was transferred from Rodney Bell to Prepared Housing LLC. Rodney Bell is the sole member
of Prepared Housing LLC, and that's the current owner of the property.
You'll see that the corporate entity owes no taxes, real estate taxes, with respect to the
property. Then you'll see the notice of refusal. This is an RSA 5 property. Again, all we're trying
to do is make this into a three-unit dwelling no dimensional refusals.
Our application for appeal that we filed with the zoning board of adjustment
along with the project information form and the notice refusal as you can see like from the zoning
map there is a significant portion of the neighborhood especially in that block across
the street that is RM1. Unfortunately, we are not. And then you'll see where we are in the
neighborhood. We are between Pacific and West Erie on 21st Street. Photographs of the property.
This is a three-story structure elevated with a porch in the front.
pictures to the right of the property
pictures to the left of the property
there is nearby multifamily use
as indicated by the zoning map
also just to show illustrative
of 2101 West Venango
which is around the corner from us
and then plans and drawings
let me just make this a little smaller
each unit will have
it's it's uh will be on its own floor so you have a unit number one with the one bedroom one bath
with an unfinished basement unit two is a two bedroom one bath and then unit three is a one
And then unit three is a one-bedroom, one-bath.
bedroom one bath no roof deck
No roof deck.
Now, we did meet with the 13th Democratic Ward as a coordinating RSEO.
And, you know, one of the reasons why we're here today is because we did ask for a continuance
because we've been working diligently with the 13th Democratic Ward to find a way that it's a win-win
both the community as well as the uh as my client uh this is a rather large property from a square
footage perspective uh so it's really difficult for a lot of these properties to be used as single
family use and uh so we did work with the community if you see in blue this is what was
provided uh you know these are the provisos it says however because originally the community
was against it. And then it stated, or at least the neighbors, it says, however, the directly
affected residents, 13th Democratic Ward, RCO committee and ownership and legal team have
discussed and mentioned issues and agreed upon several provisos that mutually benefit the
community and ownership. Proviso number one, implement and forward a trash debris plan for
twice a while. Alan, pardon me to interrupt. Could you enlarge that? Oh, yeah, sure. Is that better?
that's better thank you all right uh so basically first a trash plan and a debris removal plan
where we're going to have pick up twice a week so one of the concerns in the neighborhood was
they're not against multi-family living like in terms of like increasing the density from a
parking perspective which a lot of people that is their concern they're more concerned about trash
storage or removal. So one of our major concessions was to have twice a week pickup
because that was a great concern in the neighborhood. The second concern in the neighborhood was just
general maintenance of these properties, whether it's snow removal or landscaping. So we'll be
working with the community in terms of making sure that there's proper snow removal and landscaping
throughout its existence. And to indicate specifically that the occupants aren't
responsible for the care of the property, like the tenants, we are as a property owner. And that's
item two. And then thirdly, it's something we actually propose, and I propose for all my clients
who are renting out the units, is to have contact information on the front window. So we don't want
bad tenants, like they don't want bad occupants. It's a lose-lose situation where you have a tenant
that's not behaving themselves. So we're going to agree, and at our assistance, to have the
contact information for either Mr. Bell or whomever is managing the property. Right now,
Mr. Bell is managing the property, but if that changes at any point, we will have the name and
contact information so that if neighbors are having issues with our tenants, we know and
we'll properly deal with that. So those are the three provisos that we agreed upon. I don't know
which ones would be enforceable, but that's for the board to decide. But then I also had my client
sign an affidavit. So there's something in writing in this respect. You know, my client,
you know, Blondie Bell owns Prepared Housing LLC. He owns this property. There's a pending
zoning matter with respect or zoning appeal with respect to this property for proposed three units.
And then I said, if the zoning appeal is granted, the company will perform the following tasks as
it pertains to the operation of the property. And almost verbatim, like what was in the proviso. So
So there's no dispute as to what we're agreeing to.
And most importantly, Mr. Bell signed that as well.
So after that, it's just proof of our mailing
of the community notice.
So with that, I would ask that Mr. Bell
virtually raise his hand.
now if you're in the audience please raise your virtual hand
well mr mr chair yeah mr notkinson if we can't find your client it will stipulate you being an
officer of court that he would adopt your testimony okay thank you and my understanding
to say Mr. Karn is in there. I'm going to get to him next. Thank you. Any questions from the board?
No. No. I believe Mr. Karn is out there and anyone else beside Mr. Karn would like to be
heard. Please raise your hand. Please raise your hand, Mr. Karn. Mr. Karn, I put his hand down.
Mr. Richardson, Charles Richardson has his hand raised. Mr. Richardson, you're still under oath.
please identify yourself good afternoon again mr chair charles richardson from the office of
councilwoman cindy bass room 312 city hall councilwoman is not opposed to granting this
Councilwoman is not opposed to granting this variance as long as there is agreement between the 13th Ward RCO and the applicant.
variance as long as there is agreement
So she has no opposition to this.
Jason, we lost Mr. Karn. Is that correct?
No, he just put his hand down. I guess he didn't want to speak. I'm not sure.
Anyone else?
We have a call-in user with their hand raised. I can allow them to speak at this time, but that is all right.
Call-in user, please identify yourself and I'll swear you in if you haven't already been sworn in.
Yes, this is Adrienne Fernandez from Swampoodle Neighborhood Process Association, RCO.
So under oath, Adrienne. Please proceed.
okay uh we just have one request for proviso and that's that the trash from recycling be
kept indoors except for on collection days noted thank you thank you thank you anyone else
on no further hand is this time mr chair thank you planning commission
good afternoon chair peter bernard for the planning commission
i want to confirm this is for 36 13th north 16th street no this is 36 42 north 21st
16th street will be the next case we call this property is indicated for multi-family
residential use in the district plan and has not yet been remapped accordingly we have no objection
to the granting of the variance. Thank you very much. MI 2020-001-513-3642 North 21st Street.
My vote is yes with the proviso. Commercial trash pickup twice per week. Trash to remain indoors
until trash pickup day. Professor Plaza, my vote is yes with proviso. Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes
with proviso you next case number seven mi mi 2021 that's zero zero zero four six seven
three six one three north 16th street miss pritzker identify yourself you're still under oath
and mr plaza will have some questions for you
good afternoon uh rachel pritzker r-a-c-h-a-e-l pritzker p-r-i-t-z-k-e-r 1635 market street
suite 1600 philadelphia pa 19103
rachel you agreed a way to reading of its refusal and stipulate to its accuracy
Yes. And have you emailed an exhibit packet with the required documents, proof of ownership, proof of tax compliance, copy of the refusal or referral photos and plans five days prior to this hearing?
Yes. And have you met with the RCO and have a letter?
Yes. Thank you. Please proceed. Thank you.
So I'm going to share my screen.
Sorry.
This is 3613 North 16th Street.
This is currently a vacant lot.
The property is zoned RSA 5.
It is located on the 3700 block of North 16th Street, where, as you can see from the packet, it's a large vacant lot.
The land area of the property is 2,500 square feet, according to the Office of Property Assessment, and has been vacant since at least 2007, in which it was a multifamily use.
We are proposing, we have one refusal that this application generated.
We are proposing use for multifamily.
We'd originally proposed six multifamily units, given the large size of the lot.
however in meeting with the community and the near neighbors the block captain etc
we have reduced our proposal to a four unit project which we did submit proviso plan forms
and revised plans for that there's no dimensional refusals that we're requesting again just a
There's no dimensional refusals that we're requesting. Again, just a reduction in the originally applied for six units to four units.
Literal enforcement of the RSA 5 zoning on the 3600 block of North 16th Street, as you can see, significantly larger square footage than most single family lots in the neighborhood and throughout the city of Philadelphia.
and also there's a lot of multifamily already on this block that's why we're proposing the
or units that we have today single family use would result in extremely large out of character
single family home out of reach financially for not only this neighborhood but most other
neighborhoods given this is a 2,500 square foot lot additionally expansive RM1 and CMX3 zoning
districts within two blocks of the property headed north and east both permit multifamily use
by right and are similar or smaller in size to this lot. Additionally, according to the city's
2035 comprehensive plan, they are proposing to have large the redevelopment of vacant properties
with uses for multifamily in the area south of Erie Avenue that includes the subject property.
This is on page 74 of the Planning Commission's 2035 Comprehensive Plan, which I believe I did include in my appeal.
Again, this lot is extremely large.
Adjacent to the property, there are uses for multifamily, as I provided specifically, six units, three units, four units, things of that nature.
most of the properties on this block are not permitted or were not legalized for single
family use and have obtained variances, or I guess at one point in the prior history were
zoned for multifamily by right. Again, this is the lease modification of the code as we're only
providing for four units. This will help add a more price conscious price point as for rentals
in the neighborhood or the opportunity for condos if the owner chooses to go that way.
And again, our hardship is that we have a 2,500-square-foot lot at the board as well, where you only need 1,440 square feet in RM1 to get four units, and we're proposing four units in a 2,500-square-foot lot.
We did meet with Charles Karn and the 13th Democratic Ward.
A lot of the opposition, as you can see on the screen, came from the RCO board committee.
um i'm not sure how many of those folks live um nearby or live on the block um i don't do know
that mr karn mentioned his address was on the 3800 block of 19th street which is you know between
three and five blocks away from this property additionally the non-opposition came from was
five um non-opposition those were people that were not made up of this rcos board um and also we have
letter of support from unna which is an affected rco they basically state in their letter that
the intention of the project is to help eliminate vacancy and blight and to provide more affordable
housing units they acknowledge that the 3600 block of north 16th street where this property is
and the neighboring venango street and erie avenue currently consists of both rental households and
single-family dwellings so this would not be out of character and also unna acknowledges the
developer to be a community partner has demonstrated a commitment to revitalization of the community
by employing community members and participating in neighborhood cleanups. We just included some
of the outreach that we did in order to try to get multiple meetings and to make sure that everyone
was informed. We have the proof of mailing. We also have a bunch of letters of support from those who
live on the block, and also nearby 3637 North 16th Street, 3617 North 16th Street, 3619 North
16th Street, 3620 North 16th Street, 3323 North 16th Street. The president of Crystal Ray,
also who has the Crystal Ray School on 17th and West Allegheny, submitted support for this
development as well. And again, and also a pastor in the area as well submitted just
her support. And she has a church on, I think, the 2200 block or 2400 block of North 16th as well.
Additionally, like I said, we've made revisions to the plans in order to provide less density
and to help accommodate some of the neighbors' concerns.
So I just want to sort of stop there.
We're looking again for a hear and hold.
So we want to have an opportunity to meet with Mr. Karn, his RCO,
and members of the community to provide the revised plans
and some additional considerations related to senior housing needs
um related to senior housing needs and um concerns with on-street traffic and so what we just because
and concerns with on-street traffic.
the board had already seen this we wanted to at least uh you know not continue this and drag it
out and we were grateful that we were able to have that accommodated i do want to have if scott
woodruff is here to provide the revised plans um for the project on the record again it's a reduction
from six units to four on a long-standing almost a decade and a half it's been vacant and had prior
uses as multi-family as well. I also want to mention for the board that I think there's seven
or so members in support of the project that wanted to speak they were also on for the prior
meeting that was continued at the request of the board so I don't know I'll leave it to the
chairman and members of the board if you want to hear their testimony today i would appreciate them
being heard they've hung on the line for uh now an hour and 45 minutes um and want to make sure that
they're heard for the record as well mr woodruff please identify yourself with the record that's
where you're in uh scott woodruff uh w o dr u f f 4001 main street philadelphia pa 19127
Do you want to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Scott, do you want to just share your screen and go through the revisions that we made
to the plans for the board?
Sure, I just need to be promoted to panelist.
Mr. Ward has been promoted to panelist. You'll be able to share a screen now.
Okay, so this is the zoning sheet.
um say we're taking the project from six to four units uh looking at the architectural floor plans
um the exterior is relatively the same um and just looking at the generalized floor plans
we previously had two units per floor uh currently now we have one unit on the first floor which is a
a two-bedroom, one-bath unit with large kitchen, den, and living room on the first level
with accessible access. And then on the second level, there's a two-bedroom, two-bath
that's currently there. Again, large living, kitchen in the front with the bedrooms in the
rear and then on the third level uh we have the previous two bed um one bath design with two units
on that third floor
and then just again for reference the was the pre-existing exterior rendering again
wouldn't really change too much again red brick kind of uh the main thing that to match the
existing context uh rachel is there anything else you wanted me to to run through uh no i just want
to show just um just the directly adjacent property so that the board can see that directly
next to it fits in with what's there the your massing is a little