
Hello, can you hear me?
Yes, I can. Mr. Zutter, can you put your name and address on the record and I'll swear you in?
Yes, I can. Mr. Sutter, can you put your name and address on the record and I'll swear you in?
Excuse me. My name is Peter Zutter, Peter, P-E-T-E-R, Z-U-T-T-E-R. I live at 1440 South Broad Street
and I'm president of the South Broad Street Neighborhood Association.
Okay. Do you swear for him to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Okay. You may proceed.
I just want to record my presence here and that, you know, everything that the applicant has presented is what we agreed to.
I believe that your package from us has a copy of the community agreement that we have with the owners, and we're looking forward to moving this along.
Great. Thank you very much.
Does anybody else have any other questions?
I see no other hands at this time.
Okay, Planning Commission, David, have you been sworn in already?
I have not, Vice Chair, and I will give you my name and spelling right now.
Good afternoon, David Fecteau, F-E-C-T-E-A-U, with the City Planning Commission.
Thank you.
Do you swear for them to tell the whole truth
and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
And thank you for asking.
Vice Chair Tenari and members of the board,
the comprehensive plan recommends this property
for commercial mixed-use 3 zoning.
The proposed height and use would be allowed
in this zoning category.
Therefore, the City Planning Commission recommends
that the board grant the zoning and dimensional variances.
Okay. Calendar number. Let me find it. Hillary, if you're on, is there a proviso for this?
No, there is not. The proviso is that correct. Yes, the issues that the community raised,
they were addressed in the community benefits agreement. Okay, great. Calendar number
M-I-2022-00195, 1900 South Broad Street.
My vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Okay, congratulations.
Thank you very much.
Have a great day.
You too.
Thank you.
Thank you, Carol.
The chair is back.
He's back.
MI 2021-003-735-201 West Hunting Park Avenue.
Walter Tolliver is the attorney.
Letter of support from Esperanza.
Mr. Tolliver, can you please raise your virtual head?
chair he's coming back in as a panelist now thank you
hi mr tolliver could you state your name and spell for the court reporter please
Yes, Walter Tolliver, T-O-L-I-V-E-R, on behalf of the applicant.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client, please?
My client is 199 Hunting Park Corporation.
With me today are Josiah Diggs, our site engineer, and Sean Plum, our project architect.
Great.
Our vice chair has a few questions.
Hi, do you agree to waste 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 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 I do.
Yes I have.
Okay great.
you may proceed and begin by sharing your screen. Please.
can you see my screen we can all right good afternoon again i am walter toliver on behalf
Can you see my screen? We can.
of the applicant 199 hunting park corporation um we are proposing to erect a three-story
detached structure for use as an educational facility with accessory uh on-site parking
and administrative offices. On my screen is the elevation of the exterior of the building.
That's one side of it and this would be
side elevation and a rear elevation the um the property would um be as i said an education
facility which is not which is not a permitted use in the district however uh the use of the
site as a school we think is part of the fabric of the neighborhood and should be an allowable
use as there are approximately 10 other schools in the general vicinity of this building. It's
located at 201 West Hunting Park Avenue, which is a one to one and a half blocks away from
the Esperanza Academy Middle School and High School, which are located at 301 Hunting Park
Avenue and 4261 North Fish Street. The demand for this elementary school, which would make a K-14
continuum of education provided by Esperanza Academy Charter School, is evidenced by over
800 people on the waiting list. The building would hold approximately 600 to 800 elementary school
students. This is a copy of some floor plans for the building. This would be the first
floor where you see there'll be a gym, cafeteria, office spaces, and also classroom spaces.
second floor would again have classrooms broken out by grades office space meeting spaces as you
can see the hallways are designed to allow for some gathering spaces as well for students and
teachers. And this would be the third floor, which would be a continuation of what you
saw on the second floor. We are providing on-site 11 parking spaces. In addition, there
will be additional parking available on the campus of the middle school and the high school,
and Esperanza is in the process of acquiring another site directly across the street from
its main campus, which will house additional parking for staff. And as I said, the main
campus and this new site are approximately one to one and a half blocks away from the
location at 201 West Hunting Park Avenue. We are not providing any preferential parking
as this would be a temporary visitor parking site, so we did not see the value to having
that type of parking available, didn't think it would get utilized, and we wanted to have
as much on-site parking for staff and visitors as possible.
and we're only providing one all street loading dock where the zoning code requires
four loading spaces for building this size. However, because this is an educational use,
not an institutional use, one loading area should be sufficient for the uses that will be happening
on the site. As I've said, I have with me Josiah Diggs, who I'd like to now introduce as a witness.
Mr. Diggs, can you please raise your virtual hand?
Mr. Diggs, please unmute yourself and wait for the chair.
Hi, could you state your name and spell it, please, for the court reporter?
Josiah Diggs.
That's J-O-S-I-A-H-D-I-G-G-E-S.
Right.
right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
i do mr toliver proceed thank you thank you mr chair uh mr diggs uh you heard my my testimony
earlier yes i did and would you accept that testimony as your own yes i will thank you
and now i'd like to introduce uh sean plum as a witness who's a project architect
what i'll do is we'll have him available mr tolliver i think you explained the project and
what's going in there pretty well for us and i'm going to open up the questions if i have to i'll
bring the architect back okay that sounds good questions from the board no mr chairman yes mr
chairman council council uh the 11th parking space is at the new school is there any reason why
is there's only 11 and do you expect for the teachers um and faculty to walk two blocks every
day to and from the school and then the part two to that question part two to that question is
the newer building that you ought to look into purchase or acquire what is the uh distance
between that and the second school that you propose um i'm sorry this is tanya i'm sorry
Mr. Tolliver. Secretary, can you please just identify that on the record that was you asking
a question? Sure. This is Ishmael Shaheed. Thank you, sir. Yes, to answer your question,
the plan would be for right now to have staff that could not fit into the 11 parking spaces
walk the, like I said, a block to a block and a half from our main campus.
The new building would be, again, about a block to a block and a half.
The new parking lot would be a block to a block and a half from the site,
as it's directly across the street from the main campus.
We needed to get a building that provided as much infrastructure for the students to have the best
educational experience as we could inside the structure. And in doing that, the amount of
parking spaces that were left on site was the 11. And because we have the other available spaces,
we wanted to maximize
again the experience for the
students inside the building
so that's why we came up with this plan
Any other questions?
Any other questions for the board?
So I just guess
is there a certain requirement
from license
inspection on how many parking spaces
is suitable?
Hillary, do you know that?
yeah it's on the board
this is this is Hillary
that was one of the refusals
is for insufficient
minimum parking and
74 spaces are required
11 are being proposed
I heard that
correctly okay
and we do
have a letter of support from the
RCO which is
um there was there was no opposition to um the application and as i said it's it is
something that the community has been um asking for asking us to provide um
as follow and to follow up on the expansion of the existing uh charter school to add this
elementary school any other questions from the board
no mr chairman questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no hands at this time chair planning commission good afternoon chair bergman
members of the board david effecto city planning commission the comprehensive plan recommends
a change in the current zoning to industrial and commercial mixed use at this location
the proposal for a school would be allowed in the proposed zoning district however there is no unique
physical condition of the lot that would prevent the applicant from complying with the preferential
parking requirement in the zoning code especially since they are only providing 11 on-site parking
spaces so the city planning commission recommends the board grant variances for an educational
facility, fewer than required number of parking spaces, and fewer than required number of loading
and fewer than required number of loading spaces, but we're going to recommend that the
spaces, but we're going to recommend
board deny the variance for not including preferential parking spaces.
David, do that one more time.
Absolutely, and I apologize for confusing it. So we are going to recommend that the board grant
the variances for the educational use, the fewer than required number of parking spaces,
and fewer than required number of loading spaces, but we recommend that the board
not support the variance for the lack of preferential parking spaces.
mi 2021 003735 201 west honey park avenue i vote yes with the following proviso
yes with educational use yes with fewer the parking places that are needed yes mr chair
this is Hillary um I think so I think it all you need to um proviso is if you're not granting one
of the variants because you don't have to state all the ones you're granting because otherwise
right so so I vote yes and proviso is uh no to the lack of preferential parking
Carol Tenere, my vote is yes with provisos.
Jane Snell, my vote is yes with provisos.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is no.
Okay, thank you.
Thank you.
let's see here
let's see here
number 5
MI 2021
003395
2031 to 35
South 60th Street
Alan Nockamson is the attorney
waiting on an RCO letter
coordinating RCO
is the 40th Ward Republicans
Yeah, Mr. Nockamson is coming back in as a panelist.
Mr. Chair, this is Hillary. We did get a letter from the 40th Ward Republican RCO.
It was in it. It was in opposition and it was attached to the your updated packet.
it okay we also and i also had attached um the plans uh that revised plans that were submitted
by the applicant in response to the letter in opposition thank you
mr knockamson yes uh good afternoon mr chair members of the board alan
knockinson of knockinson pc a-l-a-n last name knockinson n-o-c-h-u-m-s-o-n do you swear
a firm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do could you identify
your client please uh yes my client is adicum llc and the representative for the client is
Yifan E. Chukwu
our vice chair has a few questions
Hi Mr.
Nakhimson do you
agree to wait 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 we do in all respects okay great you may proceed and begin with sharing your screen
all right thank you very much
all right so i'm here to present 2031-35 south 60th street uh this property is owned by edicom
llc mr essay is in the uh audience uh virtual audience and held on my testimony at the conclusion
of my presentation and then we'll be more than happy to take any questions from the boards
uh this project um has been going our presentation to this project to the community has been gone
going on for almost a year we filed this uh you know we received this refusal in july of last year
We've worked diligently in trying to meet the needs of the community.
um so in this presentation we'll go over the notice of refusal the correspondence we received
So in this presentation, we'll go over the notice or refusal, the correspondence we received.
from the 40th ward of republicans our proviso plan form in response uh to the letter we
recently received uh today actually from the 40th ward of republicans uh city of philadelphia
zoning change bill 1904-09 the reason why i bring that up is this property is an rsa5 property now
but when my client purchased this property it was an rm1 property so what we're showing today
is essentially what we should have been around as a right but for the zoning change
the lower southwest southwest district plan will be a 2035 portion of it we're going to show you
an excerpt of it which kind of goes to you know what we're believing is uh furthering the goals
of the southwest district plan um atlas maps and maps of the area photographs of the property in
the surrounding area our plans and drawings um our rco meeting notice of the last one we met
uh at a well-attended meeting months ago we came up with uh revisions to our plans and
in spite of those revisions um unfortunately we did not receive community support but there was
only two members of the community that attended and before RCO records. Our applications for
appeal are due to the property and our tax claim certificate. Again, Mr. Eze is the general manager
of Kumas Homes and he'll adopt my testimony and we can answer any questions the board may have
about this project. So first things first, this is our refusal. As you can see, it's dated July 22nd
2021 uh so almost a year today we received this refusal and you know we understood that
this would be an impactful project for the community um but also knowing that you know
this is an rsa5 property now but when we purchased this property it was an rm1 property and we'll
show the board that um so we try to have meaningful discussions with community over time in addition
to the community meetings, we had several phone calls with community leaders. We actually met
in person with community leaders, tried to lay out what they wanted from this project
and to try to fit their needs. And we actually thought that was the case when we met with the
community on Monday. But unfortunately, in spite of our best efforts and the good faith of the
community leaders, they are declining to support this project. So you'll see that this is for
proposed use of 12 units purposefully we do not cut roof decks here because we understand that
you know this is a community that does not like roof decks um but we did have three refusals the
first of which obviously is because of the use you know we're this is a 4 500 square foot lot
um we proposed 12 units because we thought that maybe there was an opportunity to provide an
affordable housing component of a couple units to make this project work um unfortunately and and
that was asked of us in during the community discussions up until monday when we asked for a
final vote uh where they stated that you know the two community members who did attend stated
essentially they didn't want anything uh due to parking concerns and other concerns with regards
to the neighborhoods um but you know what we're proposing now is a 10 unit building and we would
ask for a proviso maximum 10 units based on the 4 500 square foot lot size that's what we would
be allowed as a right if this remains an RM1 property, the same zoning designation we had
when we purchased the property. The first refusal, as you can see here, has to do with the setback
in the front. Because we're between two two-story buildings, we're required to have a setback
of eight feet. Originally, we wanted to have a flat facade. Architecturally, we thought it was
more interesting but in addition that would have given us two additional units that we could have
given to the community in terms of affordable housing which we understood that was a goal of
some of the community but ultimately was declined so in order to have the least modification
possible under the philadelphia zoning code we're going to meet the zoning requirements as though
this is an rm1 property knowing that right now it's not uh so we provided revised plans showing
the appropriate setback on the third and fourth floors which deleted the two units that was
designated for affordable housing and then the third refusal has to do with open lot
open area requirements where 25 of the of of the lots should be open uh and not covered by
building structure while 15% is proposed. Given the late hour, we were unable to get our architect to change.
Given the late hour, we were unable to get our architect to change that part of our site plan and our revised plan, so we would ask that a proviso be placed if the board is, you know, inclined to grant our variance, where we would have to provide 25% open area in conformance with the code.
So really three provisos, the revised plans, which you have, second one, maximum 10 units, and then third one, 25% open area, if the board is inclined to grant our variance.
So here's the correspondence that we received at 10.19 a.m. from Mr. Melodoshin of the Coordinating RCO, the 40th Ward Republican RCO.
And like I said, he was a gentleman, you know, we talked at length about this project and
the effect it would have on it.
My understanding is that this is a pretty tough area of Philadelphia, has a pretty high
crime rate, in particular this block.
So having a vacant lot, and you'll see from the photographs, that's been in existence
as vacant for well over 15 years and much, much longer.
But all I could do is look at Google Earth, having it built and providing good housing, you know, affordable in a sense, but not under the affordable housing program because, you know, we want to perform the code of 10 units, you know, was a good goal.
And I think, you know, we tried to attain that goal in good faith.
And we believe that the community leaders did try to attain that as well.
but you know they he did say we do appreciate the development team efforts in working with
our multiple rco process so we did work for over a year in this process and it would be a shame if
this you know variance request was not granted um because this is a really difficult neighborhood
to build especially with rising interest rates um you know the cost of labor cost of construction
it would be impossible to perform to the code um in terms of building you know single three
single-family homes. And again, you'll see that up until 2019, this was designated as R-1. We're
not far from a commercial corridor. The 2035 plan actually states that in order to support these
commercial corridors, you should increase density under these types of circumstances. But here's
the votes. There were only, it said one person voted in opposition to this project. Zero people
supported it but only one person not an rco voted against there and i believe that individual is
attended and it's in a virtual audience um it was a husband and wife you know that was there so
i mean granted even both of them voted that would be two votes against it but that was not well
attended um and then there were the four courting um or the four rcos that uh represents that
and then this is just our revised plans what we're stating is we're going to put the you know
the setback on the third and fourth floors to conform to the zoning code to have the lease
modification uh possible under the zoning code uh and here's our revised plans and then just to
you know focus on this again my client purchased this property in april of 2019
in exactly april 12 of 2019 on may 16th of 2019 it was this was introduced of this bill was
introduced to change the zoning classification from rm1 to rsa5 so my client had no knowledge
of this it wasn't like it was introduced and we have the pending ordinance doctrine where okay
well he should have looked up you know the the court the legislative calendar and see if this
was an R01 or at least it was a bill proposed for an R01 property. This bill wasn't proposed
until the following month. So in good faith, he purchased this property expecting to put a
multifamily structure there. Again, he's gone through this process, you know, because he has
no choice. He did ask for 12 units because he thought that would have a nice blend of affordable
housing and monthly rate housing. So June 20th, this bill passed City Council and it was signed
by the mayor in in on july 24th of 2019 all dates after we purchased the property and then here's
just and we have this deed in the back end of our presentation materials but we didn't purchase this
property again until april 12th of 2019 so we were blindsided we're purchasing this property expecting
to build a multi-family structure and as you can see this is straight from the bill this is what
the neighborhood looked like prior to the build, this block, it was R-1 and then it
transitioned into RSA-5. And you'll see from the maps of the area, we're not that
far from the commercial corridor. There's a, you know, there's a wealth of public
transportation in the neighborhood. All characteristics you would think of that
um all all characteristics you would think of that would lend itself to remaining an rm1
would lend itself.
you know property um and then you see the 25 2035 plan as well from the city planning perspective
this makes sense as well and then you can see the housing recommendations uh for the lower
southwest district plan in 2016 says direct new multi-family units to major
arterial and transit nodes and again we are close to both
And then the maps of the area, again, we're on 60th Street between Greenway and Kinsensing, and we back up to Salford.
And then you can see, here's the commercial corridor right here.
Again, we are like essentially a block and a half away from a commercial corridor.
And then you can see, again, much of the public transportation here as well that would support a housing project of this sort.
And then photographs of the property.
So, again, we're in the 2000 block of South 60th Street, and this is the property, according to Google Earth, in 2008.
This is the oldest picture we could find on the Internet on Google, but in 2008, this was a vacant lot.
So, for almost approximately 50 years of record, this has been a vacant lot.
And if this variance is denied, especially given market conditions, it may very well be a vacant lot for years from time,
which would be a shame especially on the block that's in need of eyes on the street. I don't
know if any of the Mr. Maldoshans online but I mean he stated many times to me that you know
there's a there's some disruptors to say the least on this block and having eyes on the street and
we would comply with non-zoning related matters such as you know having cameras there, having
available to the police department having well having well-lit landscapes things like that
would i think be very helpful for this block of the community this is south 60th street to the
right of the property south 60th street to the left of the property and then kumas homes has
been in existence for 15 years they're headquartered in the point three section of philadelphia
they're well known they not only own their properties they are general contractors and
they self-manage their property. So they handle all three phases of ownership and take true
ownership of their projects. So you can just see their quality of work. You know, their living
rooms are well lit, big. You can see their kitchens are well thought out, modern. Same
thing with their bathrooms, their bedrooms. Again, big, well lit. Here's another example of a bedroom
in the bathroom and then again this is just a rendering of what we thought we were going to do
um but you know again we have you know given the lateness of the situation we've been negotiating
for a year thinking that we were going to be there and we made modifications uh to what we
were planning to do in anticipation of that support um you know brick facade we're going to
keep but the third and fourth floors are going to be set back and there will be no bay window but i
want you to get a general sense of the quality of materials and product that we want to do
for this property and then this is just the rear of the property again just having
um it's you know well lit alive and used and then this is straight from our presentation materials
but these are the materials that were asked of us and i know these are not zoning related but we
would comply with these matters, like, you know,
pillar doors, pillar windows, well-lit, limestone in areas,
making sure there's a brick beside.
We really did try to meet, and having a nice cornice
that would be reflective of the architecture
you would expect in this part of Philadelphia,
and in general.
And here's our updated site plan.
Again, it's a 4,500 square per lot.
If this was an RM1 structure,
based on what we're asking for,
this would be allowed as a bright no basement living we do not want to have basement living
here we don't want to overuse this property and we didn't want to have a situation where it was
thought that we were trying to so there would be unit storage down there for all the unit owners
we put the utility room in the basement because they didn't want to see utilities outside in the
front so we agreed to put a utility room down there each floor other than the first floor
have trash rooms of course because it's more than six units we're going to have commercial pickup
but if the board is so inclined that could be the fourth proviso commercial pickup there's bike
storage in areas um but it was it's a really well thought out project you know we have
and it's ada accessible which was very amenable to the community as well as as the community ages
out to have that ability uh to have you know housing that you know that's nice that they
you know housing that you know that's nice that they can afford as well even though it's not
can afford as well even though it's not
affordable given the amount of units of 10 units is still more affordable than it would be as three
single families which will never which can never be built given more conditions but again three
ada accessible units on the first floor a one bedroom one bath and two two bedrooms then the
The second floor has each of the other units,
each of the other floors.
Second floor has two, three two bedrooms.
The third floor has two two bedrooms
and the fourth floor has two two bedrooms.
And then this is the meeting notice that we had.
Again, not a well attended meeting.
We had sent it out to 182 addresses for meeting on Monday.
These are the addresses.
And this is proof of mailing for application for appeal, again, showing that Addicom LLC,
a subsidiary of Comas Homes, owns the property or due to the property and our tax finance
subjected.
With that being said, I would ask that Mr. Eze virtually raise his hand to adopt my testimony
and we'd be more than happy to take any questions from the court.
Mr. Eze, can you please unmute yourself and wait for the chair?
doctor all right could you uh state your name and spell for the court reporter please
yes my name is ifain chukweza spelled i-f-e-a-n-y-i-c-h-u-k-w-u last name e-z-e
all right do you swear or firm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
I do. Proceed.
Mr. Reza, you heard everything I stated today.
Is it true and correct?
It is.
Do you adopt this in your own testimony?
More importantly, we have worked over the last year with the community to try to make a project that made sense for this community, right?
Correct.
When Qumas Homes purchased this property, it was an RM1 property, right?
Yes, it was originally RM1.
okay and you have to revise your plans such that this would be a project that would be allowed as
of right um under the zoning code if this is for the r15 correct thank you questions from the board
no mr chairman no mr chairman
no mr chairman helen is there other multiple family units in the area
um well i have not looked at that honestly mr chair i was a little blindsided but
we are next to a commercial corridor so i would assume there are multi-family
in the area mr eze um do you know if that's the case
okay i i understand questions from the virtual audience
Chair, we have Ms. Rosa Golding. Ms. Golding, please unmute yourself and wait for the chair.
Chair, again, she's being promoted to panelists because her addition of Zoom, she can't do it.
Okay. She can't get on?
she's being promoted to panelists because oh that's fine
do you hear me now yeah well i can and i think i swore you in already once right
yes sir i can't proceed what's your technically we're representing the community
ourselves because a lot of them are unable to attend uh like the last meeting the other day
we were here and we were telling him about the opposition we had about about you know taking
putting a place like that on a lot in this community um i'm sure you're not they were
talking about the parking there won't be any parking spaces left on the street period if that
building comes with a lot of people that's the first thing and then they said um and he said if
set it back it won't be affordable housing anymore it'll be what what does that mean
no ma'am you're you're to testify you don't ask questions
oh are you against the project i mean the issue with the argument we are against the project
because first of all it's in the middle of this this block between our houses all of us and most
of us are homeowners so we need to specify to put this building in the middle between
you know all the units you know you know what i'm saying we all have you know we all have we all
you know we all have we all have uh homes that would have just got two stories and he wants to
have uh homes that would have just got two
rectify uh four-story buildings for me that would be more beautiful than i saw than anything else
in the center of the block okay thank you can you swim in oh hello yes this is this is walter
he has to be sworn in hello this is wrong one at a time one at a time state your name
do you swear for him to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
are you against the project sir yes do you have any other comments
Yes, first of all, I was looking at the design of the building and on the left hand side of the building that is part of the property interest to have arrived on the left hand side.
I've been around in the neighborhood for a long time, we started a project called Baby
Longtime for elderly people, and for getting away from all the troubles and stuff throughout
the neighborhood, we had it for at least over 20 years, and we never had any problems around
that particular little area right there.
but that building and blocking it keeping keeping the older folks and the children
because we can open that plate and together with all the shootings and all of that the
house will only cause more problems okay thank you all right we understand thank you both for
calling in are there any other comments from the virtual audience mr chair can you just address
let me just see is there any other comments from the virtual audience chair we have craig
meladozian mr meladozian you can unmute yourself and wait for the chair please
okay i'm unmuted i could you state your name and spell for the court reporter
Yes, Craig, C-R-A-I-G, last name Melidosian, M-E-L-I-D-O-S-I-A-N.
Right.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Do you live in the area, sir?
Okay, proceed.
All right.
I'm speaking on behalf of the Southwest Philadelphia Consortium of RCOs,
although it came out over my name, the 40th Ward RCO.
we were asked by kenyatta johnson's office to act as the coordinating rco within the consortium
there were four rcos that are affected rcos and then an additional rco just outside of the area
i'm speaking on behalf of them i try to introduce to them information from the center of community
progress on vacant abandoned and distressed housing as well as a personal conversation
with noted housing economist Alan Malik.
Despite that, the four RCOs were in opposition to the project.
At the time of Monday night's last meeting,
we did ask to eliminate the affordable housing
and bring down the density,
but at that point, we did not get a favorable response from that.
The open air issue at 25%
basically would be going into the rear of the property.
We'd love to see if there was some way
that that could benefit the facade,
the street front of the property.
I do want to say it's actually been a pleasure
working with the Nackamson and KUMA's development team,
and I look forward to them being out here in the future.
But again, I'm part of the consortium,
and I need to represent what all of the RCOs felt at that time.
We did counter, it did counter with the possibility
of it being RSA-5 coming back with three four-story duplexes, but I don't know if, again, that's an
issue of whether or not that's economically viable for the developer. Mr. Nockamson did share with
you, and I guess I'll be more dramatic, that based on information from our past captain, Captain
Drissel, who left in December, and our current community relations officer up through Q1 of this
year that is the single most problematic slash violent block in the 12th district so our sense
was it was important to get eyes and ears on it and to bring good housing a good housing stock
into the area with the hope that with the housing stock we would be able to get it to other
developers who i personally have walked through the area in the past that had no interest to work
who I personally have walked through the area in the past that had no interest to work on the scattered site housing there.
on the scan.
So this is a very unusual situation where, based on my professional commercial real estate background,
I see a need for housing in that area, but my cohorts at this time were opposed to the presentation last brought to us on Monday night.
To answer one of your other questions, that area still is a primary single-family resident dwelling area, though many of the residents are renters.
And we've also been working with, even though RSA 5 people coming in, wanting to convert their units to duplex because we feel it's necessary to have good housing available for our people.
Okay. Thank you very much for calling in. We appreciate it.
Thank you for listening.
Alan, do you have anything more?
Yeah, Mr. Chair, I think Mr. Melodogin kind of stated, you know, what we were talking, confirming what we stated.
This is a really dangerous block, and this project would actually be a positive for the neighborhoods.
We did try to address the non-RM1 matters, because this was an RM1 property when we purchased it and we expected to, and I think this would be a positive.
but the one the first lady indicated she was concerned that that would be four stories that's
why we agreed to do the setback and there was an issue about like the open area that's why we're
eliminating the open area by way of proviso so we're addressing their concerns about the
dimensional aspects of it the gentleman indicated that he just wanted it to make a lot is there
anyone else in the virtual audience? I see no hands at this time, Chair. Planning Commission.
Good afternoon, Chair Bergman. David Fecto, City Planning Commission. Mr. Chairman and members of
the board, in 2019, the zoning map was amended, as Mr. Notkinson did indicate, in this neighborhood
from multifamily to single-family in accord with the recommendations of the comprehensive plan
and with broad community support. One goal of the zoning map changes was to prevent larger
multi-family buildings on streets primarily made up of smaller single-family dwellings.
The applicant's hardship claim is not supported with evidence of unique physical conditions
or circumstances of the property. The lot could be divided into three lots with one single-family
home on each lot. So if the applicant had proposed one building with three units,
the commission could have supported that proposal since the applicant proposes 10 units the city
planning commission recommends the board deny the variances and we will note before we hop off that
claims about affordable dwelling units cannot be enforced by any city agency thank you thank you
thank you very much mr knockison i'm going to take this to executive session on next wednesday
and we will vote in public
next Wednesday afternoon.
Thank you.
Number six
and seven together,
MI 2022
001817
2055 East Rush Street
and MI
001818
2050-70 East Rush Street.
Sorry, this is Hillary. Just going back
to the last
case, just wanted to note
for 2031-35
South 60th Street that the record is closed
on that case. Okay, the record's closed.
Absolutely.
All right, thank you.
Rachel?
she's coming back in as a panelist now chair
good afternoon chairman members of the board hi could you state your name please and spell
for the court reporter sure it's rachel r-a-c-h-a-e-l princeker
P-R-I-T-Z-K-E-R, 1521 Locust Street, Suite 605, Philadelphia, PA, 19102.
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 the relationship to the property?
So my client is BBG Property Group, LLC.
One of the principals, Justin Beese, is here today, and they are the equitable owners of 2055 and 57 Rush Street, which we are in the process of acquiring from the Philadelphia Land Bank.
Thank you. Our vice chair has a few questions.
Thank you. Our Vice Chair has a few questions.
Hi, Rachel. Do you swear for him to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth you were just born in?
Hi, Rachel.
Well, I wanted to do it again.
Yeah, I don't know why.
That's fine.
That's fine.
Just to be sure, yes.
Yeah, just to be sure.
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 meeting, and have you met with the RCO, and do you have a letter?
Okay, you may proceed, and please share your screen.
Great.
Sorry about that double swearing in.
That's okay. I'll go with it.
you see my screen yes yes okay uh so this is 2055 and 2057 east rush street we're going to do them
together they propose exactly the same thing um these properties um are in the process of being
fully acquired by the philadelphia from the philadelphia land bank this process started back
in April of 2021. As the board may know, in order to acquire through a non-competitive
bid with the Philadelphia Land Bank, the applicant is required to provide 51% of the units as
affordable and 49% market rate to help mitigate the city's affordable housing crisis. Both
of these properties are zoned RSA 5. However, as you can see on my screen, they are quite
large lots. They're also in the middle of the block, and more importantly, as part of our
application to meet the city's requirements of the 51% affordability. We are using both of these
lots as instead of market rate single-family homes, they are market rate duplexes that will
be provided for homeownership. This is something that is important to help subsidize the affordable
portion. These projects are not just by themselves in a vacuum. They are in a package of 26 parcels
in the Port Richmond area of the city. And this is something that has been supported by both the
land bank through the process and awarding these properties to us through the submission process
and also with support from the council office, which is Councilman Mark Squilla. In order to,
again, meet the city's requirements for the 51% affordable, we had to provide market rate housing
to help subsidize that in order to kind of help provide additional market rate housing and home
ownership. It was decided that these two properties, given the market conditions in this neighborhood
and the need for more affordability, even around the market rate product, that these two properties
would be selected to work through that process. The only variance that we are requesting in order to
comply with the requirements of the 51%, 49% affordability components are just for
multifamily household living. Again, each lot will have two condo units as opposed to just
one single family home on each lot. They're identical in that way. Again, these are part
of sort of a larger 26 parcel package to support the goals and requirements from the land bank
and just want to move through the processes in order to make that happen.
The rest of the projects, the 26 other properties, are all compliant with the code
and are not requesting any variances.
However, support various levels of affordability and homeownership.
On the screen, you'll see the letter that is from the Philadelphia Land Bank
from their executive director, Angel Rodriguez, stating our ability to work through the process,
giving us sort of equitable ownership, and I believe additional documentation earlier today
was provided to the Zoning Board of Adjustments attorney, Hillary Emerson, if the board has a chance
to review that. Additionally, as you can see, the whole block, all these blocks are zoned single
family, given market conditions and ground up new construction. We wanted to make sure that even
though we're providing market rate to help subsidize the larger package that we're trying
to include as much affordability even within the market rate as humanly possible, as to
why we're providing two condos on each site. These have been longstanding vacant lots,
and there is some new construction adjacent to it, but would not help provide the level
of affordability to help subsidize the 51 units that is required through this program.
These are the zoning posters that we posted on the property. You can see from this photos
You can see from this photo is the new construction adjacent to us.
then new construction adjacent to us and again
And again, the only variances we're requesting are just for use for duplexes.
The lots are large enough to be able to support duplexes by right if they were zoned RM1,
so it is not an overuse of the property.
The dimensions are such that if it was zoned for RM1, we would be in compliance with the code.
No dimensional variances are being requested.
We met with the community, which was the Somerset Neighbors for a Better Living back in May of 2022. Although they did provide a letter not to supporting our project, they did not state the reasons behind it, and they did not provide a meeting summary to show what the results of the vote was.
We were kicked out of that portion of the meeting, so I'm not even sure what the vote was.
And we have tried many times to re-meet with them.
There's a text chain from one of the owners where we were actually going to be allowed to present again.
We had spoken with the council office and let them know that most of the concerns at the meeting were related to just them not understanding the land bank process and the larger scope that these two properties fall within.
the council office even offered the councilman himself even offered to go to that meeting just
to provide any information to share about the land bank process but the community group although
saying they would meet with us again they eventually declined meeting with us again
and again all we have is just a letter saying they don't support it with not much more detail than
that I will say despite not being able to meet with them again we did make revisions to the
project mostly around aesthetics which is what they were um focused on wanting brick facades
certain color brick facade more traditional windows and things of that nature which we
decided to incorporate into the project either way um it's worth noting again that uh the
councilman um is aware of this project uh specifically in his letter he writes that
these are being uh purchased as part of a broader development um for 51 affordable and 49 market
rate throughout port richmond and south philly we met with the community and coordinating rcos
and even though they have a letter of non-support uh the councilman did mention that this development
will bring 20 affordable units to the city out of the 27 lots being purchased which is more than
obviously the 51 that were required total project has been the works for almost two years has been
changed by the developers to include more home ownership and affordability than required is
because of this that the councilman is going to leave the respectfully leave the vote to
chairman and members of the board. We have all the mailing requirements for the letters and I'm happy
to pull up the plans. I'm hoping our architect is on the call but I'm happy to try and pull the
plans up and go through them if the board would like. Other than that I just would like to see
if Justin Veazey is available to adopt my testimony and then happy to answer any questions
that you may have.
Mr. Veazey?
Mr. Veazey?
Mr. Veazey, you can unmute yourself or wait for the chair, please.
Hi, Mr. Veazey. Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Justin Veazey. J-U-S-T-I-N-V-E-A-S-E-Y.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Hello?
Okay, thank you. Proceed, counsel.
Justin, have you heard the testimony I gave today in front of the board? Do you adopt
it as your own and do you believe it to be true and accurate?
Yes, I do. Thank you. Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman. No. Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
chair we have a mr jihad ali mr ali you can unmute yourself and wait for the chair please
mr ali just state your name i swore you in once today
hello mr jihad ali uh thank you mr chairman members of the board uh as the count i'm very
familiar with this project as the council knows i've attended the land bank meeting on two occasions
because it actually had to come up twice.
But I do want to agree with her.
There's ample opportunity for the community to come in and voice their concern.
I was one of the ones that voiced my concern.
The developer met with us.
He worked out all the issues that we had.
We had some concerns about one of the units was labeled as a den.
uh one of the units was labeled as a den he worked through that he worked through all the mvewe stuff
He worked through that.
He worked through all the MBEs.
so i support the practice thank you very much for calling in any other comments from the virtual
audience chair we have anthony fullard mr fullard you can unmute yourself and wait for the chair
please hi anthony state your name please hi anthony state your name and spell for the court reporter
please yes uh my name is anthony fullard um a-n-t-h-o-n-y f-u-l-l-a-r-d and just want to
uh be on the record wait anthony wait wait anthony wait one minute do you swear for him to tell the
truth the whole truth not but the truth yes i do thank you anthony proceed yes i just wanted uh
Just to be on the record, as it relates to Justin Veasley as a developer that my development firm has been working with, West Powhatan Development.
We are in support of his project and also his development, especially because of the income mix that they proposed,
meaning that they propose to do market rate and also affordable housing in this project with the city solely needs.
And also that means that he's bringing stakeholders that will be a part of this community for a long period of time to the tune of 20 to 30 years.
So we are in support of that type of development around the city that he brings to this project as well.
Thank you. Thank you, Anthony. Anyone else in the virtual audience? Here we have Mr. Deans.
Mr. Deans, you can unmute yourself and wait for the chair, please.
Mr. Deans, please state your name and spell for the court reporter.
My name is Khayyam Odeans, C-H-A-I-M Odeans, O-D-E-E-N-S.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, sir.
Who's he?
I am just a neighbor of this property development, and I would just like to have it on the record that I am in favor, and my vote would be yes for this,
as I've been a longstanding resident of the neighborhood and believe the residential density that this project would bring in would be a great opportunity to mitigate some of the negative activity
that occurs on a daily basis in this area.
And I think this project should move forward.
Thank you very much for calling in.
We appreciate your call.
Anyone else?
Chair, we have Ms. Farrell.
Ms. Farrell, you can unmute yourself
and wait for the chair, please.
Hi, could you state your name
and spell for the court reporter?
Hello?
hello chair her name has disappeared for some reason is there any other hands up
there's no other hands at this time chair thank you planning commission thank you mr chairman
uh chair bergman members of the board david effecto city planning commission
So for 2055 East Rush and 2057 East Rush, the Comprehensive Plan recommends no change
to the residential single-family zoning at this location. These lots are both less than 1,000
square feet, which matches the lot sizes in the rest of the block. There is no unique physical
condition of either lot which would require them to be used as anything other than single-family.
However, the Commission is aware that these properties are part of a mixed-income request
for proposals released by the philadelphia land bank those agreements are conditioned on obtaining
approval from the zoning board the planning commission staff is willing to work with the
rcos council office and applicant to strategically rezone blocks in this neighborhood to multi-family
if duplexes are desired without a rezoning and citing lack of hardship the city planning
commission recommends that the board deny the use variance for both properties thank you mi
2022 001 817 25 55 east rush street and mi 2022 001 818 2057 east rush street i vote yes to both
my uh carol tenere my vote is no to both
james snell my vote is yes to both
my vote is yes to both thank you very much thank you number eight
my vote is yes to both
mi 2022 001 976 2452 cedar street alan knockinson is the attorney
letter of support from the old richmond civic association
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Nockamson, I've already sworn you in.
Could you identify your client and relationship to the property?
His name is Michael Jordan, and he's the owner of the property.
Thank you very much.
Our vice chair has a few questions.
Mr. Nockamson, 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 thank you you may proceed i was trying to think of
something smart to say but i'm tired i know i was thinking you should actually come in you're here
so much with flashcards and you know just hold it up and i don't know they're looking for a lawyer
for the board i heard all right i'm gonna this one's gonna be easier less less uh presentation
here hopefully um i'm here to present uh 2452 cedar uh street and um let me just put it full
screen modes um and again this is a corner property uh in the uh old richmond section
section of philadelphia um standard presentation packet notice refusal layer of support from the
old richmond civic association a zoning permit showing under similar circumstances this board
in this community has supported just taking out the commercial component when not appropriate to
to make it residential residential which we're trying to do today uh letters to support from
nearby neighbors maps of the area photographs of the property in the surrounding area simple floor
plans um our rco meeting notice our application for appeal that we filed to uh cba our deed to
the property showing michael jordan's the owner and our certificate of tax plans our notice of
refusal this is a cmx1 property it's always been multi-unit in nature all we're trying to do is
swap out the commercial for the residential proponent. Since the pandemic, my client's been
unable to rent out the commercial proponent. He's actually, you know, in the industry himself. So he
does the renting out and he's been, despite his best efforts, been unable to rent out the
commercial proponents. And that's the only refusal we have today. And then we have a letter of
support from the Old Richmond Civic Association, you know, in support of this project. And then
a deed to a use permit for a property at 2440 cedar street showing this is a residential section
part of philadelphia so you have some zoning here that's you know cmx in some ways but really we're
in the middle of a residential neighborhood there are commercial corridors this is not one enough
now my client is well known in the area he has his office actually in the fishtown area on
frankfurt avenue um but he's known in the area he's owned this property for some time
he met with you know nearby neighbors including uh you know uh 2363 east letterly 2401 east
letterly 2440 cedar 2450 our next door neighbor cedar 2364 east letterly 2412 east taggart all
in support of this project and then again just showing we're on a property in the residential
neighborhoods um multi this is multi-unit in nature all we're looking to do is swap out the
commercial with residential and my client is going to be able to rent this commercial on and out
showing here we are uh there is some commercial like on east cumberland but for the most part
not too much uh photographs of the property uh here you see the front of the property from cedar
front and then from east letterly because we're the corner of larry and east and cedar there are
separate entrances for each unit uh cedar street to the right of the property cedar street till
left of the property east literally from the right of the property east literally till after the
property and then just an example of some multi-family structures 2350 east cumberland
street which is an RCA5 property. Then simply no basement living you know we have access to a rear
yard where both people can store their trash. Very simple you walk in unit number one on the corner
Very simple, you walk in unit number one on the corner,
delivery room.
delivery room, one bathroom, and the kitchen, of course, and the bedroom.
You go up to the second floor from the East Larley side, separate entrance,
you come into a kitchen, delivery room, bath, and a bedroom.
RCO meeting notice we met on May 12, 2022, 144 addresses were notified,
list of the addresses, mailing, proof of mailing, our application for appeal to the ZBA, our
DTIP property showing Michael Jordan owns it, and our Certificate of Tax Planner showing
that he's in good standing.
With that being said, I would ask that Mr. Jordan virtually raise his hand to be sworn
hi sir could you state your name and spell for the court reporter
do we see a hand yeah uh can you hear me yes could you state your name and spell for the
court reporter yes michael jordan m-i-c-h-a-e-l jordan j-o-r-d-a-n do you swear or affirm to tell
the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth yes proceed uh alan yeah uh mr jordan you heard
everything i stated today yes is it true and correct yes the adopted your own testimony
yes thank you very much questions from the board
no mr chairman no mr chairman questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no hands at this time chair planning commission thank you mr chairman david fecto
city planning commission mr chairman and members of the board the comprehensive plan recommends
no change to the commercial mixed-use zoning at this location the city rezoned this neighborhood
in 2017 to conform with the recommendations of the comprehensive plan. The property received a
use permit in 2015 for a business and professional office on the first floor with a single family
residential unit above. The applicant has demonstrated that a hardship exists that would
prevent the first floor from continuing to be used as a business. So the City Planning Commission
recommends that the board grant the use variance. Thank you. MI 2022 001 976 2452 Cedar Street I vote yes.
Carl Toneri my vote is yes. James Snell my vote is yes. Ishmael Shahid my vote is yes.
Thank you. Number nine, MI-2022-001920, 318 South Broad Street. The attorney is Stephanie Bas Magna. Letter of non-opposition from the Center City Residents Association.
Chair, Ms. Magna is coming back in as a panelist now.
Thank you.
Good afternoon.
Hi. Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Sure. Stephanie Magania, S-T-E-P-H-A-N-I-E-M-A-G-A-G-N-A, 1845 Market Street, Suite 1400, Philadelphia PA 19103.
Thank you. Do you swear a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client and relationship to the property?
Yes, I'm here today on behalf of the Kimmel Center, which is the ground lessee for the property 300 South Broad Street. Ross Richards from the Kimmel Center is here with me as well, representing their interests. We also have Kendra Heims, who is the project architect at Printing Questions.
Thank you. Our vice chair has a few questions.
I do agree to believe the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy.
have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership tax compliance 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 begin with sharing your screen
um so this application um is in regards to accessory signage that's being proposed at
Kimmel Center located at 300 South Broad Street. We are seeking variance relief for the proposed
signage for two reasons. One, animated illuminated signage is not permitted at this location
and the total area of the signage being proposed at this frontage exceeds what is permitted.
This application in particular was presented to Center City Residence Association which is
are coordinating RCO on March 29th,
consistent with the revised plans
that are included within your package.
And their letter of non-opposition
is included in our exhibit package.
The existing, this is specifically about the Spruce Street frontage at the Kimmel Center.
The existing, this is specifically about
It's existing as the back of house operations here at the corner of Spruce and Broad Street
along Spruce Street that includes currently our back of house box office location.
And you can see that there are four static poster signs that are currently at this location.
In April of this year, the Zoning Board approved an application to permit a change of use in
this part of the building to allow a Garces Trading Company cafe to be put in here that
will provide a new ADA accessible entrance at this location, as well as activate this
corner of the building, which has, you know, again, been long a little dormant with this
being our back of house operations.
So in connection with that change of use, we are proposing accessory signage to not only identify the new Garces Trading Company restaurant that's going to be put in, but also to replace the four poster signs that are being removed in connection with this project.
The accessory signage will identify the new entrance.
It confirms the cafe's affiliation with the Kimmel Center.
Again, this is the location of an ADA accessible entrance to the building, so we wanted to
confirm that location, as well as advertised programming that is going on at the Kimmel
Center with the accessory digital wall signs that will be placed here.
You can see that in connection with the cafe, we have a building logo wall sign that will
go up with the above the entrance of the building as well as a window sign and two digital signs are
going to be placed on either side of the cafe consistent with the way that signage is usually
placed up at theaters and and that programming to advertise programming within the Kimmel center
these digital signs although they're digital are intended again to be accessory only they will
include advertising only for programming at the Kimmel Center. The displays will change
no more frequently than with eight-second intervals, probably more, and no flashing or
video messages kind of proposed with these signs. It's really intended to replace the poster signs
that are there now, but allow the Kimmel Center to advertise all of the relevant programming
that occurs on site. As I mentioned, included within your package is revised plans. They're
consistent with the rendering that you're seeing here. Those revised plans, again, were shared
in substantial form with the CCRA and the community at the March 29th meeting that did
warrant their letter of non-opposition. We've had one small change. It's a reduction in the total
area of this building logo wall sign by two square feet since that meeting and we've shared
with them a copy of these latest revised plans and confirm that their letter to non-opposition
stands and they're in support of our project.
The other changes since the original submission here are very minor.
We've reduced the size of the digital signs that are being proposed here.
We have a slight change to this building logo sign and a very moderate de minimis increase
in the total proposed square footage of the sign from what was originally refused but it does not
change our refusals we are still seeking refusals to permit the animated illuminated signs which
are the digital signs and to permit the excess signage total area i'll note for the board that
the refusal for the signage area here is an existing non-conforming condition at this property
on along the street street spruce street frontage we have about 1233 square feet of signage there
now and we are reducing that by about 92 square feet with what is being proposed here so it is
a reduction in that non-conforming condition certainly intended to be the least minimum
signage that's needed to advertise the new use that's at this location as well as to replace
the four poster signs that are there now with the two digital signs that are being proposed
so in summary we have designed this package with much care and our project architect is
available to answer questions to make sure that this is appropriate not only for the cafe use
but also consistent with the aesthetic at the Kimmel Center and they put much care and thought
into making sure that this is appropriate for the Kimmel Center and for the neighborhood and also
make sure that you know as I said we've made reductions to make sure that this is the least
minimum necessary to provide wayfinding and the appropriate advertising for the Kimmel Center at
this location. With that, I'll call Ross Richards, who's a representative for the Kimmel Center,
to adopt my testimony, and we can answer any questions the board may have.
Hi, could you...
Ross, can you please raise your hand?
Mr. Richards, you can unmute yourself and wait for the chair, please.
Mr. Richards, you can unmute yourself and wait for the chair, please.
Good afternoon, sir. Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter?
Ross Richards, R-O-S-S-R-I-C-H-A-R-D-S.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed, counsel.
Thank you. Ross, have you heard my statements this afternoon and believe them to be true and correct?
I have, and I do.
would you adopt them as your own i would yes thank you um with that we're happy to answer
any questions sure questions from the board no mr chairman no mr chairman no mr questions or
comments from the virtual audience i see no hands at this time chair my planning commission please
thank you sir mr chairman members of the board david fecto city planning commission
The comprehensive plan recommends no change to the commercial mixed use for zoning at this location.
The ARC Commission reviewed this proposal and disapproved the projecting sign, asking the applicant to return after the zoning board hearing.
Just to note that the Planning Commission staff supports the ARC Commission.
We provide staff support for them.
The applicant has failed to demonstrate that a hardship exists that would require animated illuminated signs to be affixed to the building.
So in keeping with the ARC Commission's denial, the City Planning Commission recommends that the Board deny the requested variances.
David, if I may, I just want to point out for the Board that the collecting sign that was rejected by the ARC Commission is obviously not part of the current signage package.
Consistent with the new procedures of the ARC Commission, we intend to resubmit this package for their final approval after the zoning board has made their decision on this signage.
As far as the digital signage goes, that was not part of their outright objection to the signage package that was proposed. It has been reduced in size, which was a comment we received from the sign committee, and these are intended to function, although they are digital signs, as a replacement for the static poster signs that are there, but simply to allow the Kimmel Center to be able to advertise the programming that occurs on site.
As I said, it's not a flashing message. It's not going to change any more frequently than eight seconds or more, probably more, most likely.
And these are intended to function more as static poster signs, although they will be changeable to allow for all of the program at the Kimball Center to be advertised.
Council, what was the vote of Senator City Residents?
The RCO, did they vote on that?
We have a letter of non-opposition in our package.
okay thank you for the signage as proposed which includes the two wall the the wall sign that says
that identifies the restaurant use the window sign that identifies the restaurant as well
and both digital wall signs okay all right thank you MI 2022-001-920-318 South Broad Street
i vote yes with proviso revised plans three pages stamp by zba july 13th 2022
harold tenary my vote is yes with proviso james snell yes with proviso
ishmael shaheed yes with proviso thank you counsel thank you
all right we're going to take one more case then we'll have a quick break all right
Number 12, MI-2022-001-824-50 North St. Bernard Street.
Alan Nockamson is the attorney.
Letter of Opposition from the 44th Ward RCO.
Good afternoon.
You've been sworn a couple times today.
Could you identify your client and the relationship to the property?
My client for this property is IRA Development, LLC, and I have my client's representative is Yifan E. Chukou-Ese.
Okay. Our vice chair has a few questions.
Hi, Mr. Nockimson. Do you agree to leave the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Do you?
Actually, I said I do.
You just pause.
Maybe I just didn't hear you.
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 before 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 begin to share your screen.
Thank you.
all right so i'm here to present 50 north saint bernard street um in our table of contents we
All right, so I'm here to present 15 North St. Bernard.
have the notice of refusal correspondence from the 44th democratic order coordinating rco uh nearby
properties with multi-family use uh so what we're proposing to do here is a two-family structure
on almost 1,500-square-foot plot.
So what we try to do is not only emulate,
you'll see from the picture,
the look of the properties,
our property compared to surrounding properties
by having a porch, by having a mansard roof.
But we also try to emulate the uses
of similarly situated properties in close proximity,
especially when you're concerned
this is a 1,500-square-foot plot.
So you also see maps of the area.
in the maps of the area, photographs of the property in the surrounding area, our plans
and drawings, our RCO meeting notice, our application for appeal to the ZBA, our deed
to the property showing that higher rate developments in the owner of the property, and our certificate
of tax credit showing if they're in good standing with the city of Philadelphia. So we only
have one refusal here, and that's a use refusal. So this is an RSA 5 property. So if this
board is inclined to grant our variance a couple things um there was and we'll see in the letter
um there was concerns about the roof deck um first they were like it's not even shown on the plans
and i kept pointing out yes it actually is shown on our plans but with that being said you know
we came to the conclusion uh that it just didn't make sense for this community to have a roof deck
for this property to have a roof deck this community does not like roof decks so if this
board should grant our variance we would ask for proviso no roof deck there were you know concerns
about you know parking we indicated that although this is a pretty large lot you know if we provided
additional off-street parking that would be an additional refusal possibly we don't we would
take beats basically swapping a spot on the street for one off the street which you know most times
community members don't like because you know they're they're concerned that you're taking
public parking off the street for a specific uh property but you know again we really never talked
about the merits of this matter they again their focus was on the roof deck and we tried to calm
their nerves in with regards to just eliminating that. So here are similarly situated properties.
14 St. Bernard Street, right? This board granted a similar type of variance for a two-family dwelling
on July 19, 2021. Almost a year to the day, this board granted a similar variance of two units.
22 St. Bernard Street, October 20, 2021.
Also, this board granted a two-family dwelling on this same block.
There's 18 North St. Bernard Street.
It's a duplex.
16 St. Bernard Street is a triplex.
26 St. Bernard Street is a triplex.
4902 Arch Street, which is around the corner from us, is a triplex.
so there is a mix between multi-family use and single-family use and then you can see
here we are on the block we're on the corner or just off the corner of arch and north safe and
arch street uh and you can see here uh we're just not that far from market street and we're not far
from chestnut street we have ample public transportation as well and we're of course
from a you know a you know a big facility here that's not residential in nature and then photographs
of the property you know this is a slew of vacant lots so what has been developed many of them are
multi-family others are more uh vacant lots and then this is the property since 2007. we really
try to go back to see what the history of this property is and you know for at least 15 years
and it sounded like more from a community meeting this has been a vacant lot this
that has not been tended to you know we have tended to it um and you know i think it's time
to develop this lot in conformance to what this board granted twice in 2021 on this law
and in addition to other properties in close proximity as well so you can see this is a porch
neighborhood and they have mentor groups so again to respect the integrity of the neighborhood
that's what we designed i always i always encourage my clients to design based on what
the neighborhood looks like right every neighborhood should be unique right if you walk by the
property built or used as proposed is it something that fits within the fabric of the neighborhood
or does it stick out like a sore tongue at least here you look at it it's something that fits
at least here you look at it it's something that fits within the fabric of the neighborhood
within the fabric of the neighborhood
in the sense of we are providing a porch a sense of community we are providing a mansard group with
architectural interest just with a modern twist and then in terms of the use again similarly to
two projects this board has granted in the past year as well as multiple instances of existing
structures we're only asking for two units on a 1500 square foot lot this is an rm1 property which
is not, you know, technically would be allowed for four units. And this is North St. Bernard's
left of the property. Example Interiors, again, another Kumas project where you can see quality
of product. Nice hardwood floors, kitchens, you know, bathrooms, light and air. They take great
pride in their product. And they're Philadelphia run and own company. So they build where they do
business. So in our plants and drawings, again, just to see the brick facades, modern twist in
terms of the porch and the mansard roof, a lot of light in there with those big windows.
And then again, this is just the elevation in this site plan. We're not asking for any
dimensional variances. We're not asking for something that's too high or taking too much
lock coverage here. We're just asking for a use variance, which under the circumstances
would make sense. Oops, sorry. And then we have floor plans. So we have two bi-levels,
the first floor plan, the lower unit is the first floor and the basement level, and then
the second unit is in the second floor and third floor. Again, even though this says
roof deck, we would ask that if this board did approve this variance request, that they
would advise out no roof deck. And then we met on June 13th at 6 p.m. 86 addresses were
notified is the list of the addresses, proof of mailing,
our application for appeal to the CPA,
along with our notice of refusal
and project information form, and our deeds of property.
And the last document is our proof
that we're in good standing with the city.
With that being said, I will have Mr. Eze
verify and dock my testimony as though it was his own,
and then we can answer any questions
support you may have. Mr. Eze, state your name, please. Yep. It's I-F-E-A-N-Y-I-C-H-U-K-W-U,
last name E-Z-E. You were already sworn today, so proceed. Mr. Eze, you've heard everything I
stated today. Yes. Is it true, correct? Yes. I do. Okay, questions from the board?
no mr chairman thank you jim questions or comments from the virtual audience
chair we have eileen perlman okay miss perlman you can unmute yourself and wait for the chair
hi could you state your name and spell for the court reporter please
eileen i-l-e-n-e last name perlman p-e-a-r-l-m-a-n right do you swear or affirm to tell
the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do do you live in the area ma'am
yes okay proceed um so the property the property
eileen we're losing you miss perlman we're losing you
one year ago we basically it kind of went under the radar and we didn't know now we know can you
hear me now yes anyway the one that they got past the same company down the street we i guess we
just weren't paying attention and we didn't realize what was happening
that are all on here now some of them might have had to go because they had a big building
we as a group do not want a four-story building well you can only speak for yourself
i'm sorry chair it seems to be technical problems and we can move on because the
court reporter will not be able to get that information i agree is there anyone is there
anyone else in the virtual audience chair we have patrick richardson mr richardson you can
unmute yourself and wait for the chair please
Hello. Hi, Mr. Richardson. Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter?
hello hi mr richardson could you state your name and spell for the court reporter
My name is Patrick Richardson. That's first name P-A-T-R-I-C-K. Last name Richardson,
spelled R-I-C-H-A-R-D-S-O-N. Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth,
the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Absolutely. Proceed, sir.
uh i am a owner in a single family unit of uh across the street and just down this is unit 31
i wanted to uh register my objection to the addition of any more multi-unit uh and renter
attracting properties um i've come i've lived here for about eight and a half years now
and I see a great disparity between the cohesion of the families that know each other
and own property and the transient occupancy and parking and presence of the renters that come
through. Okay. So I'm objecting on that basis. Thank you very much for calling in. Is there
anyone else? Chair, we have Alyssa Swifter. Ms. Swifter, you can unmute yourself and wait for the
chair. Hello, can you hear me? Hi, yes. Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter,
please? Yes, my name is Elsa Swider, A-I-L-S-A. Last name Swider, S as in Sam, W-I-J-T as in Tom,
ER. Do you swear a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing about the truth?
I do. Proceed. So I also live on the block owner, and as mentioned before, I do want to state for
the record that I, two things. One, we did not get a lot of advance notice regarding this. I
understand that there's some trouble with seeing the sign from other neighbors, so we've tried to
pull ourselves together as quickly as possible but further a lot more of us were on the call
earlier today I wanted to voice our individual objections but we this because of the duration
of the time that this has taken a lot of us haven't been able to stay for the full duration so
I am concerned that not everyone is going to be able to get their chance to to voice their concerns
as far as my personal concerns regarding this unit I am opposed for this unit I think there
are a couple concerns specifically the parking situation this is a one-way street it's very narrow
and there is not a lot of parking available for a unit and we're not sure there are other
empty lots too so our impression is that there's going to be some intention to build additional
units in those empty lots as a further development plan down the road which would further aggravate
the parking situation. And also, we really do support and rally around the green spaces on this
block. We have two community gardens, one in that space, the green space that the development is
being proposed in, and one across the street. And the community gardens have been a really good
sense of cohesion and really important for our community as a block, and we're concerned about
losing that space. All right. Thank you very much for calling in. Thank you. Is there anyone else in
the audience that has something different to offer? Chair, we have Sean Rosner. Mr. Rosner,
you can unmute yourself and wait for the chair. Hi, Mr. Rosner, state your name and spell for
the court reporter, please. Sean Rosner, S-E-A-N-R-O-S-N-E-R. Do you swear for him to tell
the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth? Yes. Do you have something different that you
offer them what we've heard, Mr. Osner? Slightly different. I can piggyback on what Elsa said,
is that there is a pretty strong opposition on this block to this development. As I understand,
there was a very highly attended community meeting, and it was struck down. I also understand
that the official position of the 44th Democratic Board is in opposition to this project.
and I wanted just to say that the empty lots
that this project is proposed on
it's by no means a problem to our block
actually it's one of our biggest strengths
it's a huge community gathering space
where we have birthday parties, movie nights, and cookouts
and I think it has allowed our community personally
to forge something that's truly special
in the city of Philadelphia
and I think the amount of opposition you see today
stands to that
Personally, I've been developing a community garden a lot adjacent to this proposed
development for the last three years and as an individual who doesn't have a very
As an individual who doesn't have a very high income, this is a really important source of nutritious food for me and for my neighbors.
high income, this is a really important source of nutritious
Not to mention the amount of community bonding that happens throughout gardening.
All right, Mr. Rostner, thank you for calling in.
Is there anyone else that has something different than what we've heard?
chair we have deborah charmalus miss charmalus you can unmute yourself and wait for the chair
hi um hi wait could you spell your name please for the court reporter yes my name is deborah
charmalus you spell it d-e-b-o-r-a last name c-h-a-r-m as in mary e-l-u-s deborah charmalus
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Could you do me a favor?
Please, if you have something different, please offer it.
I can only affirm everything that everybody has been saying.
It is not a vacant lot.
It has been used as a community garden.
I, in addition to Sean, use that lot, the lot adjacent to it.
I believe it should be 48th North Bernard Street as a source of food.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I have a question.
Yes, yes.
I have a question.
Do you own the lot?
I do not.
We do not own the lot, but we still, we all from the block.
We're just using it.
Utilize it.
All right.
All right.
All right.
No, if you have something different, please offer it.
If not, we need to move on.
Chair, we have at least three more hands up.
I'm not going to do the whole block.
tell whoever has their hand up if they have something to offer that's different we're going
to call you if not that last person just reiterate it again so please anyone who has
something different to offer put their hand up chair we have someone by the name of ang sun
mr or miss sun please unmute yourself and wait for the chair
Hi. Hi. Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
My first name is Aung, A-N-G. Last name is Sun, S-U-N.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes. Proceed.
I'm the president of RCO, West Afili United Neighbors.
A few people contacted our RCO last week, and they expressed their concerns about this development.
And I looked into this case, and we had a group meeting on Saturday, and discussed with the neighbors.
I looked at this case, I don't think any hardship.
They are asking for this basement living.
I don't think there is a hardship for this basement living.
I don't think there is a hardship for these two units in this block.
Basically, most of the properties are single-family use.
So, of course, the prop post is not having this roof deck anymore,
but they are still asking for this basement living.
And there is definitely no hardship for this basement living.
There is no hardship for these two-family units.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Okay. Anyone else have a hand up?
There are no other hands at this time here.
Thank you. Planning Commission.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Members of the board, David Fecto, City Planning Commission.
We heard testimony regarding rentals versus homeownership, so I'd like to start by noting
the zoning code makes no distinction between renters and owner occupants.
So for this property, the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the residential single
family zoning at this location. There is no unique physical condition of this 1500
square foot lot to prevent it from being used in conformance with the zoning code.
City Planning Commission recommends that the Board deny the use of variance.
MI 2022 001 824 50 North St. Bernard Street I vote no.
my vote is yes
James Snell my vote is no
thank you
let's take a five minute break
give our
court reporter a chance to regroup there
and we'll come right back
we'll go right through the rest of the cases
when we come back
Tanya are we ready?
yes chair as you wish okay we're going to go back to number 10 mi 2022 001 828 34
MI-2022-001-828-3045 West Susquehanna Avenue.
Mr. Nockamson is the attorney.
Letter of support from Strawberry Mansion Community Development Corporation.
Mr. Nockamson.
he's coming in as a panelist down here sure
good afternoon alan nockmson nockmson appreciate it
mr nockmson could you identify your client at 30 45 west s grand avenue
yes it is sjc real estate llc and the member is shati cooks okay uh our vice chair has a few
questions i do 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 and we actually have a letter of
support unanimously supporting this project okay great you may proceed and begin sharing your
screened thank you i i smile because we see you always on that screen i know okay i'm hoping one
day we can see each other in person as a board and as attorneys and it's i know it'll be fun
all right let's see what we got here full screen loads pretty straightforward project 3045
tusquilhanna avenue this is uh an existing building structure um on the block which has
many multi-family units um it's in like i said strawberry mansion uh and uh the community met
with us and they're in support of it so we're going to go through the noise refusal the
correspondence from the strawberry mansion cdc a permit of the property i believe which shows that
uh this was a 1.3 unit building my client just wants to make it into a two unit building
and uh showing also you know in our exhibit packet other properties on that block which
have a multi-family history the lower north district plan for philadelphia 2035 uh which
is conformance with our proposed use of the property maps of the area photographs of the
property surrounding area, our plans and joins, our RCO meeting notice, our application for
appeal, our deed to the property, and our certificate of tax clearance. So first things
first, just to get out some housekeeping items, if this board is inclined to grant this variance,
we did agree to remove the roof deck as part of our project. So we would ask for a proviso,
no roof deck uh again you know when i saw this project before i got involved uh they submitted
a zoning permanent application for a roof deck i know that the residents of strawberry mansion
have fought hard to not allow for roof decks and there's no really specific to that effect so in
gecko we stated that we're not going to provide a roof deck as part of this project and i would
want to make sure that that's included within a zoning permit and ultimately any building permit
so it provides a no-loop deck. The only other refusal is the two-family dwelling in this size
of a lot of almost 1,200 square feet. Again, this property has a history of multifamily use,
three units. And when my client purchased it, we have copies of photos of the meters that were
there at the time. So we're actually downgrading to two units or two units. We met with the
shawberry mansion cdc uh it was unanimous support at a very well attended meeting
there was a total of 19 votes all in support and no opposition again stressing the fact that we
would not have a new deck as part of you know our uh as our as our project and then this is our uh
zoning permit uh for this property showing that this was a three-family dwelling at one point
and then here's a picture of showing from the interior of this property he did remove the
meters but there are four meters you know one for the common area and three for each unit
and um you know he's hoping to have it as a two unit uh building instead of that three
and then the 3000 block of west usquahana so we did a detailed search of public records and you
can see from our uh review there are 24 properties that have a multi-unit history on this block
that's pretty significant and then the lower uh north district plan 24
that's pretty significant. And then the Lower North District Plan 2014 talks about prioritizing
commercial residential development on and adjacent to the corridor which consists in restoring street
life and customers as well as raising perceptions of safety. So we're not that far from the commercial
corridor on Ridge Avenue and this will help support that commercial corridor through that
additional density. And then maps of the area you can see here is Ridge. Here we are not that far
off from there. There's an industrial zone property as well. There's some CMX2 and on as well.
And then you can see we're on Bridge Avenue where we are. There's some of the commercial components
and what we're trying to do is support that as per Philadelphia 2035. Photographs of the property,
again we're not changing the building facade. We're just you know cleaning things up on the inside.
You can see 3030 West Susquehanna Avenue as an example,
is also a triplex.
So we're only just trying to do a duplex.
And then West Susquehanna to the right of the property,
West Susquehanna to the left of the property.
Sample interior.
So Shanti not only is the owner of the property,
he does his own general contracting work
with a childhood friend of his,
and he also helps manage these properties as well.
so he really care and he's from philadelphia born and raised in the north philly section of philadelphia
um and he cares a lot about like how things look as you can see from here uh example bathrooms
sample interior of the bedrooms and then our plans and drawings again when we you know we're
eliminating the commercial excuse me the roof deck from this project we would ask for proviso
but it's just two uh five levels first floor in the basement level and the second floor and the
third floor and then just uh we met with the community on june 23rd again a well attended
meeting of 19 votes uh 122 people were notified of that meeting these are the addresses proof of
mailing our application for appeal to the zvi along with our notice of refusal and project
information form. Our deed to the property is shown that SJC real estate LLC is the owner of
the property and our certificate of tax funds. With that being said, I would ask that Mr. Cooks
raise his hand and he can be sworn in and then without my testimony. Mr. Cook, please unmute
yourself and wait for the chair. Hi, could you please state your name and spell for the court
reporter yes my name is shati cooks s-h-a-t-e-e last name cooks c-o-o-k-s do you swear firm to
tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth i swear proceed uh mr cook you heard
everything i stated today yes is it true and correct yes accurate yes and do you adopt as
your own testimony yes i do yes i do thank you very much questions from the board
no mr chairman mr chairman questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no hands at this time chair thank you planning commission please thank you mr chairman
david facto city planning commission mr chairman members of the board the comprehensive plan
recommends no change to the residential single family zoning for this property there is no unique
physical condition or circumstance that would prevent this 1178 square foot lot from being
used in conformance with the zoning code. However, with this property's history of multifamily use,
the City Planning Commission recommends that the Board grant the use variance for a duplex.
Thank you. MI 2022-001-828-3045 West Susquehanna. I vote yes with proviso. No roof deck or roof deck
access structure. Harold Tineri, my vote is yes with proviso. James Snell, yes with proviso.
All right, we have three votes.
Thank you, Mr. Nockamson.
I'm a yes, Chairman.
Okay, good. All right, thank you, Mr. Nockamson.
All right. 13. MI 2022-000-642-5312-18 Ridge Avenue. Richard DeMarco is the attorney.
Letter of support from the Roxburgh Development Corporation, which is the affected RCO.
Mr. DeMarco is coming back in now as the panelist chair.
Good afternoon.
Hi. Mr. DeMarco, state your name and spell for the court reporter, please.
Richard DeMarco, last name D-E-M-A-R-C-O.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Could you identify your client and relationship to this property?
Yeah, sure.
The building owner is, I represent the building owner of 5312 to 18 Ridge Associates LLP.
or I'll say excuse me and I also represent the tenant as well all right our vice chair
Charlton area has a few questions sure hi Mr. DeMarco do you agree to waive the reading of
the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy yes have you emailed the exhibit packet with required
documents proof of ownership tax compliance a copy of the refusal or referral photos under
plans of the property five days in this hearing and have you met with the RCO and do you have
the letter. Yes, yes to all the above, although the tax clearance came in on Monday. We cleared
all that. Okay, great. You may proceed and begin with sharing your screen. All right.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the board. This is a request for a use variance for a sit
down and take out restaurant within an existing commercial space. The building was constructed a
few years ago um with a fresh food market uh bonus and there's the fresh food market space
on the first floor uh there has been an inability to obtain a tenant that fits that use perfectly
so the request is for uh to actually sell fresh fruits and vegetables you hear me okay
Okay. Along with a cafe, an independent cafe, no Ansel system, no grilling, no cooking, just prepackaged food and reheating, coffee, that sort of a thing.
Something like a Starbucks, but an independent user. That proprietor is on the Zoom and available to answer questions.
It's a smaller cafe that really fits the neighborhood, five to eight employees.
We did meet with the Wissahick and neighbors.
We had a great discussion.
We had two meetings.
We banged out a list of provisos.
While Hillary had some issues with some of the provisos, which I certainly understand,
I have told Joe Bergen.
We've been talking consistently through the process.
We absolutely will work with him.
We stand by those agreements and will continue to work with Joe and his neighbors.
The actual proprietor, the proposed user, his name is Robert Ashford.
He owns Unity Taco down the block, and it's very well received.
The neighbors like it, and that, I think, is what helped us reach this agreement.
So I do just want to say, if you will, be quick.
I know we waited a long time on this list,
So I'll be very brief in light of the support from the neighbors.
But I just want to just mention that there's a CMX1 zoning for this property, which is unusual.
That's usually a mom and pop type zoning.
The property is extremely large.
It's 13,000 square feet.
Let me run through some of the exhibits.
I'll show you what I mean.
So, you know, that creates an issue.
We have my client, who's the building owner, J.B. Rebstein, they have attempted to market this for the fresh fruit market and have been unable to obtain a tenant that fits that use.
So there have been some hardship issues caused by the zoning and property.
Let me just show you.
That's our floor plan.
It's going to be a relatively small space.
we're going to have a community refrigerated display with fruits and vegetables so that we
continue to meet the approved use for fresh food and then of course the unity concept with coffee
drinks and preheated you know pre-packaged and heated items. Let me just show you how the
the neighbors actually asked for us to lay the floor plan on top of the
on top of the first floor. I'm sorry for the quality, but it gives you an idea of where
I'm using my course here to show you where the fresh food market and that's the floor plan.
So one of the issues was this rear drive. We agreed not to have any deliveries through that.
There's only a handful of deliveries a week, maybe two to three trucks tops,
and they will have to unload on Ridge. It's not ideal, but it's far better than having
and they will have to unload on ridge it's not ideal but it's far better than having uh the
Thank you.
residential parking spaces be taken up with that um let me just want to give you a look at the view
i'll rotate this and so you can see the building it's an existing structure okay and that's it let
me just ask jb um and again we stand by the provisory agreement with the neighbors we'll
divide by that but we understand uh hillary's issues with some of the items and let me ask jb
to raise his virtual hand and adopt my testimony
please unmute yourself and wait for the chair
hi could you state your name as bell for the court reporter please
joshua riebstein r e i b as in boy s t e i n like that's right do you swear a firm to tell
truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth jb we didn't hear you did i hear did you hear them
no hi you're still with us i am here can you hear me can anybody hear me now we can yes
do you swear for him to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
i do proceed mr demarco jb were you able uh were you able to hear my factual statements
and can you do you agree that they are true and accurate yes and yes okay and can you adopt them
as your own testimony yes mr chairman i have the uh the two letters of support from the rco
this is the wissa hicken neighbors um almost unanimous of course after we agreed with the
provisos and we stand by the provisos and with that i can turn over to the board for questions
for questions from the board no mr chairman
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I see no hands at this time, Chair.
Planning Commission.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
David Fecto, City Planning Commission.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change to the commercial mixed-use zoning at this location.
The property has a documented history of commercial use.
So the City Planning Commission recommends that the Board grant the use variances for a sit-down and a takeout restaurant.
Thank you. MI 2022-000642-5312-18 Ridge Avenue. I vote yes with following provisos. Hours of
operation 6A to 8P. No music outdoors. Commercial trash pickup four days a week. Expansion of
tenant space limited to hatched area on attached plans stamped by ZBA on July 13, 2022. Rear
parking lot for accessory residential parking only thank you
i am unmuted carol tenary my vote is yes with provisos
james snell yes with proviso
thank you mr demarco thank you have a good afternoon
14. MI 2022, 001-811-637 North 40th Street. Steve Bertil is the attorney.
Recommendation of support from Mantua Civic Association.
Mr. Bertil is coming back in as a panelist now, Chair. Thank you.
good afternoon uh mr chair members of the board hi hi could you state your name and spell for the
court reporter please sure steve bertill b-e-r-t-i-l counsel for the applicant uh trotman
pepper hamilton sanders 3002 logan square philadelphia pa 19103 you swear or firm to tell
truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do could you identify your client yes i represent
the applicant and equitable owner of the subject property sr 40th street llc thank you our uh
vice chair carlton area has a few questions hi mr bertol do you agree to waive the reading of the
refusal and stipulate to its accuracy i do madam western 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, to all of the above.
Thank you. You may proceed and begin by sharing your screen.
Thank you. You may proceed and begin by sharing your screen.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Okay. Thank you, Madam Vice Chair and Mr. Chair.
As I stated, I represent the applicants and equitable owners of the property 637 North 40th Street.
This property, the property in question that you see here, is part of a partnership with the
Foot Offer Redevelopment Authority for housing revitalization of vacant lots on the 40th Street
corridor in the Belmont and Mantua communities. We are seeking approval for variance relief from
the occupied area requirements of the zoning code. The subject property has been selected
with other vacant sites to develop into housing, according to a multi phased plan for mixed
housing options in the in the communities I just referenced. The applicant has been identified
as the developer for market rate and deed restricted workforce housing component of
the plan. I'll get into that in a second. But I just wanted to orient the board about
the property that we're referring to. As I stated, where the address is 637 North 40th Street,
as you can see here by the aerial. Here's another shot. The property is currently vacant. It
fronts on 40th Street, as you can see. The block that it's on is mostly vacant parcels.
Here is just a street view of the property, so you can get a sense
it's there
there's another angle looking down 40th street
this is the corner of the block more vacant lots and this is the frontage of the subject
property where the arrows um are where the where the arrow icon is where it's the specific property
in question. As I stated, we do have a refusal. We have no use refusals, though we have a
dimensional refusal for the occupied area under the zoning district. We are required to have a
25% occupied area, while the proposed project has an occupied area of a little under 18%,
17.8 um looking about a seven percent difference um in occupied area um which can be explained when
i uh get to the the zoning plan to show you why we have that discrepancy of the of the seven percent
here you can see the site plan of what we're proposing which is a four
unit multifamily use structure. The uses are all by right. The difference in the occupied area
is due to the fact that we have a covered open porch on the property. If we did not have that
covered open porch, we would not have that dimensional refusal regarding to the 7% difference
an occupied area, but the inclusion of that proposal, excuse me, the inclusion of that porch
to match the existing character and design of the existing buildings and the design for this area
and block created that discrepancy of seven percent of occupied area. And you'll get a better
sense of that with the rendering. As I stated, we're proposing a four-unit structure.
on the ground floor we have two units and then on the third and fourth floor we have two more split
level units for a total of four units one studio one one bed one bath and two two beds two baths
it's just a layout of the ground floor this is a layout of the
additional two units that are split level
Now we did meet, excuse me, here's just a rendering of the the exterior of the property
as I referenced earlier. As you can see we're matching the aesthetic, the material, the
the roof style, the cornice, and the front porches that are up and that are existing
going to block. This is the property in question. This is the properties on the corners for a
different parcel, obviously, but that's under a different application that you will be seeing
shortly in the coming weeks under this same project that I'm referencing. We did meet with
the community. We met both of the affected RCOs and the coordinating RCOs together, and we do have
um and we do have a letter of support that was stated earlier for this specific parcel um and
a letter of support that was stated earlier for this specific
for other parcels that will be coming before you uh soon as i stated just so you have a sense of
what we're talking about here um this project is part of a multi-phased uh conceptual plan
in response to RFP from the Redevelopment Authority for mixed income housing stock along the 40th
Street corridor. It's a multi-phase project. We are part of the market rate and workforce rental
phase of the project, and that's what this site and the additional sites will be.
And this is just so you get a sense of kind of the skill of the project. As I stated, we are
phase one um and so this project in a larger context will be part of a larger um a larger
availability of housing stocks of many different income levels but ours is focusing on the market
rate and the workforce um as i stated we have a letter of support excuse me my uh
file is freezing for some reason um but as i stated we have a letter of support from the
community group. And as such, we would ask that the ZBA, the board and the chair grant variance
due to the de minimis nature of the occupied area refusal and due to the fact that the
creation of that refusal is due to matching and matching not only the aesthetics of the existing
structures uh but including the functional component that's prevalent in the area um with
me i have representative from the ownership of or the excuse me the uh the the equitable ownership
mr tye smith who can adopt and affirm my testimony um if the board does not have any
additional questions why don't we adopt your testimony right now mr smith uh yes
Hi, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Tayyib Smith. That's T-A-Y-Y-I-B-S-M-I-T-H.
All right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Counsel, proceed.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Smith, did you hear the testimony that I provided to the board this afternoon?
Yes, I did.
Do you adopt the testimony or affirm the truth of it?
thank you very much questions from the board and mr chairman no no mr chairman questions or
comments from the virtual audience chair we have jihad ali mr ali you can unmute yourself and wait
for the chair please oh hi mr ali you've already been sworn today so proceed hello thank you i'm
I just wanted to say, Tayyip Smith, I'm very familiar with the Habitat for Humanity.
Tayyip Smith is one of our up-and-coming developers of UpColor in our neighborhood.
He's committed to achieving equitable footing on behalf of in the real estate market.
I support this project.
Thank you very much.
Any other questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Clint.
There are no hands at this time, Chair.
Planning Commission.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
David Fecto, City Planning Commission.
Mr. Chairman, members of the Board,
the comprehensive plan recommends no change
to the residential multifamily zoning at this location.
The Commission is aware that this property is part of a package of parcels
proposed to be redeveloped as part of a redevelopment agreement.
Those agreements are conditioned on receiving approval from the zoning board.
The applicant has shown that the variance is related solely
to the design of the front porch a feature which is in keeping with the other homes on the block
city planning commission recommends the board grant the variance for open area thank you david
mi 2022 001 811 637 north 40th street i vote yes harold tenary my vote is yes
james now my vote is yes ishmael shaheed my vote is yes thank you counsel
thank you mr chair members of the board number 15 mi 2022 001 827 737 north 42nd street
alan knockamson is the attorney um recommendation of support from belmont alliance civic association
NEW SPEAKER 1 GOOD AFTERNOON, ALLEN OFFINSON.
NEW SPEAKER 1
could you could you please identify your client and the relationship to the property
CAN YOU PLEASE IDENTIFY YOUR CLIENT?
NEW SPEAKER 1
uh we're going for the trifecta this is kumas homes as well ep property llc um just happened
they're not all planned together there were some continuances um and i have mr as a as their
representative um our vice chair has a few questions hi mr knockinson do you agree to
with the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy? Yes. Have you emailed the exhibit
packet with proof of ownership, tax compliance, a copy of the refusal or referral, vote is 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 and we have a letter of support. Okay great you may proceed
and you know the drill.
I'm sharing my screen.
I will make it as brief as I can,
but still preserve the record.
This is 737 North 42nd Street.
The notice refusal is pretty simple.
This is CMX2 property.
We're allowed two residential units
and a commercial.
All we're asking to do
is eliminate the commercial components,
which makes sense
because there's no commercial component
on 42nd Street.
We are adjacent to Lancaster Avenue
where there is a commercial corridor
We want to help preserve and enliven that commercial corridor by just having residential use here
and not diverting that residential use away from a commercial corridor that needs a little bit of TLC.
And that's our only refusal.
So we have a letter of support.
It was a well-attended meeting.
We met with the community, and we have support from that community,
uh you know showing that um nearby uh there is a two-family dwelling uh similarly situated
so again if you walk by the property filter uses proposed as a stick alicus or thumb or is it
something that fits within the fabric of the neighborhood here it's something that fits
within the fabric of the neighborhood uh you can see other examples of cmx2 properties which are
solely residential uh 1717 north 41st street so two examples just nearby uh again this is where
we are we're cmx2 but this is really all residential this is the commercial corridor
of francaster avenue we want to support that commercial corridor by not diverting uh commercial
use uh away from there so as you can see we have ample public transportation and trolley
buses and such. This is a property. It's a vacant lot. It's been a vacant lot for, you know, as far
back as Google Earth will let you see it, May of 2009, and we're looking to develop it into a
multifamily structure. North 42nd Street to the right of the property, North 42nd Street to the
left of the property. You've seen the pictures about Kuma's homes. You've heard what I said about
homeless homes uh still all true and accurate and here's our plans and drawings again traditional
uh brick facade um a flat panel uh very tastefully done and as you can see some same plan
bi-level uh unit one is first floor basement level unit two is second floor and third floor
and we do have a roof deck here and they have no objection to the roof deck so you know we are
having this and with the lift up and then uh we met on may 24th at 6 p.m 143 addresses
were notified of this community meeting it was a very well attended community meeting
and proof of mailing our application for appeal along with our notice of refusal on project
information form that we followed the cba our deed to the property showing the ep property llc
and IRA developments are the owners of the property, and finally, our certificate of
taxpayers. With that being said, I have Mr. Eze still in the virtual audience. I would
ask that he raise his hand, and we can give him again. Mr. Eze, please unmute yourself
and wait for the chair. Hi, Mr. Eze. You've been sworn. Just state your name. You don't
have to spell it and mr knockups it'll start if i thank you uh mr you heard everything i stated
today correct and it's true correct yes it is you thought there's your own testimony
yes i do and we received overwhelming support from the community for this project right
yes thank you questions from the board
no no mr chairman kyle you're muted i'm good questions from the virtual audience
there's no hands at this time chair my planning commission thank you mr chairman david effecto
city planning commission mr chairman members of the board the comprehensive plan recommends
Mr. Chairman, members of the Board, the Comprehensive Plan recommends this property for
this property for commercial
commercial mixed-use zoning, but we did not hear testimony that a hardship exists. However,
Yeah, sure.
only one property on the block appears to be in commercial use, so it's tough to characterize
this block as commercial in nature. The City Planning Commission recommends the Board grant
these variants. Thank you. MI 2022 001 827 737 North 42nd Street, I vote yes.
Carol Tenere, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Notkinson. I'm going to move right into the 330 list.
And I'll do our preamble here. Good afternoon. My name is Bill Bergman.
I will be chairing this afternoon's EBA hearing. With me is Carol Tenere, our vice chair.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Ishmael Shaheed, our Board Secretary.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
And our Board Member, James Snell.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you.
Also here is our Executive Director, Tanya Sunkit, and our Board Attorney, Hillary Emerson.
Here's our virtual format.
Be advised, the proceedings are being recorded.
By participating, you will acknowledge your agreement to be recorded.
the video will be available by contacting tonyasunkett at phil.gov. For the benefit of
our court stenographer, we ask attorneys and witnesses to identify themselves before testifying.
If you 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 finally, the question and answer box on the
screen is not for testimony or comments. Any comments have to refer to our Executive Director,
Tanya Sunkin. I'm going to look at our continuances for this afternoon. Number five.
MI 2022-001-344-5850 Kimball Avenue. That case is continued. Is there anyone in the audience
has a comment relative to that case? I see no handshare. Are there any other requests for
continuances on the 3.30 list? I see no hands, Chair. Are there any withdrawals on the 3.30
list? I see no hands, Chair. Thank you. We're going to go to number one, MI 2022, 001271,
1213 North 29th Street
Misha Ryan's is the
pro se. This is an application for a takeout restaurant
at the first floor. In the same application with all other
uses as per previously approved structure
see the application number ZP 2020
004753 for the permit.
There's one referral.
The proposed takeout restaurant is a special exception to the ZBA.
He's coming back in as a panelist, Chair.
Thank you.
Hi, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Yes, hi.
My name is Jamisha Ryans.
His first name is J-A-M-I-S-H-A.
Last name is Ryans, R-Y-A-N-S.
Great.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
yes our vice chair carol tenary has a few questions hi do you agree to waive the reading
of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy i'm sorry shane attorney no miss tenary okay i'm sorry
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 this property
five days in advance of this hearing
and have you met with the RCO
and do you have a letter?
So I did send everything in.
I met with the RCO and I do have a letter.
It wasn't a second week of five days
because I was kind of confused by the email,
but I did send it in.
So do we move forward, Mr. Chair?
We're fine, we're fine.
Okay, cool.
I've already talked to our council about this.
Okay, great.
Can I also ask if you can read it into the record?
I do not yes thank you this is this is Hillary
yes thank you this is hill this is hillary bill read the refusal into the record already
i'm sorry i thought so it's a restaurant yeah i apologize no no that's okay that's okay
and it was very quick on the draw there isn't that a referral yes okay cool
He is very quick.
So you may proceed and begin sharing your screen.
Okay, so I'm kind of new to this.
A lot of people are.
Yeah, I'm kind of new.
I think I'm doing it right.
Green button.
Share screen.
Are you using a regular computer, Ms. Ryans?
No, I'm on a MacBook.
A MacBook.
Can you assist?
I was saying if I was to share the screen, it says Zoom will not be able to record the contents of your screen until it quits.
you can choose to quit zoom now or you can do it later so do it later i'm not familiar with the
mac macbook at all um iit bill no i got it i have it it should be okay okay here we go
so basically um this is the front image of the location i'm trying to make it into a juice bar
at least the space back in november to my knowledge the space was supposed to be suitable for a juice
bar, which will be operated similar as a Starbucks. You will order at the counter and you will be able
to, you know, leave or have seating if you would like. But it was technically supposed to be set
up as a takeout restaurant. Upon me trying to obtain permits and other information from my
landlord, it was never set up to be a takeout restaurant. So now I'm here, you know, doing this
process. So this is basically the space. It's at 1213 North 29th Street, which is the area that I'm
from. I'm trying to show you the floor plan. So this is basically the setup of how the juice bar
would be. So here is the counter, the cash register. It would be a small seating area in the
front. And basically the problem that I'm having at the moment is that being as though it's
technically as of right now zoned as the rest as a restaurant and how to take our restaurant
I have to install another bathroom and being as though I'm not the owner of this space I don't
wouldn't like to install another bathroom and I also don't feel as if though another
bathroom is can fit in this space. So
that's basically really it I'm not changing any structural damage to the store the store
will remain the same on the outside um anything that will be being put in the inside would be
a counter and a small seating area I'm trying to pull up the inside of the building
So, on the right-hand side of the image is where I plan on putting the counter space.
Being as though it's narrow, there will not be any seating in the back or on the right-hand
Well, the counter space will be on the right-hand side looking at the photo.
No seating on the left-hand side, no seating in the back of the space where the window
the seating will take place in this front area where the door is it'll be a small
ledge seating on this left wall and on this window here and that's really just about it
i'm trying to see if i have any do you guys have any like questions or anything or
questions from the board no mr chairman no no mr chairman questions or comments from the virtual
audience i see no hands at this time chair hi planning commission this is uh ron bednar city
planning first name ron r-o-n last name bednar b-e-d and they are right do you swear for him
to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth. I do. Proceed, Ron. This property is
indicated for neighborhood commercial mixed use on the city plan. Proposed special exception should
not cause any detrimental impacts to the neighborhood beyond what's normally expected.
normally expected. Therefore, we recommend that a request for special exception be granted.
Therefore, we recommend the request for special exception be granted. Thank you.
Thank you. MI 2022 001 271 1213 North 29th Street. I vote yes. Carol Tenere, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes. Ishmael Shahi, my vote is yes.
Thank you. Good luck with your project. Thank you so much. Have a good day.
you too okay so here we go number number two mi 2021-003-109-1227 south 4th street
henry clinton is the attorney letter of non-opposition from pennsport civic association
prerequisite approval from the streets department for original plan
Mr. Clinton is coming back in as a panelist here.
Thank you.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Clinton, you've already been sworn today.
Could you identify your client and relationship to this property?
Sure. I have two clients, Gerald Hawley, H-A-L-E-Y, and Harley Saxby, S-A-X-B-Y.
They're both owners of the property. Both are on the call.
Okay, and our vice chair has a few questions.
Hi, Mr. Clinton. 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 the all of your plug with a little bit of an explanation.
I didn't get the RCO letter until yesterday, and I also sent additional plans last evening
concerning the parking space that we're asking for.
But yes to everything else.
You may proceed and begin sharing your screen.
Thank you.
is that visible
yeah you're getting almost an advertisement for Zuma
that's certainly not the purpose
I see an email right which is not the point
you want to okay
i think it was just on yeah we got you okay thank you very much make it a little
bigger if you can any better mr chairman that's fine all right let me just start at the beginning
all right thank you for your understanding of patience so this is concerning a property 1227
south fourth street my clients are current residents of center street philadelphia and they
wanted to purchase a property in a neighborhood and become part of a community which they did
they have a home single family home currently under construction uh right at 1224 south fourth
street which is at the intersection of fourth and titan street and the request today is for a parking
space in the rear of the property uh this is my presentation package containing table of contents
AA through A11. My appearance statement, the refusal, the refusal, there's three refusals,
all concerning the request for a parking space at the rear of the property. First refusal is that
a parking spot has to be accessory to a single family property via a shared driveway or rear
street. I'll show you with aerial photographs that there are several other parking spaces and
garage is already on the block. Second refusal has to do with fencing. The code calls for
four-foot high fencing. We're going to have a six-foot high gate and a six-foot high fence
to the rear of the property. And the parking space dimensions requirements are typically 18 feet deep.
the mansion's requirements are typically 18 feet deep we are proposing 16 feet four inches and we
have a traffic engineer's report indicating that that would be ample for a vehicle this is a letter
of support from Pennsport Civic Association excuse me a letter of non-opposition from Pennsport
the one request that they had was that we use a gate that is very quiet there's a specific
manufacturer called Wayne Dalton which has a closing mechanism which is one of the quietest
on the market and my clients are going to endeavor to use that gate so there's no
noise or no excessive noise to the adjacent neighbors for perspective I wanted to show
the board some aerial photographs. This is Titan Street, 4th Street here to the west, 3rd Street
to the left, and the dotted areas are where there are existing either garages or an open parking
space on the same side of the street as my client's property. And I'll note to the board that
on the south side of the street on Titan, there is no parking, so we're not taking any parking
spaces away in fact we're actually taking a car off the street and and hopefully placing it in
this parking space this is another photograph of titan street now we're looking to the north with
four street on your left and third street on your right and again just to show the board there's
three other uh parking curb cuts on this block three of which are garages on the north side and
one of which is an open air parking space. This is my client's property. It's currently under
construction. We're probably about 85% complete right now. And this is looking east on Titan
Street. Again, as I mentioned, all parking is on the north side of the street, nothing on the south
side. So we're not taking a parking spot away. This is actually looking at the parking space
itself. To the left is an alley. We're going to have a six foot high fence here and the gated area
will be on the front of the parking space just wanted to show the board some of the parking
spaces slash garages on the block I'll walk through these quickly there's one two this is
just a parking space another parking space this is a parking garage with an opening a door to get
INTO IT, A GARAGE, ANOTHER GARAGE. I DO HAVE A PROVISO PLAN ATTACHED BECAUSE WE DID MAKE
A NUMBER OF CHANGES ON THE SITE PLAN AFTER WE MET TWICE WITH PENSPORT AND THIS IS ALL
IN THE PACKAGE AND IF THE BOARD LOOKS KINDLY UPON THIS APPLICATION, WE WOULD ASK THAT
both the proviso form and the plans be stamped this is a layout of the building again indicating
the parking space in the rear we actually widen the parking space from eight and a half feet to
nine feet but we decrease the length from 17 feet to 16 feet 14 inches this is streets department
Department approval, this is the original plan.
The floor plans I included in the package, there's really nothing for the Board to consider
with regard to that, but if there were any questions about the property itself, we would
certainly address them.
These are renderings.
Our tax certifications, the remaining documents are what you would see in a typical CBA presentation,
our application, our project information form, zoning map, again, RSA zoning district, the deed
indicating that Gerald and Harley are the owners of the property.
Our notice letter to all the community, list of addresses, and our traffic engineers report,
which was shared with Pennsport, which indicates that the design of the parking space is compatible
with the vehicle that my clients will be using to park in that space.
So just in summary, the space that we're asking for is for one car.
It's compatible with about five to seven other uses on the block where there are already curb cuts and parking spaces,
two of which are on the same side of the street as my client.
We're not going to affect anyone's lighter air.
There's no impairment on development for this use request.
that it's in harmony with the code
and it's in harmony with what the community has requested.
So I could ask my client to unmute himself
to adopt my testimony.
Then we'll take any questions from the board
and from the virtual audience
if that's okay with the chairman.
Mr. Saxby, please unmute yourself
Mr. Saxby, please unmute yourself and wait for the chair.
and wait for the chair.
Hi, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Yes, my name is Harley Saxby, H-A-R-L-E-Y, S-A-X-B-Y.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Mr. Clinton, proceed.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good afternoon, Mr. Saxby. How are you?
I'm good. Thank you.
good were you on the call when i presented the project uh for you and gerald yes if you had
the opportunity to testify would you adopt my testimony as your own and as true and correct
yes thank you very much questions from the board no mr chair no mr chairman oh mr chairman
questions or comments from the virtual audience
chair i see no hands at this time planning commission this is uh ron bednar city planning
the property is indicated for residential on the city plan given the established street pattern
recommend that the quested variants be permitted provided that the fence height
is lower to four feet and with at least a 50% opaqueness to it as required by the code.
Mr. Chairman, can I address that? The gate will be opaque. It will be fully opaque,
but the height will have to be what was requested, six feet to adequately permit a car to enter.
okay um mi 2021-003-109-1227 south 4th street i vote yes with proviso revised plans one page
stamp by zba july 13 2022 carl tenere my vote is yes with proviso
James Snell yes with proviso
Ishmael Shahid yes with proviso
Thank you Mr. Chairman appreciate it
Thank you Mr. Clinton
Number 3 MI 2022
003405
2236 Frankfurt Avenue
Aiden Karakarikoff
is the attorney for the tenant
um letter of support from fishtown neighbors association letter of support fishtown kensington
area business improvement district mr karakoff could you raise your hand please
chair he's coming back in as a panelist thank you
Hi, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Yes, Mr. Chairman.
My name is Aidan, A-I-D-A-N, Karakoff, C-A-R-I-C-K-H-O-F-F, and I represent the applicant
on number 3176, Gert Schooley, at 2236 Frankfurt Avenue.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
I do, Mr. Chairman.
Do you identify who your client is?
Yes, Mr. Chairman. It's Gert Schooley, the owner of Groove Hound at 2236 Frankfurt Ave.
Thank you. 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 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, we do.
You may proceed and begin sharing your screen.
Thank you, Madam Vice Chair.
I just wanted to jump in briefly and indicate just to clarify that this application is only
for the additional use. It is not for any signage. I verified with L&I that they didn't review any
signage in this case. And so there was some signage shown in the packet, but that would
require a separate application. So I just hope that to be clear on the record.
Are you okay with that, Aiden?
Yes, I'll double check with the clients.
My understanding is that the application was solely for the auxiliary takeout window,
which is what the exception is sought for, even though the photos do show the signage.
So we understand we'd have to make a separate application.
Proceed.
Proceed.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Pictured here is Gert Schooley, my client.
Pictured here.
Ms. Schooley's plan is to transform her doggy daycare into not only a place for dogs, but for their owners, too.
Groove Hounds, a beloved business in Fishtown, along the CMX2 zoning district in a commercial corridor.
And Ms. Schooley is hoping to add a small coffee bar for takeout purposes only to the front of her property called Sit-Stay Coffee.
and that's what you see here on the screen. Like I mentioned, her business sits on a CMX2 zoning
district, and the nearby properties are two- and three-story multifamily homes, as well as
commercial storefronts. We've also included in our packet a blueprint for the store that shows the
coffee shop, window service only, as well as the entrance to Ms. Scully's existing business. So
within the packet, Ms. Scully has provided all required documents in her submission package
including the initial L&I denial for permit, for application, for special exception,
letter from the property's lessor and support, tax clearance certificate,
and the letters of support that the chairman mentioned.
And as the chairman mentioned, Ms. Schooley's application was approved by both RCOs in the neighborhood,
Fishtown Neighborhood Association, and the Fishtown Kensington Business Improvement District.
To that end, the Business Improvement District stated in their letter to the board
that Ms. Schooley's proposal will support the natural flow of traffic on Frankfurt Avenue,
which is a, quote, major commercial corridor in Fishtown.
The BID explained that sit, stay, coffee will, quote, enhance walkability for all throughout the district
and provide a wonderful amenity for residents and patrons alike.
Ms. Schooley also has a comprehensive on- and off-site litter cleanup program.
We sent that by way of email supplement.
I do apologize for the delay.
In that submission, the comprehensive litter cleanup plan, Ms. Schooley is committed to keeping the property clean.
Her plan is to conduct on and off-site litter cleanup on a twice-daily basis and as needed throughout the day.
So trash and recycling containers are stored behind a fence that is part of the property operated by Ms. Schooley.
That's the area shown here with the 12-foot marking on the blueprint.
So those are shielded from the street.
Ms. Schooley uses 32-gallon Rubbermaid containers with lids, and her address allows up to six trash cans or 12 bags of trash per pickup.
So if there's waste on a given week that exceeds this limit, which is unlikely, Ms. Schooley will arrange for private trash pickup.
The letters of support that are in here I think are overwhelming.
Gert's a beloved member of the Fishtown community,
and that's why both boards voted unanimously in favor of this auxiliary takeout window.
And now I will call on Gert Schooley, the applicant.
Her project manager, Michelle Simone, is also here,
and I will ask Gert to adopt my testimony as her own and answer any questions.
All right, great.
Ms. Schooley, can you please raise your virtual hand?
Ms. Schooley, please unmute yourself and wait for the chair.
Hi, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter?
Sure, it's Gert Schooley, G-E-R-T-S-C-H-O-O-L-E-Y.
Right, do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Proceed, counsel.
Ms. Schooley, has my testimony here to the board today been truthful and accurate?
Yes. Ms. Schooley, do you accept my testimony as your own today? I do. Thank you, Kurt. And Mr. Chairman, we'll turn over for questions. Sure. Questions from the board? No, Mr. Chairman.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience? I see no hands, Chair.
Planning Commission. Ron Bednar, City Planning. This property is indicated for neighborhood
commercial mixed use on the city plan. Proposed special exceptions should not cause any detrimental
impacts to the area beyond what's normally expected. Therefore, we recommend the request
for special exception to grant. Thank you. MI 2022-003-405-2236 Frankfurt Avenue. I vote yes.
carol tanari my vote is yes
james snell my vote is yes ishmael shahi my vote is yes thank you counsel thank you mr chairman
number four mi2022-001-389-5315 locust street burn anastasio is the counsel
Byrne Anastasio is the counsel.
Meeting was held by Cobbs Creek Neighbors Association in May 2nd.
No letters of yet that we see.
Mr. Chair, this is Hillary.
Mr. Anastasio is coming back in as a panelist now, Chair.
Pardon me?
Mr. Anastasio is coming back in as a panelist now.
Hilary, do you say you have the letter?
Yeah, we just got one this afternoon.
And from Mr. Anastasio.
So thank you.
And it is a letter in non-opposition to the project.
All right.
Vern, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
For Bill, Vern Anastasio, 2016 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19103.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
I do, Mr. Chairman.
Could you identify your client in relationship to this property?
Yep, my client is Kenneth Hilliard, who I represent on this project.
Thank you.
Our Vice Chair, Carol Tenere, has several questions for you.
Hi, Mr. Anastasio.
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
I do, Madam Chairperson.
Have you emailed an 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?
All of that, and I recently, as Attorney Emerson was able to confirm, we do have a letter of non-opposition.
That's great. You may proceed and share your screen.
Thank you. I believe my screen is shared, yeah?
Yeah, I'm looking for that.
Awesome. So it's 5315 Locust Street. It was purchased by my client recently.
long uh neglected and uh uh you know a real problem for the block and he purchased it
would like it is a zoned single family rsa3 uh single family residential his plan is to
occupy one of the floors and in fact uh lease the other uh floor so that he can uh offset the cost
of purchase and what has become uh because of you know there's current conditions uh really high cost
of rehabilitation let's get to the plans the basement would be of course uh nothing more than
storage and mechanicals uh first floor off the uh off the front steps is a large uh living room
dining room sort of uh a living space two ample bedrooms in the rear uh same open sort of space
uh you know uh open uh flow on the first floor and second floor uh with a with a galley kitchen
and then two bedrooms below uh it is is his intention to in fact uh occupy one of the one
of the units and we did he did personally and not my office but he did personally go on the block
and spoke to the immediate neighbors uh folks on either side of him as well as several others
and got uh petition letters of support for the appeal there are several properties uh on the
block that are rentals and multifamily, although they may or may not be all legalized through the
zoning board, but with two separate entrances, there are several properties like this on the
block. And my client would like, in fact, to legalize it so that he can ensure that if he
does, in fact, get tenants who, you know, aren't the best, although he will vet, that
he will be able to evict them, and he can only do that if he has a legal rental license
and a viable certificate of occupancy.
Here is the proof of posting to 160 individual households, proof of tax compliance.
the mailing that went out. I want to move all of this including the deed and any other ancillary
documents that I have up to 42 pages in my exhibit packet submitted to the board today
and with that and with the RCO support you know the I'm asking respect
support you know the uh i'm asking respectfully that the board uh in fact grant the variance
two family dwelling plans to move into he plans to move into one unit as i said
uh and lease the other to assist paying for the purchase and redevelopment those redevelopment
costs have grown exponentially over the last 12 months because of supply chain issues it's a new
rehab quality housing product that he's providing and those near neighbors know it's that is actually
desperately needed on this particular block with already several rentals on the block that are not
nearly in the shape that he will leave it. With that I rest and I ask Mr. Kenneth Hilliard
to raise his virtual hand so we can get him on the record.
Mr. Hilliard, please raise your hand.
Chair, I see no hands at this time.
Okay, Vern, you're an officer of the court, and we'll take your testimony.
I appreciate that.
I do know that he did text me that he was online, but so long as we can move my...
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Chair, I see no hands.
Planning Commission.
Ron Bednar, City Planning.
This property is indicated for residential use on the city plan or adopted district plan.
Recommends no change to the existing single-family zoning.
Dislocation, the applicant's hardship, the evidence of unique physical circumstances or conditions of the property that would prevent it from being used in conformity with the code.
Therefore, we recommend the request for that.
It's not regretting.
Thank you.
MI 2022-001-389-5315 Locust Street.
I vote yes.
Harold Tennery, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Thank you, counsel.
Thank you all.
Talk to you next week.
Thank you.
Number six, MI 2022-001123-612 South 7th Street, Peter and Sylvia Silberman, owners pro se, for the erection of an addition to an existing attached single-family dwelling to include two roof decks, two decks, and a green roof.
size and location as shown on application plan
whereas deck may not
encroach into required rear yard
unless the floor level of the deck
is below the floor level of the first story
which is fully above grade
but the two proposed decks are at the second and third floor levels
whereas the roof decks must be set back at least
five feet from the extreme front of the building line,
but the two proposed roof decks are set back zero feet
from the Cater Street frontage.
Letter of non-opposition from Bella Vista Neighbors.
Mr. Silberman, please unmute yourself and wait for the chair.
Good afternoon, Mr. Silberman.
could you state your name and spell for the court reporter good afternoon mr chair and members of
the board my name is peter silberman p-e-t-e-r s-i-l-b as in boy e-r-m-n okay our vice chair
has a few questions hi mr silberman 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 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 madam vice chair you may proceed and share your screen
thank you
everybody see my screen it's kind of starting to come up
Sorry. We're there.
Next time we'll know to get Alan Malcolm soon for this, but for today we're on our own.
This is Google Maps showing the location of our house at the corner of Cater and 7th Street in Bella Vista.
This is a photo showing the existing conditions of our property.
You can see in this photo where we're proposing the second and fourth.
You can see in this photo where we're proposing the second and third floor for your decks.
Here's our refusal and a plan showing the three decks in a little more detail there.
That one's probably a little easier to see.
This is our letter of non-opposition, including all committee members, eight nearby neighbors, nine community members, all voting not to oppose, and just another two houses down the street with very similar decks on the Cater Street frontage without any setbacks.
you guys might have to help me with what else you need from us
uh peter show show a blow up of it again so we get a better understanding where you show us what
you have right there now what we have right now
is a corner property with sort of this with sort of this stair step stair step shape um
i also want to point out that our next door neighbor who has already written in the chat
in support of our project they have filled in this space one one house north of us so we're
not proposing to block any lighter air we're proposing two rear decks and you can see those
best probably on this plan so the variance would be for these these rear setbacks uh from it's
technically the rear yard setbacks and then the roof the roof the roof deck setback
okay okay questions from the board no mr chairman no mr chairman
and and let me let you you're putting a green roof on the top two peter yes mr chair okay
i work right now in this office right and it is super super hot um so i just i thought it would
be a more economical way to keep this top room cool right okay all right mr chair this is hillary
um just one question um mr silberman the the rco had asked for proviso about having the railings
along Cater Street set back two feet from the property line? Is that something you were in
agreement with or not in agreement with? We would still prefer the variance,
especially having walked around the neighborhood and seeing that, you know,
their concern is that we're going to knock over a planter or something like that.
um right it would be extremely awkward for somebody to walk you know literally right up
against the house and this is already there from the previous owner one of those philly green
you know rainwater things so it just seems a little excessive on a relatively small space
we would still prefer the variance yeah i don't think it would affect um it wouldn't affect your
your variance but it would be a condition on your variance so so you're stating that you would
prefer not to have that condition on your variant. Yes, ma'am. Okay, thank you.
Questions from the virtual audience?
Chair, we have a Nick DiBardino. Mr. Bardino, you can unmute yourself and wait for the chair.
Good afternoon, Mr. DiBardino. Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Yes, sir, Mr. Chair. My name is Nick DiBardino. That's N-I-C-K-D-I-B-E-R-A-R-D-I-N-O.
All right. Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, sir, I do.
Are you a neighbor?
Yes, I am. I live in 703 Cater Street.
Okay, proceed.
so i just wanted to register that i'm all in favor of this uh um proposal by peter uh we own the
house where these decks are going to be adjacent to there's an easement there in the picture
um and we are completely okay with this i just wanted you to know that okay all right thank you
thank you very much for for calling in is there anyone else in the virtual audience
chair i've seen all the hands at this time planning commission
this is ron bednar city planning the property is indicated for residential
use on the city plan or adopted district plan recommends no change to the existing zoning at
our adopted district plan recommends no change to the existing zoning at this location the
dislocation.
applicant's hardship is not supported with evidence of unique physical circumstances or condition
of the property that would prevent the setbacks and the deck from being used in conformity with
the code therefore we recommend the request for adherence not be granted
MI 2022 001123 612 South 7th Street. I vote yes.
Harold Tenere, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Good luck, Peter.
Thank you all very much.
Sure. I have to jump really fast. I'm sorry, guys.
We're good.
MI 2022-001-270-7448-Lime-Kill-Pike-Tropical-Food-Caterers-Listed-Applicant-No-Exhibits-First-Listing.
Is Hanif Martin there?
Mr. or Ms. Martin, could you please raise your virtual hand?
I see the name, but they haven't raised their hand.
Hanif Martin?
They still haven't raised their hand as of yet, Chair.
okay so let let me go to the next one to see what's going on and then we'll go back
mi2022 001124 900 to 08 west tayoga street no exhibit first listing yosef mayer
hi chair i'm sorry this is tanya the attorney of record for this particular case um i spoke
with them a few minutes ago and they understand because they did not submit timely but the case
is continued is that eight eight eight or seven or eight tanya the last one too all right good
so number eight mi 2022 001124 900 to 08 west tayoga street cases continued must be tried next
time. I want to call number seven again, MI 2022-00-1270-7448-Lime-Till-Pike, Hanif Martin.
Mr. and Ms. Martin, please raise your virtual hand.
Chair, again, the name is there, but they have not raised their hand.
Okay. There are no exhibits for this. This case will be continued. Mark must be tried next time.
Is there anyone else from the 330 list still in the audience? Or the case was not called?
chair i see no hands at this time we're gonna uh we're done for the day thanks everybody sorry it
went so late got a lot of work done so i appreciate what everybody did thank you very much all right
thank you have a good night all night everyone good night good night everyone