So, you know, I'm not sure, Mr. Chairman, I'm not sure if we are going to be actively opposed.
The RCO had hired counsel, and so we are prepared to put on a full hearing with witnesses or proceed with an offer of proof, I guess, depending on whether we're going to be actively opposed today.
It was Corin Wise was the attorney.
It appears as though he is available to promote to panelists.
So we'll be putting on a full hearing.
And with that, I have the owner of Stone Door LLC, which is the owner of the property, the sole member, Mr. Henry Bailey, if he could be promoted as well.
raise your hand i'm sorry i'm sorry mr malloy you said um who was it it's mr henry bailey
does he need to present or does he just need audio oh he will uh audio would be fine
does he need to present or does he just need audio oh he will uh audio will be fine thank you kindly
and then i also have uh our architect uh derek spencer from gnome architects
and i believe he could just do audio as well
So if I could share my screen, you can go for it.
Thank you.
So we should see our applicants exhibit pack, which I'll just mark for the record.
Applicant's Exhibit A is the refusal.
Exhibit B is the site description, the posting, pictures of the posting and surrounding area photographs.
Exhibit C is a zoning presentation that was prepared by Nome Architects and Henry Bailey.
Exhibit D are interior floor plans of the homes that we're presenting.
Exhibit E is a picture of the zoning map, a photo of the zoning map.
F is the letter from the Central Roxborough Civic Association.
G is our tax clearance letter.
Exhibit H is our letter regarding the RCO meeting, certificates of mailing, and our affidavit of service.
Exhibit I is a copy of our zoning appeal.
Exhibit J is a copy of the deed showing ownership in Stone Door LLC.
Exhibit K are sample exterior finishes of a different historic property in the vicinity of the property we'll be discussing.
And Exhibit L is an email exchange with the historic commission staff.
And Mr. Wise has been delivered a copy of all these exhibits.
So with that, we'll just summarize quickly why we're here.
So we're here for several dimensional variances involving a property that's been placed on the historic list in Philadelphia, and the property is approximately a 13,919 square foot property zoned RSD3, and it's located at 348 Green Lane.
And as you'll hear from Mr. Bailey, immediately or soon after he purchased the property, the community put it on the historic list.
The property is a large 4,000 plus square foot existing historic structure that was converted prior to Mr. Bailey's ownership into five apartments.
The historic designation, the age of the property, the upkeep and maintenance that he's already placed into the building and that he plans to do with the building, as he'll tell you, has created an unreasonable burden on him and creates a hardship in which he is proposing two houses situated to attach single-family dwellings.
situated to the rear of the property, each with a 2,336 square foot lot and a 2,182 square foot
lot. And with that development of the rear portion of the property, it will leave the existing
structure on a compliant 9,400 square foot lot. And as you'll see, put two houses in the rear of
the property. Henry's worked with the community groups and he'll tell you since 2018 to try to
come up with a solution to the dimensional variance requests and to resolve the hardship
that he faces in owning and maintaining the historic structure to the level that he would
like to to bring it back for uh in the neighborhood so with that i'll put um ask henry bailey to
please uh unmute himself excuse me counselor yes ma'am sorry can you go to exhibit e the site plan
Thank you.
was there a question uh or or would you just like to see the site plan i could
can proceed with Mr. Bailey? Sure, you can proceed. I just want to see it.
proceed with mr bailey sure you could proceed i just want to see it terrific
Terrific. Okay. Thank you very much. Sorry about that. So, Henry, are you available?
Good morning. Can you hear me? Yep, we can. Thanks. So, Henry, introduce yourself to the
board, please. I'm Henry Bailey, principal of Stonedore LLC, H-E-N-R-Y-B-A-I-L-E-Y.
I'm sorry. You swear to firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
I do. I'm a general contractor, property manager. I'm very familiar with the neighborhood. I was a resident down the street for some time, and my office was in Manion prior to COVID.
stone door llc purchased 348 green lane in may of 2018 our plan is to maintain and restore the large
old home the home was built in 1872 it's pretty old it's once a single family
residence pretty massive because of its immense size the building was operated
as a five-unit apartment building for decades the building still has many great details but
needs some work to restore and maintain.
We hope to keep the home for years and years to come.
Right after we bought the property,
Central Roxborough Civic Association
nominated 348 Green Lane for historic designation.
Once we found out, we supported it.
We attended a couple of meetings
with the historic commission and the CRCA.
And ultimately the end of 2018,
it was officially designated and accepted.
we purchased the home in fair condition in 2018 for $580,000 and up until now we've made
around $180,000 in improvements already we're seeking to make more improvements to the property
that will restore the exterior of the house and the surrounding landscape when we bought the
property we we did our due diligence but really had no idea what we were in for at the time
we began improvements as soon as we uh immediately after purchase and um to get the vacant units
turned over during the first year we had more vacancies and just tried to systematically go
through and address each problem in each unit during the process of updating the units we
uncovered many deferred maintenance issues a massive leak in the deteriorated chimney for
instance was found to have been going on for years and we had to redo the affected floors
and ceilings on that side of the house, had to rebuild the chimney inside and reintegrate it
with the heating system for all of the units. We also uncovered squirrel infestation, which
was not fun. I've never done that before. We had multiple roof leaks, problems with the electrical
system. Recently, we found out that the underground terracotta drain line that ran
across the front yard was cracked out to the street. We had to run a new iron main drain
underground to the street. So those are a couple of the issues we ran into. Of course,
with a building this size, upkeep and regular maintenance is substantial without surprises,
like I've mentioned. During our ownership, we kept busy inside. The exterior still needs a lot
of attention. Much of the outside woodwork and stonework is failing and needs restoration.
but the exterior work is more costly now to repair due to our historic designation.
I've been in GC for 15 years, and in the past, I've worked with many homeowners in the area
to restore their properties. I'm aware of how restoring a home benefits the neighborhood as a
whole. Meeting with the CRCA over the past three years, they prioritized restoration with me as
well. They made it clear that any subdivision of this property must include a plan for
improving the existing home and grounds, and I agreed to that. We met with this RCO 11 times,
and each time we reacted to their comments, changed the plan. We had several architectural
contracts for this project over the last three years as we abandoned old designs,
scrapped things, and came up with new things. Henry, let me stop you right there.
So right now, the proposal, and it's up on the screen, is for two homes facing DuPont Street, and that's to the rear of the existing property.
And then the home itself faces Green Lane, right?
Correct.
Which is the existing service.
Now, originally, in 2018, when you first proposed what?
And by the way, Derek Spencer has and we can we can show these plans now.
We'll show the plans you originally proposed.
And we're I believe it was we're showing 2019.
And we're, I believe it was, we're showing 2019. Hold on one second. We're showing part of exhibit C, which was a page in the zoning presentation that shows it's a sheet.
Hold on one second.
Just for the record. It's marked feasibility studies, page five. And at the top, it shows what, Henry, at the top of that page.
This was a large study about an addition, a by-right addition that we did not pursue, not believe it's anything we'd be wanting to do.
And that's an addition to what, Henry?
An addition to the existing building.
Right. And that's shown in the upper right-hand corner of the, thank you.
That was just a study the architect did, and it's, I mean, it speaks for itself.
The four units on the lower left-hand corner was our first presentation to the CRCA.
We got the feedback that they wanted to reduce the density.
We went to them with-
And this is four units facing Maniunk Avenue, correct?
Correct.
Excuse me, Counselor.
Excuse me, Counselor.
Just for the sake of time, can you go to what your final proposal is?
Okay, sure.
I mean, the point of the proposal is that each time, and we can put into the record each time that we met and the RCO confirms it, each time that we met with the RCO, the RCO proposed changes and we reacted to those changes.
And Mr. Bailey and Derek Spencer would testify that at first they wanted, you know, certain units, we wanted units facing Maniunk.
Then we were brought down from four to three, then three to two.
Then in 2020, the RCO asked Mr. Bailey to reorient, you know, toward DuPont Street, which he complied with.
And this in front of you is the proposal that you see now with the dimensional variances.
And that's really all the testimony that I have for Mr. Bailey. I open them up to questions, but I think you get the gist and we can move on, I think, to let me ask, actually, Mr. Bailey, a couple more questions.
So, Mr. Bailey, in the future, to accommodate the restoration that you would like to do to the existing historic structure, you cannot accommodate those improvements just through rent on the existing apartment building, correct?
Correct.
And so you need a reasonable use of the nearly 5,000 square foot area that's currently unused in the rear of the property to enable you to consistently maintain and improve the historic structure currently at 348.
I'm sorry, Mr. Malloy, I just have to object to the leading nature of the questions.
I'm just trying to.
I think he's trying.
Just trying to get the record.
Yeah, trying to just get everything on the record. And I understand I'll try to I'll try to not delete him. Okay, as much. So, Mr. Bailey, in front of you, there's a home that you worked on, correct?
Correct. And where is that home?
It's a couple blocks away on Lyceum.
and this is a house that you've shown to the rca as an example of what of what i'd like to do with
the existing property um update get the failing stone work done fix the cornice work put a um
a traditional historic paint job on the place fix the roof fix the gutters fix the lighting
um it's the inside's getting squared away as you know as we go along but the outside is
it needs it needs i mean this is this is the way it should be and and you and you went so far
as to get uh commitments and quotes from uh from contractors to do this work correct
Correct. And it was $63,000 for painting and carpentry. Yes. It was $24,000 for landscaping.
Yes. And stone facade work, etc. Another $8,000, correct? Stone in the front and side. Yep. And
then you were also going to fix the stone fence around the house, correct? That's part of the
the masonry yes so it's basically over for about another hundred thousand or over a hundred thousand
So it's basically over or about another $100,000 or over $100,000 worth of repairs that you were willing to do to repair and restore the exterior of the structure, correct?
And in your opinion, as a builder and as a property owner, would that increase the value of neighboring properties, do you think?
Just know what my objections is.
how do you think that would affect the value of neighboring properties?
I'm, you know, I've been doing this a while. I'm not, I mean, I'm of course going to benefit from
it, but as if, you know, related properties are in the neighborhood, a benefit from beautification
of other properties. I mean, it's just, that's what you call the fabric of the neighborhood.
And you think that knowing the work that you've done in the neighborhood, that this kind of
restoration do you think that that would bring the building you know into compliance with the
characteristics of the neighborhood i believe so more so than it is now certainly it needs work
i have no further questions for mr bailey
if i may mr wise please identify yourself and i'll swear to you in yes sir corin wise c-o-r-e-n
WISE, address is 100 North 18th Street, Suite 300, Philadelphia, PA, 19103.
You swear if I'm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
I do, thank you.
You can speak up a little bit or increase your volume.
Yeah, I'm a little congested, I apologize, Mr. Chair.
No problem, thank you.
Mr. Bailey, my name's Corin Wise, and I'm here on behalf of the RCO Central and Oxborough.
um you'd agree the uh this property um is part of the fabric and character of the neighborhood
yes it's it's essentially located property fronting on three streets
um green manioc and dupont right yes and um you told us uh the property or maybe mr malloy told
us it's about a 4,000 square foot building, large historical building? Yes. And when you purchased
in 2018, that had already been a pre-existing five unit apartment building for all intents and
purposes? That's correct. I see on the refusal that those five units included a doctor's office
with a doctor residing on premises is that still the case at the property no doctor resides at the
premises was there ever there was never a doctor's office while you own since 2018 right no okay so
this is a five unit building you'd agree that it's in an rsd3 zone which is a single family zone
yes okay um and you told us about the improvements you have done and the improvements you've priced
and intend to do is that your testimony today that that's the hardship that uh you believe
warrants a variance that you're seeking today yes okay uh there's no other hardship at this
property that um you can't comply with rsd actually the building itself is complying with rsd
but for your five units right i mean i don't know if i understand the question
then objection don't answer it henry yeah that's fine wasn't a great question um let me try again
uh the building on the premises is compliant with rsd there's no let me stop there the building on
the premises is compliant with rsd as far as you know right i you know i i i guess i'm not really
sure exactly how um i'd have to see it that's fine we have a we have the architect next who
can testify to the technical i mean henry's the builder and the property owner he's a builder and
a property owner he's not a zoning expert so well i'm sorry mr malloy you did qualify him as some
sort of expert stating his experience as a general contractor that's why i was going into it uh but
Sure, it was a zoning question, though.
My last question, Mr. Bailey, would be that there's no other hardship you're here to tell us about requiring or preventing your use of this property as an RSD-3 property.
Isn't that correct?
Correct.
Okay, thank you, sir.
Excuse me, this is Sharon.
the planning commission representative has a procedural issue that she would like to raise
if she could be called
Thank you, Commission. Just identify yourself before you proceed. Thank you.
just just just
Hi, this is Paula Brumbelow-Burns with the Planning Commission.
We're going to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
So I want to confirm that this plan was what was reviewed by license and inspections and refused for or have the lot lines been revised since the application.
When we looked it up on Eclipse, we were seeing a different plan. So we'd like to confirm with the applicant and the attorney if this is what was refused by license and inspections.
The plan that Mike sat up on the screen.