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.