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