Thank you.
Chair, we have 30 attendees, and we can start as you wish.
Thank you.
Good morning, everyone.
My name is Bill Bergman.
Are we on yet?
Yes, Chair.
Good morning, everyone.
My name is Bill Bergman, and I will be chairing this morning's ZBA hearings.
Before we begin, I have an announcement to make.
Beginning with the December 4th hearing, any documents or other verbatim parties wish to submit to the ZBA for hearings must be submitted through the ZBA's new online upload tool, ZBA Case Document Submission.
Information about how to access and use the submission tool will be included with hearings, notices, and zoning posters.
Please note that applicants' documents are due five calendar days prior to the hearing.
Documents submitted by other parties have to be submitted at least 48 hours prior to allow sufficient time for processing.
In addition, the filing information should continue to be submitted through email and not through the upload tool.
Requests for continuances, withdrawals, reconsiderations, and amended refusals, as well as requests by attorneys to enter or withdraw.
all. Any other questions relative to the submission tool, please contact RCOZBA at phila .gov.
Thank you. With me today is our Vice Chair, Ismail Shahid.
President, Mr. Chairman. Our Board Member, Tanetta Graham.
President, Mr. Chairman. Our Board Member, Michael Johns.
President, Mr. Chairman. And our Board Member, Taya Nguyen.
How's it, Mr. Chairman?
Also present is LeBaron Leonard Palmer, our alternate board member.
Morning, Mr. Chairman.
And we have our attorney, Hillary Emerson, and also our executive director, Ian Haggard.
Here's our virtual format.
The proceedings are being recorded.
With your participation, you agree to be recorded.
The video will be available by contacting ZBAexecutiveDirector at phil .gov.
For our court stenographer, we ask attorneys and witnesses to identify themselves before testifying.
If you're participating in FIFO, please press star 9 to raise your hand and star 6 to unmute.
To want an appearance statement, call 267 -270 -5548.
Leave your email address and the address of the property in question.
And finally, the question and answer box on the screen is not for testimony.
All questions should be directed to zbaexecutivedirector at philo .phil.
Let's look at our schedule for today.
Do we have any requests for continuances?
Good morning, Chair.
This is Nadia, and I'll be our co -host today.
We have one hand up, Andrea McIntosh, and they have been allowed to speak.
Orna, could you please state your name and spell for the court sonographer?
My name is Andrea McIntosh.
I'm sorry, is this for the hearing about prevention point?
No, that will be later today.
We're hearing that this morning.
It'll be on a little bit, okay?
Okay, that's for that one.
Okay, thank you.
Thank you.
Is there any other requests for continuances?
There are no hands.
Okay, so case number two, MI 2022 -007 -283, 500 to 10 South Broad Street.
And case number three, MI 2022 -007 -284, 500 to 10 South Broad Street.
Both cases have been withdrawn.
we're going to go to case number one
MI 2021 -004 -633 -3900 Main Street this is a redemptive hearing
Mr. Laver are you present
good morning Mr. Chairman and members of the board yes I am here
Please state your name and spell for the stenographer.
please state your name and spell for the stenographer
Adam Laver, L.
Adam Laver, L -A -V -E as in Victor, E -R, Blank, Rome, 1 Logan Square, Philadelphia, 19103.
Where are firm to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Yes, Chairman Bergman, I do.
Laver, could you give us an update of where we stand and my understanding of what we're going to do?
Excuse me, Mr. Chair, I just want to note for the record that Vice Chair Shahid and Board Member Johns are recused in this matter.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
I appreciate it.
Mr. Laver, could you give us an update?
And my understanding of what we're going to do today, we're going to hear from the RCO,
from Maniunk, and then we'll go to planning.
But could you give us an update of where you stand with this project?
Certainly, Mr. Chairman and members of the board.
As board members will recall, I represent Shahab Investment LLC, which is a Philadelphia -based
certified minority business enterprise, and its managing partner, Ahmed Michael Al -Haddad.
Four months ago, Mr. Chairman, we appeared before this board and presented a proposal to redevelop
and transform the subject property, which is a 59 ,000 square foot underutilized surface parking
riverfront property located along Main Street in Maniunk, but outside of the historic district.
The underlying application in the matter was initially submitted to L &I on September 10th of 2021, more than three years ago.
Since the time of the submission, as the board is aware, the plans presented have been revised.
As we shared in July, the proposal now consists of plans for a 115 -unit residential dwelling with mixed use to include office at ground, but also a component including affordable housing.
In addition, the project includes accessory parking and complementary office space, among other attributes, which are extensive in the record before the board.
At the July 16th hearing in this matter, the board called for a resumption hearing to allow for a representative of the coordinating RCO to present the RCO's position and for PCPC to share its recommendation.
And we understand, as you said, Chairman Bergman, that that will occur today.
Following July 16th, Board Counsel Emerson separately requested that the revised plans, which were presented to the board in July, be submitted to L &I for amended application review.
And we were happy to oblige with that.
An amended notice of refusal was subsequently issued, dated September 18th, 2024.
which has been posted at the site, shared with counsel for the zoning board, et cetera.
The amended notice of refusal confirmed that no new refusals were generated as a result of the plan refinements.
Again, the plan itself is what was shared in substance with the board and in the public hearing four months ago.
This has been a robust and substantive public review process.
As the board may recall, in response to stakeholder input, the plans presented, highlights of the plans presented, number one, remove all below grade parking, bringing it up to street level, if you will, reduce the dwelling unit density,
incorporate preservation of the public view and access to the river in the proposed building
design and provide for the addition of green space and a public river walk. Shahab Investment
has proposed an elegant six -story, flood -resilient, responsibly built residential and commercial
building designed by Philadelphia architectural firm SGRA Architects. Extensive expert testimony
has been offered on the record to support the request for variance relief. Notedly, support from
immediately impacted neighbors, including the neighbor immediately across the street, is on the
record, along with the support of the district council member and others. In conclusion, the most
vested stakeholders are on record yearning to see the property transformed.
Thank you.
I believe that brings us up to date.
Thank you very much.
The RCO representative for Man Young, please.
You have John Hunter with their hand raised, and they haven't allowed to say.
You have John Hunter with their hand raised, and they haven't allowed to speak.
Good morning, Mr. Hunter. Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Yes. Good morning, board members. This is John Hunter, J -O -H -N -H -U -N -T -E -R.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, Mr. Hunter.
um thank you um as uh mr labor has just described um the scheme that was presented on july 16th was
one that we as the coordinating rco had never seen before and uh board chair you allowed us
to be given time to review those drawings and um provide comments at this resumption hearing
which we appreciate um the drawings uh that were presented the scheme were submitted to us
and um we reviewed the drawings and we included them in our last public meeting as an rco
and discussed the scheme and took a vote on it we know that it's not a formal vote because
the notice was not circulated to all immediate neighbors that would be normally necessary but
We thought it was prudent to do that to make sure that the revised scheme, which is substantially revised, still receive the same respondent.
And we did that.
I understand that I can share my screen and go through some of our comments in respect to the scheme.
Why don't you do that, Mr. Hunter?
Thanks.
John Hunter has been promoted to a panelist.
Thank you.
Okay. Mr. Hunter, just for a point of information, if you would, and I'm not trying to rush you, but we have some issues with board coverage today. Could you see if you can have this done in 10 minutes? Is that possible?
I doubt it, but I'll certainly try.
Okay. Please proceed.
OK, I hope you can see the screen. We can. Good.
What you see are initially some photographs that Kevin Smith, MNC's president, took on the day of September 1st, 2021 for the day after, sorry, September 2nd, the day after Hurricane Ida.
And they show the subject property from a drone view, looking down from Main Street along the river toward Ridge Avenue.
And you can see the arrow that points in the middle there that is indicating the location of 3900 Main Street and the fact that it is entirely inundated with floodwater.
This is taken in the following day, so the flood water had already started to recede significantly.
The high point of the cresting of the flood was in the middle of the night.
The photograph below is looking from Lower Main Street near Shows Lane towards 3900 to the east.
And you can see again, although it's receding, the inundation of the whole of Lower Main Street.
This is the view in the opposite direction from the Ridge Avenue, eastern end of Lower Main Street, looking towards the site and Bridge 5 condominium, which is just visible in the middle of the screen.
And you can see, again, continuous inundation of the whole of Lower Main Street.
this is a more optimistic view that shows the site to the left and the corresponding
existing buildings on the right are opposite 3900 main street a view of the existing site
mr al haddad bought this property in 2016 so it's been in this situation for seven years
as Mr. Lever said, it's used casually and informally at the moment as a parking lot,
but it is not well maintained.
These further photographs are from the presentation that Mr. Lever provided,
and they've been forwarded to us by the ZBA Council,
but I just point out that they are the design drawings from the applicant.
Here is the site, as you can see, closer view and the respective buildings on either side.
closer view and the respective buildings on either side this is the revised proposal and
it is significantly different in that as mr labor said the parking is provided on surface parking
right next to the sidewalk on main street it is enclosed with a building form underneath the
building but it has parking on the west end of the building and commercial space on the
east end of the building and some more office space and elevator cores in the
middle we'll point out that there are now 47 parking spaces provided sorry 46
but of that 46 three are required for the commercial space and also six of the
spaces are these first six spaces as indicated on the zone drawings are for
shared shared cars of higher spaces which the applicant has proposed to
provide and there is a sort of an implied bonus to that in that it takes
the place of four normal parking spaces so that would be the equivalent of 24
parking spaces but it also means that those six parking spaces should be
separated from and not used for the accommodation above for the residential accommodation so
they're really the parking space is provided in this present revised proposal is 37 and remind
you there's 115 units now reduced from 120 but that still leaves 78 spaces that would normally
be provided on a one -to -one ratio which is particularly common in this area of many
Manny Ankin has been posed in lots of other similar schemes in recent times,
including one that will come before you in a couple of months
that Mr. Labour will present for 4045 Main Street.
There was also in Dr. Cohen's testimony about his planning issues
that he cited Bridge 5, 3750 Main Street.
that has 60 units and it has 83 parking spaces and if you drive past there in a evening late at
night you'll see there's usually around eight or ten cars parked on the street so that would be
about a requirement for 150 percent parking ratio to units which we think would be normal so
clearly we feel that the parking provision here is inadequate it will create problems
or the commercial use on the street will have parking on the street,
which is metered parking on both sides presently.
There are two parking areas to the east.
One is a private one and one is a partway -run city -owned site,
but it certainly isn't adequate to provide all the parking.
These are the floor plans, and I just want to point out on the second floor plan
But elsewhere in the testimony, as is a requirement by the zoning code, all equipment, including the residential units, have to be above the base flood elevation plus 18 inches.
So that includes electrical rooms, mechanical rooms, sprinkler rooms, large diameter pipes, et cetera.
They were referred to in the testimony by Mr. Labor.
As you can see on the second floor plan, they aren't there.
they don't occur there is one relatively small for this side building um on the on the main street
side in the sort of light blue but otherwise there are no um assignments for any of those uses
nor is there any trash uh rooms on each floor also i'd like to point out on the top plan the roof
plan that um there are beyond uh the pilot houses which are shown on the elevations and we'll come
to the elevations below there are other uses indicated that the pilot house for the staircase
and for the elevator room are not included within the building height calculation we understand
that but you will see here there are also lobbies there is restrooms there is staircases which go up
to raised private roof terraces, which are not included in the refusal description and would
increase the height of the building because they shouldn't be allowed unless they're included in
the building height. The other thing about looking at this floor plan, you can clearly see that
what was previously in the scheme that we'd seen from 2021 onwards was three separate buildings
above ground and they were physically separate and they were designed that way according to the
and they were designed that way according to the architect so that they allowed view corridors
architect so that they allowed view
through the mass of the building and particularly at low level so that the public was engaged with
the river view and could access it at four different points around those three buildings
and that has been lost with this change in the scheme which is one continuous long building
one could argue it's two buildings joined by a bridge or you could argue the opposite but
clearly you can walk from one end of the site to the other on the third through the sixth floors
and that's around 450 feet it's a very long imperfect building the only opening now that's
available for anyone to get through to from main street to the riverside is a 20 foot wide
access way that goes only up 12 feet before it comes in contact with the bridge and that means
it's a significant loss of connection with the river frontage also i'll point out on the street
level plan which i didn't the landscape plan there is a fence and gate shown across that opening so
the building can be locked off which was part of the discussion in the testimony and questions from
Ms. Gaston in the July 16th hearing.
I'm sorry, this is not my 10 minutes.
Here's the proposed elevation, and I want you to look at this closely
and compare it with the conceptual renders at the end of this presentation.
Here you can see the bottom elevation is almost a continuous wall of building,
which is relatively repetitive.
It's Stone Pier glass block opening, Stone Pier glass block opening.
The glass blocks are not transparent.
They're translucent, but they're not transparent.
This is supposed to be at the eastern end of the building, a flood -proof ground floor, or first floor, as we would call it.
There has been testimony from the flood manager for the city, who called in to the July 16th meeting,
which questioned that flood proofing.
And we question it also because there are two types of flood proofing.
There's wet flood proofing and there's dry flood proofing.
Mr. Laver in his testimony four times referred to dry flood proofing of the first floor.
Dry flood proofing is an attempt to make the building substantially watertight.
And the Association of Civil Engineers, we sent this through in a letter to you on Friday, cites that, and Mr. Labour is aware of this, that really three feet of floodproofing is only really a reasonable attempt of floodproofing, three feet high, and four feet is probably the maximum.
Here, the floodproofing required to make this ground floor, the commercial space and the egress spaces is 10 feet.
And so it's just probably impossible to design this first floor of the building to be watertight and floodproof, as is indicated.
And the reason that is, you know, obviously very problematic for the commercial spaces, which Mr. Al -Haddad has suggested he would occupy.
But it also is where all three lobbies and elevators from the building come down to street level.
That means to say that during a flood of probably more than four feet, all the egress rooms and doors in and out of this building will be inundated and flooded.
And therefore, when we come to look at the evacuation protocol and procedure, it might work in terms of getting people out, some of the people out.
But once those people are out, there is no way for them to get back in the building until the whole of Main Street, lower Main Street, has been secured and all the debris and wreckage, et cetera, removed.
And then when the street is open and Hurricane Ida, that took almost a week.
And only then can the public be allowed back into the building.
And then the recovery of the damaged stairs, the doors, the elevators, which will have to be re -inspected and certified, will have to take place.
And our question is, where do all the people and the cars go during that period if they are successfully evacuated?
It's not one day. It's much, much more than that. It's much more disruptive.
So we feel that this scheme is unachievable to safely and securely evacuate people, but it also would be a total disruption of the permanent residence, which is proposed here on the upper floors.
of their permanent residence, which is proposed here on the upper floors.
I'm sorry I'm going on beyond your 10 minutes, Mr. Bergman, but I'm trying my hardest here to go through it.
So let me tell you, John, what we're going to do.
Our board member has to step out.
I'm going to stop now and bring you both back at 11 a .m.
Yeah, sure.
All right.
Adam Slaver, is that okay?
Of course, Mr. Chairman.
Yeah, it's just something we'll do.
So what we'll do is we'll, John, we're going to start right where you're leaving off.
And we'll see you at 11 o 'clock.
All right.
That's fine.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the board.
Go to number seven.
I'm seven here.
MI 2024 -005 -782 -916 -WestFisher.
Clemente Amazon is the attorney.
There's unanimous support from Logan Civic Association.
Seven near neighbors also involved in the 12 that was for it.
Good morning, counsel.
could you please state your name? It's spelled for the court stenographer. Good morning,
chairman and members of the board. Clementa Amazon, that's spelled C -L -E -M -E -N -T -A. Last
name is spelled A -M -A -Z -A -N. You swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth,
nothing but the truth? Yes, I do. Could you identify your client and relationship to the
property? My client is the owner of the property, Markins Coriolan. Our vice chair has a few
questions. Good morning, counsel. Do you agree
to waive the read and other refusal or stipulate
to its accuracy? Yes, I do.
Have you emailed in all the required documents and
exhibits that's needed to proceed with this case
five days in advance of this hearing? Yes, I
have. Thank you, counsel. Please proceed
and share your screen. Thank you.
again good morning my name is clemente amazon i am the representative for the property owner
markens coriolan today i'll be presenting 916 west fisher avenue during my presentation i will
go through the refusal. As the chairman mentioned, we do have a letter of unanimous support from the
RCO who we met with on November 11th. This is a pre -existing use. So in my presentation, you will
notice that we do have a current rental license as well as a zoning permit that was issued for
this property back in 2022. Maps of the area, exterior photos, posting photos, as well as
interior photos of the property. The notice that was sent to the community regarding the meeting,
the certificates of mailing showing that notice was in fact sent out in a timely manner,
our application for appeal, project information form, as well as the deed and certificate of tax
clearance. This is property that is zoned RSA 5. As you will see in the notes, it did have a history
or excuse me, it does have a history of multifamily duplex use that was granted back in 1946 by the
board. In 2015, my client purchased the property. He then went on to request a zoning variance for
visitor accommodation use in an existing structure. At that time, there was a temporary
variance, which was set to expire on December 1st, 2024. We are here today to renew that use.
We are asking that the variance be granted without a time restriction. In the event that the board
decides that it is required to include a time restriction, we are requesting five years at a
minimum. This is a property that has been self -managed by my client. There have been
no issues by the neighbors. There has been unanimous community support every time my
client has requested for this use. So again, we are requesting that the use be granted
without a time restriction. The property is refused due to the fact that it is zoned RSA
5. However, we are looking to renew and continue the visitor accommodation use.
as i mentioned we did meet with the community on november 11th there was unanimous support
for the property there have been no issues or complaints for the use of the property as visitor
accommodations there were seven nearby neighbors who were present all voted in support of this
property the rco has requested that there be a two -year renewal in light of the fact that was
in light of the fact that was the proviso that was entered previously again we are asking that
the proviso that was entered previously again we are asking that
Thank you.
the board grant this use in the event the board does require we have a time limit we're requesting
just five years here there have been no issues with the property no complaints by nearby neighbors
my client self manages it he's about 10 minutes away from the property so we are requesting that
it be an ongoing use due to the financial burden that it requires to renew this type of use every
two years. As I mentioned, this is an ongoing use, so we do have the rental license showing
the hotel designation for the two units with an effective date of June 4, 2024. The expiration
is April 30, 2025. Again, it is only two units that are being used in this manner.
We have a map of the area. Again, the property is on West Fisher Avenue along North Hutchinson
Street as well. Here we have a view of the front of the property. It is attached and we are this
property here along the left side. Photos showing that the property was in fact posted.
A view to the right of the property along West Fisher Avenue. A view to the left of the property
along West Fisher Avenue. And here we do have interior photos of each unit. When our client
purchased the property in 2015. It did require some renovations, so he did take the time out
to make sure that it was properly renovated, brand new kitchen. The bathroom was recently
renovated as well. He takes great pride in the work and providing a space that is hospitable to
his guests. And here we just have pictures of the second unit. Again, we did send out notice of the
community meeting on October 28th. The meeting was held on November 11th at 7 p .m. We did
provide the zba zoom information as well a copy of the refusal again this property has duplex use
that dates back to 1946 the variance was requested and granted by this board on this excuse me on
november 11th 2022 with the temporary variance expect to expire on december 1st 2024 due to the
financial burden that it requires to continuously operate this use every two years and to renew we
are requesting that the board grant this variance indefinitely without a time restriction. If the
board does see fit to require a time restriction, we are requesting that it be five years as opposed
to the two -year request. A list of the properties that were notified of the community meeting that
was held on November 11th. Copy of the certificates of mailing showing that it was in fact sent out
to the list as required by the city, our copy of the application for appeal, our project
information form, and the deed showing that my client Markins Coriolan does in fact own
this property and has owned it since 2015, has used it as visitor accommodation since
2022 without any issues or complaints from neighbors, and the certificate of tax clearance
as well. So with that, I'd be happy to have Markins come on to adopt my testimony.
Mark has been allowed to speak. Hey, could you please state your name and spell for the
sonographer? Yes, my name is Markins Coriolan, Markins, M -A -R -K -E -N -S, Coriolan, C -O -R -I -O,
L -A -N.
You swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, counsel.
Thank you. Markins, did you hear my presentation today?
And was it true and correct?
And how long have you owned this property?
Since 2015.
And how long has it been using it for visitor accommodation use?
For the past three years.
Have you had any complaints from neighbors?
Have you received support for this project when you presented it to the community?
Yes. Thank you. And would you adopt my testimony as your own?
Yes. Thank you. Questions from the board?
I have no questions. I have a question. Just curious. So your neighbors at
19, 18 and
14, were they part of the support? Those are your immediate
neighbors on both sides of you. I don't believe they didn't
attend, but they do appreciate the fact that for the last
three years, I have not had any issues because in the past I had it as a rental and there was
always issues with the tenants. But for the past three years, I have been very supportive with
helping with trash. I've done the snow. So when I do my own snow, I do their snow as well. So I
know they're very appreciative of me being there at least two, three times a week. And I'm always
looking out for their property as well, as far as keeping it clean. And so they would say yes
to me having it for as long as possible as an airbnb i do have a quick question
as long as possible as an Airbnb. I do have a quick question. What's the maximum number of
individuals that you rent to per unit at a time? So it's listed as three per unit, three persons
per unit. But most of the time I have two people, couples that attend, that comes on a weekend,
And usually it's Friday to Sunday or they'll stay from Friday to Monday, but it's usually two people per unit that comes.
So there's no issues with parking. There's never any issues in the past three years with parking.
There's never any issues with parties, never any issues with trash on the front yard or at the backyard.
So it's really a well -maintained Airbnb.
Thank you.
i have a question yeah how many days in the past three years on average would you say you're
renting the units via airbnb so how many days so it's definitely it's always a yes on the weekends
and maybe a couple days doing a week so for for both of them but the the the weekends are always
rented so how many days would that be so that'll be roughly 100 you're saying 160 170 days a year
you've got someone in the unit yes okay and then could you explain the hardship um to having to
come back to reaffirm your use yeah the hardship would be you know getting an attorney every two
years it's expensive uh to have to pay for it and um and also you know the work that we have to do
to because i have to have a posting on um the door or the windows and a lot of people when they're
coming in they're you know they're thinking okay what's this yellow sign that's on the door or
that what's this yellow sign that's on the window or thinking there's an issue with the property
But for the most part, it's really the, I feel like it's the fees, the attorney fees, because I don't do it by myself. I always make sure that I have my attorney, which I've been using for the past seven years since I've been doing real estate. So I think those fees is usually hard for me to have to pay it every two years.
he broke up
i was saying just so he knows that for future reference doesn't have to be yellow
for your own reference from future so i have another question our office handles the posting
So we'll make note of that.
Just to clarify, there's not a requirement right now for the poster color because applicants are required to print them out themselves.
The board is no longer sending them out.
Ty, you have a question?
No, I have no other question.
Thank you.
Questions or comments from our attorney?
Hillary Emerson.
Not at this time, Mr.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Planning Commission.
Good morning, Amy Wood with the Planning Commission, A -M -Y -B -O -Y -D.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Please proceed.
The Comprehensive Plan recommends no change in zoning at this location from the existing residential single -family RSA 5.
The Appellant has not demonstrated that there are unique physical circumstances or conditions that would prevent the property from being used in conformance with the zoning code.
The Planning Commission recommends that the Board deny the requested variance for visitor accommodation.
MI 2024 -005 -782 -916 -WestFisher. I vote yes for a temporary variance that expires 12 -1 -27.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes with proviso.
Snedag Graham, my vote is yes with proviso.
Iowyn, my vote is yes with proviso.
ishmael shaheed my vote is yes with proviso thank you thank you council
um number six mi 2024 003 295 229 west roosevelt boulevard abdullah ali akmad johnny are the
listed owners.
There's a letter of unanimous support
There's a letter of unanimous support from the 42nd Ward RCO with the following, no household living in the basement.
Councilperson Bass has taken a position of non -opposition.
Abdullah Ali.
Ahmed Jani has been promoted to panelist.
Thank you.
Hi, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
My name is Ahmed Jani, A -H -M -E -D, last name J -O -N -N -Y.
You swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
This application is for use as a two -family household living in an existing structure.
The proposed use two -family household living is prohibited in the RSA 5 zoning district.
Our vice chair has a few questions for you, sir.
Good morning, sir.
Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that's needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
Yes, I did.
Thank you, sir.
please proceed and share your screen all right 2013 i purchased this property from the sheriff
so you gotta share your screen sir it's a green button at the bottom of the screen
um we're doing it on the phone we don't have a webcam i have the photos of the property on
my phone here i can show this is the property in question with the sign posted in front
in compliance with the...
Wait a minute, sir.
Sir, wait a minute, please.
So, are you
the owner?
You filed it.
He's the owner, Johnny. So, he's the one
that has to testify.
So, the issue would be is
if he can do that, I think it's going to be
difficult to do this on the phone.
I uploaded everything
more than a month ago
and I thought
you guys should have all the documents.
Well, we have it, but you have to present your case using your documents.
So if you can do that on the phone, please try, but I think you're going to need a computer.
Well, this is the, I'm the one who's supposed to talk.
Okay, I don't know if you see the post right here in front of the property.
See the post.
Hillary, can we get through with this?
um i just had a question um mr johnny what what are you using you said you're on the phone but i
see uh a camera do you have you have a screen that you can you can share like how are you on the zoom
i am through my phone okay can you if the video is through your phone sorry can you still hear me
yeah okay um if the video is it's through your phone are you able to go to your documents on
your phone and then share them let me see if I could do that
yeah we see it we it's it's visible yep okay okay move on we see that okay so this is the first
page yes okay that's uh the refusal that's the refusal yeah okay steve and that's the appeal
and that's the description
of what happened
in 2013 which is
the application for appeal
and that's when I purchased the property
in 2013 from the sheriff's
sale it was an existing duplex
and I pulled a permit to
renovate the property a city inspector
was on site and
never mentioned
to me this is a single family
house. So we got
approved and we finished the project
and it's been rented for a low income
in 2015.
And that's the deed.
That's the sheriff's sale, the purchase, the property,
the date, the price.
We have an updated one of these.
Excuse me, this is the court reporter. Could I please
have the name of the other gentleman
who's speaking?
Is my son Ali Johnny?
Hi, my name is Ali Johnny, A -L -I Johnny, J -O -N -N -Y.
Hi, my name is Ali, Johnny, A -L -I, Johnny, J -O -N -N -Y.
Thank you.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, sir, I do.
But your father's going to have to testify, okay?
No problem, sir.
So, he has to receive the certificate of compliance.
and that's the sheriff documentation that purchases and this is my tax the clearance
as you see it you have do you have pictures what we could use could you show us photos of the
property yes
i'm not really familiar with the high tech so that's why my son is here to help me with that
It's okay.
do you see it we do do you have photos of inside the property yes i do
OK, just one second.
Can I show them?
Is it the outside?
No, the inside is the property.
Right there.
That's the staircase.
Can you do the same thing we did on the share?
That's the inside.
What else?
That's all I have because I requested the staircase on the inside of the property.
I don't have no picture because it's occupied.
We still need to know what the inside of the property looks like and how it's structured.
I see.
Just one second.
I might have an older picture.
There's a two -bedroom, each apartment.
I'm still looking through my photos.
So, Hillary, I don't believe they have any photos.
I see the note you had put before about just the stairs to the second unit.
I think we're going to have to do a resumptive hearing
on this, Hillary
Okay, Mr. Chair
So what we'll do is have a resumptive hearing
You're going to have to come back
showing us photos on how the first and second
how it's laid out, take pictures of it
and show us what you have, okay
So we're going to have a resumptive hearing for this
so we will be in touch with you when that hearing is but you have to get to us the
photos of the inside first okay so the same the way you sent things in before you need to do it
again okay so all the documents that i have sent before i have to submit again
how do we have his documents or they would they be good or do you need them again all that all that
he would need to do is submit interior photos and then he'll need to to repost the property and
if his depending on when he comes back his tax clearance has run out we'll need an updated tax
clearance so that's it you don't need to resubmit your entire exhibit package again
okay sir okay all right thank you mr chair at that time i assume you you take uh public comment
and the recommendation of the Planning Commission?
Absolutely.
All right.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I'm going to go to number four.
Number four.
MI 2024 -001813.
MI 2024 -001 -813 -5025 North Fish Street.
This is a resumptive hearing.
Cesar Loya -Revacha.
Hello?
Yes. Hi, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Hey, how are you doing? My name is Cesar Loya -Grijalva.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Okay, so here's our updates for this hearing.
There's amended refusal now dated 10 -22 -24. We've received that.
There's proof of posting received.
There is an updated tax compliance. Am I correct?
councilperson bass has taken a position of non -opposition
hillary that's our update
hillary
yes i'm sorry mr chair can you hear me now
i can't we're good so that's our update
What we need now is public good comments.
Well, yes, and just note for the record that the refusal has been updated so that the request of commercial uses are business and professional office and retail sales of consumer goods.
Yes, very much.
Thank you very much.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Planning Commission.
Amy Boyd with the Planning Commission.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change to the RSA 5 residential single -family zoning at this location.
This row home has a documented history of retail use on the ground floor.
The Planning Commission recommends that the Board grant the proposed use variance for commercial use and multiple principal uses.
Thank you. MI 2024 -001 -813 -5025 North 5th Street. I vote yes per amended refusal, dated 10 -22 -24.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes with amended refusal.
Senator Graham, my vote is yes per amended refusal.
my vote is yes per amended refusal
okay hillary we'll go to number five
yes mr chair okay mi 2024 002 410 29 13 to 15 kendington avenue michael phillips is the attorney
This is a resumptive hearing.
We do have an opposition from the RCO and an opposition from council, including four council people have signed.
And there's numerous letters of support.
Good morning, Mr. Phillips.
Good morning, Mr. Chair, members of the board, Michael Phillips, on behalf of Prevention Point Philadelphia, P -H -I -L -L -I -P -S.
We're affirmed to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
So my understanding of where we are with this, we're going to open this up to public comment. Am I correct?
yes at the uh last hearing uh we concluded our case in chief uh for and we put on our
proof for special exception i believe we concluded with uh opening up to the public
um hillary you agree with that yes opening up to the public and the recommendation of
the planning commission and mr phillips will have an opportunity to respond after the comments have
been given. Okay. Questions or comments from the virtual audience? We have three hands raised.
Robert Hines has been allowed to speak first. How many hands do you have? Three hands?
Six. All right. Good morning. Could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer?
Good morning. Could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer?
Sure. My name is Robert Hines. I'm getting feedback.
Do you have two devices on?
No, I don't.
Okay. We hear you pretty loud and clear now. Please state your name.
My name is Robert Hines. It's R -O -B -E -R -T -H -I -N -E -S.
You swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth.
Yes, I do.
Sir, are you a neighbor?
No, I'm not.
All right, Kate, please proceed.
I do have a written statement I'd like to read.
It just lasts a minute.
So I'm here to support the Venture Court of Philadelphia in their effort to secure a special exception to allow more than a single medical provider on site.
I serve as the volunteer donation coordinator for foodrecovery .org.
Since 2018, I've been bringing life -sustaining supplies to people suffering from food and
housing insecurity into the Kensington area, and I continue to organize Deliverance to
Prevention Point in Philadelphia.
As I do, I witness firsthand the effective, compassionate, and critical work performed
by their organization.
I also observe the heroics of their team reaching out, supporting the homeless population throughout
the pandemic while at risk to their own safety prevention point plays a vital role in helping
those struggling within our community and i strongly urge the zoning board to grant
prevention point the special exception necessary to have more than one medical provider in the
building on any given day and this decision would be in my mind the best interest of the community
the city and many of the individuals in need to whom they provide critical services
Thank you, Mr. Hines. Next hand, please.
Hello?
Yes, hi.
Hi, could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer?
Yes, Javier Mercado, J -A -V -I -E -R, last name M -E -R -C -A -D -O.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do
Are you a neighbor?
Yes, I am
Please proceed, sir
I have a question for Mr. Phillip
No, no, no, no, no, not a question for Mr. Phillips
What I want you to do is testify as to where you stand on this project, okay?
Well, where I stand on this project is
I feel as though that
they've been operating
under violations on this building
I don't think this is going to be
a great
something great for the community
as far as
because of
they've been on violations on this building
this building hasn't had an
administrative permit. They haven't
get a fire safety
inspection because
they still have a
they still have
they still doesn't have CO
which is case number 22
that is 09767
and I feel as though this building
is unsafe.
I don't
just ask Mr. Mercado's address.
Just one minute. I'm going to give him that.
Mr. Mercado, do you have anything else to offer?
It's pretty much, you know, this building has been operating under violations, and it's actually zoning for a church, not for a medical clinic.
So, Mr. Mercado, Mr. Phillips has the, he wants to cross -examine your comments. Mr. Phillips.
Mr. Mercado, can you just please state your address for the record?
My address is going to be at 2845 Kensington Avenue.
And, Mr. Mercado, are you aware that the property has a fire alarm certificate certified as of June 17th, 2024?
Well, it's still showing up that you guys have an open case.
And are you aware that the only violation outstanding currently is for the use that we are seeking right now and that all other issues have been cleared up?
Yes, which is a CO.
So, how can you get an administrative permit without a CO?
We would have an NCO.
I don't have any further questions.
Thank you very much.
Mr. Mercado, thanks for your call.
Next hand, please.
Hello?
Could you please state your name and spell for the court's sonographer?
Yes, my name is Jose DeMarco, J -O -S -E -D -E -M -A -R -C -O.
My name is Jose DeMarco, J -O -S -E, D -E -M -A -C -O.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Mr. DeMarco, are you a neighbor?
At this time, no.
Okay, please proceed with your testimony.
Yeah, we have a small office at Prevention Point.
We're called the Black and Latinx Community Control, where we advocate.
for underserved people that are Black and Latino that are living with HIV and AIDS.
I would really like to say in Kensington, especially now with the recent increase in
HIV infections due to the shortage of syringes in the area, that more than one medical provider
is needed. The need there in the area is especially overwhelming, especially for a lot of poor people
that don't have the access, that don't have the money to go outside of their neighborhoods to
seek help. A lot of times people don't have insurance or they're not being treated like
human beings because they may have an addiction issue. And a lot of folks will not come out of
the area to go into Center City or other places to seek this help. So I really would like to,
we're here to support the need for more than just one doctor at Prevention Point to handle
the overwhelming amount of people that need help. And this is not only for people using drugs.
There are many people that come there that also receive just regular medical help outside of HIV.
Thank you, Mr. DeMarco, for taking the time. We appreciate it. Next hand, please.
sloan folks i've been allowed to speak please unmute yourself
good morning mr folks good morning chairman bergman zba board my name is sloan folks i'm
representing the office of councilman mckeche lazada room 44 city hall the folks just for the
record could you spell your name please for the stenographer yes sir my name is i spelled s -l -o -a -n -e
F as in fire, O -L -K -S, old folks, young folks, just plain folks.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, Mr. Folks?
I do, sir. Thank you very much.
Please proceed with your conversation.
Yes, sir.
First, I'd like to say the council member has already signed off with a letter from the Kensington Coalition in opposition of this special request.
But she did have some points that she wants to put on the record for the ZBA.
Okay. Firstly, if she'd like to say the Councilmember understands and is sensitive to people seeking help for addiction and addiction -related issues.
But she'd also like to take a moment to focus on community residents that are impacted and live in this community, which really hasn't been a point of discussion at the last hearing.
Councilmember Lozada has held several meetings in the Kansas City community since her election in 2023 to the 7th District.
And these meetings have focused on the opioid crisis and the service providers, as well as its impact on local residents.
The council member in these meetings has sat down with other members of city council and has heard from parents, school and school age children who traverse the area in and around proposed sites and the issues that they grapple with.
These are parents and children speaking of waiting through people waiting for assistance at the site.
And families have spoken about the level of fear they have walking past, you know, not just people just seeking services because people have a right to seek services,
but those that are waiting to prey on those seeking for services.
those open narcotic sales that were discussed at the last hearing, whereas Prevention Point does
have outside security to address. They have asked the council member, these constituents,
directly, who speaks for us? And the council member does speak for them. A special exception
puts the burden on a community to show that a request negatively impacts the community.
And the council member is opposed to the special exception, as she believes and has been informed by her constituents that it does not provide a positive impact to those who live, to those who go to school, to those who do business, and to those who work in this community.
That's her statement. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. Phillips. You have any questions?
um i have no questions thank you next hand please thank you mr folks
I have no questions.
Thank you. Next hand, please.
mary evelyn torres has been allowed to speak please unmute yourself
morning could you please state your name and spell for the sonographer
sure my name is mary m -a -r -y evelyn e -v -e -l -y -n last name torres t -o -r -r -e -s can everybody hear me
Hold on. Yes, we can. Do you swear or affirm? Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Ms. Torres, are you a neighbor?
No, I'm not.
Please proceed.
Let me rectify that. We do have an office at 3401 Kensington Avenue. So in that regards, we are a neighbor where we provide services. So I'm just going to read from a statement I have here.
My name is Mary Evelyn Torres, Evelyn Torres. I am the Executive Director of Action Wellness.
Action Wellness is an organization that began in 1986 in response to the AIDS epidemic,
and we serve over 2 ,000 clients now with HIV, and we also serve clients with substance use disorder.
I'm writing in support of a special exception approval for the use of 291315 Kensington Avenue
as a group medical, dental, and health practitioner office in an existing structure
with acknowledgment of Prevention Point's group medical office practice
that has been successfully operating and serving the community for several years.
This includes clients of Action Wellness, and these are clients with HIV
who receive their services at 291315 Kensington Avenue from a competent and dedicated staff.
Today, we provide critical services, as I said, to more than 2 ,000 individuals
with HIV and their families. So again, it's important to note that Prevention Point Philadelphia
does not only serve substance users, but also people with HIV all deserving of quality care.
And so the goal is to engage and return our persons in quality medical care as such as
Prevention Point. As you all know, Prevention Point offers a wide range of medical care and
other services, including testing, treatment, and prevention of HIV and hepatitis C, as well
providing care for wounded infections, reproductive health, and primary medical care, again, for
individuals with HIV. This is a one -stop shop, and this is what clients want. In FY 2024,
2034 individuals were provided medical services, and that is an astounding number to serve.
Let me end with this. I understand, and I'm not a neighbor, but I've heard and I understand
and the concerns of the residents who live in our neighbors of Prevention Point, Philadelphia.
But the answer is not to deny medical care to those who need it most.
There can be solutions found to this problem that do not include stripping medical care of more than 2 ,000 clients,
and you're going to do that when you provide for only one provider as opposed to three.
So, again, we are a neighbor.
We are in Kensington.
We provide services.
We want to be part of the solution, as I know Prevention Point does.
And I don't think these two things are mutually exclusive.
You can continue to provide medical services and meet the needs of clients in Prevention Point while addressing the concerns of the residents.
Thank you very much.
And Ms. Torres, just for the point, you do not have an office at 2913.
Am I correct?
No, we do not.
Our office is at 3401 I Street.
Thank you very much. Mr. Phelps, you have any questions?
All right. Next hand, please.
Harris Steinberg has been allowed to speak.
How many hands do we see left?
Chair, we have seven hands.
All right. That's good. Thank you.
Sarah, could you please state your name and spell for the sonographer?
Sure. Harris Steinberg, H -A -R -R -I -S.
Another S -T -E -I -N as an A -C -B -E -R -G.
You swear or firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Mr. Steinberg, are you a resident?
Please proceed.
I'm about a half a block from Prevention Point, and I've listened to all the testimony from the other day as well as today.
I think they're saying that this is going to deny or strip people of services and that they mainly handle substance abusers as far as who they are giving services to.
However, they're not really saying that these people can't go somewhere else.
They're just saying that they can simply it's more convenient or the more likely to go to their services.
So they're not denying or stripping people of their services.
Prevention point, you know, they're saying that they are life -sustaining and they're compassionate and they're effective.
but they're not really showing that they're any more effective than if the people went outside the neighborhood to get the services.
But they're not really showing that they're any more effective than if the people went outside the neighborhood.
They're saying they're risking their own life.
However, they hire security to push all the addicts and the other people into the surrounding neighborhood.
I think their compassion is misguided, but they're also getting paid.
And this is just expanding the number of paid people that work at Prevention Point.
They're not working for free.
So what's happening here is a lot of people making money and not solving the problem.
So I suggest that in terms of the addiction people that are negatively affecting the community, I heard the council talk about how the residents and the owners of the businesses are negatively affected in the community, but these addicts are also negatively affected because they're allowed to perpetually stay in the neighborhood instead of getting out of the neighborhood for the services.
Perhaps that's something that really ought to be considered.
So if you're allowing more people to stay in the neighborhood where the drugs are, where the shootings are.
By the way, there was a murder right out in front of my business yesterday.
An addict got shot by his drug dealer.
Five seconds.
I watched it on my camera.
This is not compassionate.
This is not life -sustaining.
This is keeping people perpetually stuck in the system in Kensington.
If they were had to go outside of the neighborhood to get the services, they would be outside of the influence and maybe be more likely to stay out.
So, OK, Mr. Steinberg, thank you, Mr. Phillips. Do you have any questions?
Yeah, Mr. Steinberg, can you just please state your address for the record?
2861 Kensington Avenue.
um and is it uh your position that there should not be medical services provided at
uh 2813 kensington avenue i don't think they should be catering to the drug addicts
you call them homeless but they're drug addicts okay so the uh you are opposed to individuals
schools seeking medical services at 2813 Kensington Avenue.
I'm opposed to helping the drug addicts to perpetuate them staying in the neighborhood
as opposed to trying to get the services outside the neighborhood where they could be then
taken off the street or maybe more likely to stay out of here where it's unsafe.
I don't have any questions.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. Steinberg.
Next hand, please.
Alexis Roth has been allowed to speak.
Morning, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Hi, my name is Alexis Roth, R -O -T -H.
I am an associate professor.
Hold on, hold on, hold on.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Are you a neighbor?
I am not a neighbor, although I do have a research office at 2917 Kensington Avenue
and one day a week at 3045 Kensington Avenue.
Are you in favor of this project or against?
Favor.
Can you give us any other reasons
that we haven't already heard?
Well, I think what I can do is extrapolate a little bit
from the individual opinions that have been expressed
and compliment them with what I know
is a public health researcher
who's been publishing and working in this space
for the last decade.
And so I can bring in some scientific evidence to support why it's so important to have multiple providers.
Why don't you start?
Sure. So first, I really appreciate the comments that have been made about community support and concerns for the services being provided at Prevention Point.
I would like to sort of counterbalance them by offering up that in 2019, my team and I published a paper where we did face to face interviews with 360 residents.
And 79 business owners or staff asking them about specialty overdose prevention services being provided in the neighborhood.
And 90 % of residents and 63 % of business owners were in favor of those services.
So this to say that there is also broad support in the neighborhood for people receiving addictions, treatment, naloxone, other kinds of services to address public health challenges at prevention point.
I'd also like to highlight that there's been an outbreak of HIV among folks who inject drugs in
the city since 2018 the city the city and the CDC have been working tirelessly on that since
they declared it and we've been doing research in this space since 2017 and I have an ongoing
large -scale intervention at prevention point now and what I can tell you that we hear resoundingly
And what I can tell you that we hear resoundingly from their clients over and over again is
from their clients over and over again.
that the care that they receive from Prevention Point staff and the fact that the medical
services are located with a place where they can get coffee, clothes, food, syringes, et
cetera, is absolutely what helps them onboard into this lifesaving care.
And as a sharp contradiction, what was just offered up, research actually shows that the
co -location of these services leads to better patient engagement outcomes. So having things
bundled up like at Walmart does much better than sending somebody outside of the neighborhood.
And the truth is, is this is where folks are living. And so it's important for them to be
able to have quality, accessible health care in their neighborhood. Thank you. Mr. Phillips,
if you have any questions. I would just ask Ms. Roth, can you please just state for the record
just your credentials again? Yes, it's Dr. Roth, and I am an associate professor of public health
at Drexel University in the School of Public Health in the Department of Community Health
and Prevention, and I do HIV and overdose -related research and have been doing so for more than a
decade. Thank you. No further questions. Next hand, please. Andrea McIntosh has been allowed
to speak. Hello. Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
My name is Andrea McIntosh, A -N -D -R -E -A, McIntosh, M -C -I -N -T -O -S -H.
Where are you referring to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
I do. Are you a neighbor? I'm a homeowner.
Okay. Are you in favor of this project or against?
I'm in favor.
And is there anything that you could offer that's different than what we've already had?
I'm a PhD candidate researchers, and I've researched the neighborhood, so I can
lend my expertise in that area, but I can also talk to the neighborhood dynamics
after having lived in Kensington on and off for over 10 years.
Well, thank you very much.
But you're against it, am I correct?
No, I'm in favor.
Okay, you're in favor.
I'm sorry, go ahead.
Mr. Phillips?
Yeah, I would just like,
Ms. McIntosh stated that she could lend a perspective
as somebody who's lived off and out of the neighborhood
for a decade,
as well as a perspective
as somebody working in public health.
So I would just like to, you know, have the opportunity. Sure. Go ahead. Continue with your testimony.
Sure. I am a Ph .D. candidate researcher and I've done research in Kensington.
I have also worked in homeless services and Prevention Point is a place that I have been able to refer neighbors to.
um i can say based on my research that the amount of services in the neighborhood does not
decrease the amount of people on the street um the people who are on the street are in kensington
because of the drugs that are there they're not there because of the services that are provided
the services provided are actually providing relief um and making the conditions on the street
um not be as um extreme as they could be if the services weren't there um just repeating that
i whenever i have seen services um decreased in the neighborhood it has made the conditions on
the street worse and it has made it worse for the people that are living there to deal with
these conditions and as a homeowner in the neighborhood i am in strongly i'm strongly
supporting prevention point in this endeavor. Thank you very much for taking the time. Mr.
Phillips, do you have any questions? No further questions. Thank you. Next hand, please.
Joe Volsi has been allowed to speak. Please unmute yourself.
Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Good morning. My name is Joel Volsi. That's J -O -E -L, V as in Victor, O -L -C as in cat, Y.
Where are we referring to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Sir, are you a neighbor?
No, I'm not.
Are you in favor of this project or against?
I'm speaking on behalf of Councilman Jim Harity, who is in opposition of this.
Sir, give us your testimony about why you're in opposition.
Councilmember Harrity, he's an at large member who lives in the neighborhood not too far from the location. He's also a recovery alcoholic, so he understands.
He is also a recovery alcoholic, so he understands what's going on in the minds of those who are dealing with addiction.
He cares about his neighbors and serves on council with Councilwoman Lozada, who is also the district council member.
He is in strong opposition of this because they are not very effective in this neighborhood.
There's a lot of needles that always remain on the ground and a lot of crowds that draw in bad neighbors and drug dealers.
So that therefore the councilman is in opposition of this variance.
Mr. Phillips, do you have any questions?
Yes. Mr. Bolte, can you please point to any specific negative impacts that are caused specifically by the increase in medical services at the property from one provider to multiple providers?
Hold on one second, please.
Mr. Volsi?
I'm sorry, I was getting the call.
can you just repeat the question, please? I was asking if you can please point to specific
negative impacts that you believe would be caused by increasing medical services from one provider
to multiple providers at the property. Well, we know that this provider does provide needle
exchanges, which also causes other issues such as drug dealers to come, as well as they
They cause other issues for the neighborhood and other issues that causes bad neighbors as well as it allows some of those suffering from SUD to pee and also cause other urinating issues for the commercial corridors.
So Prevention Point doesn't really provide services for those suffering from this addiction to have a solid place to get treatment and care.
Okay. And I just want to also make sure you're clear. Any syringe exchange or syringe program
is not at issue here. Those are not medical services that we are seeking. So again,
setting the issues with the syringe exchange aside, specifically for the medical services
being provided, that's what I'm seeking clarification on. What specific negative
impacts are caused by increasing the medical services? Well, the negative impacts will be
it's in a residential neighborhood and a commercial neighborhood where those medical services should
be provided on some type of medical campus that is not in a densely populated neighborhood where
other people can be affected by those medical treatments. Mr. Bolsey, are you aware that
solo practitioner medical services are permitted by right at the property?
Yes, I am aware.
So again, is it your belief that solo medical practitioner services should not be provided
at the property?
What the councilman believes is that this facility should be somewhere on a medical campus where
this medical treatment could be provided to help those, to help the people suffer from SUD.
But it shouldn't be in the area where many members of the community need those services.
That's correct. Okay, no further questions. Thank you. Next hand, and how many more hands do we have?
Chair, we have five more hands up, and William McElroy has been allowed to speak.
Could you please state your name as spelled for the court stenographer?
William McElroy, M -C -E -L -R -O -Y.
We are affirmed to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Mr. McElroy, are you a neighbor?
I am not. I'm a landlord.
Mr. McElroy, are you in favor of this project or against?
I'm against it.
Is there anything you could offer that we haven't already heard?
Well, I'm going to use numbers from their own last fiscal report.
And my argument basically is they don't need another doctor based on their numbers from last year.
They do medically, medication -assisted opioid use disorder.
Medication -assisted opioid use disorder, that's sublucate and vivitrol.
that's subleucane and Vivitrol.
That's a once -a -month shot.
They had 671 patients, shots they gave out.
Divide that by 12.
That's 56 patients a month they saw for that sublucate and vivitrol.
That's two a day.
They do 829 wound care visits.
Divide that by 365.
That's two and a half patients a day that that doctor sees.
1 ,300 HIV visits. It didn't describe what an HIV visit is, but that's three and a half a day
by their math and 2 ,020, 34 unique participants. I don't know what that is, but let's say they're
also separate from the others. That's five and a half patients a day. So that, those three,
they're seeing 11, that doctor is seeing 11 patients a day and giving out two shots a day.
That's enough for just one doctor to do it. And it's bookended by Esperanza, a quarter mile
at one direction and Episcopal at the other. There's enough medical services and there's
enough business with 11 patients and two injections a day. All right. Thank you very
much, Mr. McElroy. Mr. Phillips, do you have any questions? Mr. McElroy, can you please
uh set forth your address for the record what do i own in kensington yes you said you're a homeowner
in the or a landlord in the area 3146 reach street 3146 reach reach street okay um and are you
aware right now that there are multiple medical providers that have been uh providing services
at prevention point? Well, I know you're entitled to at least one, and I think his last name starts
with C when I looked at the tax return. And these are your numbers. And Mr. McElroy, were you at the
prior hearing in this matter? No, I was trying to follow it. I know it was listed on two prior
occasions, and I guess I missed it. So you did not hear the testimony of the multiple medical
providers who are currently servicing clientele and working at Prevention Point? I did not. I
merely took your report and I'm citing from it. And those are the number of patients that you see
according to your staff that prepared that report. 11 patients a day on average and two shots.
I'll leave this for a rebuttal testimony from our witnesses.
us. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. McElroy. Next hand, please.
Ros has been allowed to speak. Please unmute yourself.
Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Rosalind Pichardo, R -O -S -A -L -I -N -D, Pichardo, P -I -C -H -A -R -D -O.
Do you affirm the fellow truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Are you a neighbor?
Are you in favor or against this project?
I'm in favor of the project.
Is there anything that hasn't been said that you could offer?
Yes, as a Kensington resident and Kensington business owner, I feel like Prevention Point adds additional support for a community that's already suffering.
And as a resident, I've seen an improvement of many of the people that I do to serve and needs help in the community.
So I just feel like this is necessary for us to support people and provide services that's a necessity to keep people alive in Kensington.
Thank you very much. Mr. Phillips, do you have any questions?
I have no questions for Ms. Pichardo.
Next hand, please.
Jose Antonio has been allowed to speak.
Could you please state your name and speak for the stenographer?
Yes, my name is Jose Antonio Chacon.
Jose Antonio is two words, one name.
And my last name is C -H -A -C -O -N.
You swear or affirm that tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, sir.
Are you a neighbor?
Are you a for or against this project?
Against.
Thank you.
Is there anything you could offer that hasn't already been said?
I think so.
Okay, thank you very much.
i appreciate it um what what is it what is it you yeah i'm sorry basically what i'm here to say is
prevention point are bad neighbors um no one is saying people don't deserve care no one is saying
uh that they are not doing some good work but they're bad
that they are not doing some good work but they're bad neighbors uh and having multiple
doctors in one place we're seeing people linger more and then when they get pushed away they go
into the neighborhoods they defecate they urinate they linger they shoot up and it's really
diminishing the quality of life of the people who live around there work around there and who
have to traverse the area um i talked to a lot of my neighbors most of us avoid going by it as much
as possible sometimes adding up to 30 minutes to our commute um i know people who have changed
their public transportation routes just to avoid going near here it they're bad neighbors that's
what it comes down to thank you very much we don't think they should be rewarded for being bad
neighbors hold on mr phillips you have any questions sure uh mr chacon uh can you please
take your address for the record 2305 east cambria street and is that where you um reside
yes okay and uh were you here during the last hearing
uh for parts of it it went on quite long and was not held in a timely fashion
and i've heard your presentations before okay did you hear uh miss woodcock's uh testimony
regarding the number of idling persons uh throughout kensington and where the highest
concentration and distribution of those persons are yes and it doesn't diminish the fact that
hear about neighbors. And can you please explain what detrimental impacts to the neighborhood
will result from increasing the number of medical providers at prevention point from one to three?
It encourages people and then they can meet the drug dealers and they can linger outside. And
And when you push, when your security pushes them away, it pushes them into the neighbors, causing them to linger around the neighborhood.
And Mr. Cohn, where do you think these people are coming from who are seeking services?
Generally probably from the area too, yes.
So these are people from the area coming to a location within the area?
Correct.
I have no further questions.
Thank you.
Next hand, please.
please. Gloria has been allowed to speak. Hey, could you please state your name? It's
spelled for the stenographer. Yes. Good morning. My name is Gloria Cartagena Hart. Gloria G -L -O -R -I -A
Cartagena C -A -R -T -A -G -E -N -A Hart H -A -R -T. Do you swear or firm to tell the truth,
told truth nothing but the truth? Yes, sir. Are you a neighbor? Yes, sir. Are you in favor of this
project or against? Against. Thank you very much. We've had a lot of testimony as to why
and we're to move on and try to get to as many people as possible. But thank you very much for
calling. Next hand, please. Savannah has been allowed to speak. Could you please state your
name and spell for the court stenographer can you hear me i i can could you please state your name
s -i -l -v -a -n -a -m -a -c -z -e -l -l -a you swear to firm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but
the truth i do this is this is my client this is sylvana mazella who testified on behalf of
prevention point i believe she was raising her hand as a rebuttal witness but i do not know i
think you'll hand you're going to handle the rebuttal am i correct with miss i'm going to
ask miss mazella some questions for rebuttal but that was going to be after public okay all right
next hand please
this has been allowed to speak why could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
hi yes my name is tess doni t -e -s -s -d -o -n -i -e you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole
truth nothing but the truth yes um are you a neighbor yes are you in favor of this project
or against against thank you very much for taking the time to call us we appreciate we're trying to
get to all the hands we can. Next hand, please. Could you please state your name and spell for
the stenographer? Sure. It's Ashley Viles, A -S -H -L -U -Y. Last name is A -V as in Victor, I -L -E -S.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes. Are you a neighbor?
Are you a neighbor?
Neighbor, yes.
Are you for this or against the project?
I am against it.
Thank you very much for calling in.
We appreciate it.
We're trying to get to all the hands we can, but thank you for your comment.
Next hand, please.
Joan Wright has been allowed to say.
Hi, could you please state your name and spell for the sonographer?
Joan Wright, J -O -A -N.
W -R -I -G -H -T
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth
the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Are you a neighbor?
Yes, I am.
Are you for this project or against?
Against.
Thank you very much for taking the time to call it.
We appreciate it.
Next hand, please.
How many more hands do we have?
Last hand, Carlos.
Nitti has been allowed to speak.
Hi, could you please state your name
and spell it for the court stenographer?
My name is Carlos Midi, C -A -R -L -O -S, last name Midi, M -I -T -T -I, and I'm arrested.
All right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, indeed.
Are you a neighbor?
Yes, sir.
Are you in favor of this project or against?
I'm against the project.
Thank you very much for taking the time to call us.
Is there any other hands on?
There are no other hands.
Mr. Phillips, how long do you think your comments are going to be?
I assure you, I know that I don't have the best track record for timing, but I assure you they will be very brief.
Is she?
I'd like to just call Sylvana Mazzella for rebuttal.
I think I swore her hand when she put her hand up, am I correct?
Yes, thank you. Can you hear me?
I can. Please, Mr. Phillips, please proceed.
Sylvana, there's just a few things I want to go through with you.
But first, you heard some of the testimony in opposition, including that from Mr. McElroy, who spoke to the services that were being provided for his perception of that based on prevention points, fiscal numbers.
Can you please just state whether you agree with Mr. McElroy's testimony or disagree?
And if so, why?
I can't agree with it because even going through the numbers on the website, when I add them up before this meeting and during this meeting and divide by 12, that they are different numbers.
We provide at least four different types of medical care.
I want to add that while it is true that people can go to other neighborhoods, one of the challenges that we know with medical care is that if it is low barrier and provided nearby, people are more likely to access it.
We also, in addition to providing treatment here, we refer people to other places, and there are people that don't want to go for medical care or substance use treatment or other types of services in their own neighborhood.
And of course, they should be referred elsewhere. But this is where the greatest need is. There are other providers providing the same services. Hospitals do not have an overwhelming amount of outpatient programs, and there are wait times. And they would say that as well themselves.
and it is unfortunate that there is the type of drug activity that exists in the neighborhood
including the drug dealing but again as as based on the assessment that was objectively done and
presented by the architect the last meeting and as per police data that anybody can look up
This is by no means a location that has more of either activity than any other.
Silvana, at the last hearing, Chairman Bergman was asking you some questions about security at the property, and you would testify regarding some changes that were going to be made.
Can you please just provide the board with an update as to the security at 2913 Kensington?
Currently, how many individuals are employed and what the future plans are?
Yes, we stated at that meeting that for October, we would hire a security lieutenant for the location.
That did happen in October.
We have three other staff that are posted as crisis de -escalators and greeters.
They are skilled at identifying potential issues on the block or as people are coming in.
I also want to point out that it is not unheard of for any of the clinics in the area or clinics in any other community to have some type of presence outside.
There's nothing specific.
There's nothing specific. There are different conditions in this area, of course, because of some of the dealing activity, but there's nothing different about us in needing some type of presence.
There are different conditions in this area.
We have that right now every day. And it is it has been an appropriate response to being able to manage the block.
All together, can you speak to the frequency or number of incidents where the security has had to get involved with any issues in the neighborhood?
Since this September, without the other security team, we have had three issues, and they were not specifically related to anyone coming to the building.
As the landlord stated, there was an issue yesterday, a block and a half from here.
This is unfortunate, this condition, but it's not related to something that we are specifically doing, and we are able to manage safety for the building.
Last question, Savannah. If the medical services and care provided at 2913 to 15 Kensington were decreased if this special exception were denied and you were limited to only one provider at that property, can you just explain for the board what that would do in terms of wait times and the ability to provide care and access?
It would add to wait times and it would make care more difficult for people to access. I also want to point out that, you know, a statement was made that we're not effective. We understand that there are parts of the work that do not make people happy.
But in terms of the efficacy of the services, we have some of the highest outcomes for treatment, assessment, and treatment services for PrEP navigation, PrEP medical care on site, wound care services delivered.
these services are evaluated as effective or more than in many other settings. And it's not because
we are a better clinic. It's because we provide services in a specific way to a population that
is not necessarily going to access them in other sites, not only in the area, but certainly outside
of the area. I have no further questions. I do have one additional witness. Mr. Phillips,
I have one quick question. I noticed the last time there was testimony that if the area is having severe issues, they close.
Is that true?
It does happen in the summertime. We have had, unfortunately, there is the dealing activity in the entire area increases during the summer. And there are times where for safety reasons, we and other businesses in the area have chosen to close for some period of time during that day until the scene is secured.
An example is what happened yesterday, unfortunately, two blocks down.
Did you close yesterday?
We did not close yesterday, but I'm saying that others.
Okay, all right, good. All right. Thank you. I was just curious. I saw that the last time and I was trying to figure, and I remember you had said that. Thank you very much. Who's your one more witness, Mr. Phillips?
Just for rebuttal, I would just ask Janice Woodcock. I have one question for her, who was our expert who testified at the last hearing.
Hi, could you please state your name, Ms. Bell, for the court stenographer?
Yes, my name is Janice Woodcock, J -A -N -I -C -E -W -E -B -C -O -C -K.
You swear or affirm to tell the truth, tell the truth, nothing but the truth.
Please proceed, Mr. Phillips.
Well, Ms. Woodcock, you heard the testimony of various members of the community this morning.
I have.
Okay. In listening to the testimony of members of the community, did it cause you to change your professional opinion in any way about the specific negative impacts that would be potentially caused by the increase in services at 2913 Kensington Avenue?
It did not.
Did you hear any testimony of any detrimental impacts that would be caused at the property beyond what would normally be expected from a group medical services use?
I did not.
And did you hear any detrimental impacts that were directly tied to the increase from a sole practitioner?
And did you hear any detrimental impacts that were directly tied to the increase from a sole practitioner to group medical services?
No, and I do want to reiterate that in my analysis of the blocks, in terms of the ways that you measure urban blight, that this block is of the eight blocks studied, is the third best in terms of vacancy, and the fourth best in terms of number of people loitering on the street.
So this clinic could be said to be having a better influence than other other activities on other blocks.
Thank you, Ms. Woodcrocke.
Thank you.
Hillary, do we we're going to hold a vote on this, Mr. Phillips?
Mr. Chair, would you take the recommendation of the planning?
I know, that's what I'm saying.
We'll go to planning next.
Planning Commission.
Yes, we will hold the vote.
And we board with the Planning Commission.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change to the CMX 2 .5 commercial mixed -use zoning at this location.
The appellant has shown that the proposed group medical, dental, and health practitioner use will have no detrimental impacts to the neighborhood beyond what might be reasonably expected.
The planning commission recommends that the board grant the proposed special exemption for group medical, dental, and health practitioner.
Do we want to put a date for this vote, Hillary?
If you would like to vote in two weeks, Mr. Chair, because we've been out of hearings next week, the next date would be December 4th.
Vote December 4th at 9 .30 a .m.
Okay, Mr. Phillips?
Yes, and, you know, I would just in closing, can I just make one of one -minute statements just in closing, just to re -summarize everything.
I think this is your third, but go ahead.
I mean.
It'll be my last one.
I just want to say.
But, Mr. Phillips, we've got to move.
No longer than a minute.
we have other people waiting. I just want to say, in response to some of the opposition in the
community, I want to note that there were no specific detrimental impacts that were raised.
And when there are systemic problems, and it's increasingly harder to find a solution,
oftentimes people look for someone to blame. They look to point a finger at who can we blame here.
And I believe that's happened here with Prevention Point. The blame and complaints have not
been tied to the medical services. And I believe it's somewhat of a, there's a fair amount of
absurdity in the position that any problems are exacerbated by PreventionPoint providing medical
services from two to three individuals instead of one individual. This use has been in existence
since 2019. I believe the proofs speak for themselves and that we have satisfied our burden
and that the community has not satisfied their burden in the shifting scenario. So thank the
board. I think I kept it within a minute. First time I've - You did. Thank you very much. I
appreciate it. Okay. Thank you all. We're going to go back to number one, 3900 Main Street, Adam Laver.
Mr. Chair, Mr. Leonard Palmer has rejoined us. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Laver.
Hello. Why don't we bring our RCO REPL? I'm sorry, we're a little bit later than we expected, but quite all right.
Please raise your virtual hand.
Here, can you please repeat the name of the RCO REPL?
John Hunter, sorry, allowed to speak. Thank you. Morning, Mr. Hunter. You've already
been sworn. Why don't we go back to where you were? Yeah, if you could share my screen.
You can. Please let him share a screen and we're sorry we're a little bit later than
we expected okay um i think this is where we stopped previously um i just want to mention
Yeah, I think that's it, sir.
Okay, good.
I just want to mention on the upper drawings, which is the elevations, the materials.
I already mentioned about the shift and the block, but above, all the elevations are indicated in brick.
On the section below, I wanted to point out the relative height.
On the section below, I wanted to...
As has been mentioned in the refusal, the building height is approximately 24 feet higher than would be allowed.
And the calculation for the allowable height is 38 feet above the BFE plus 18 inches.
And that corresponds pretty much to the two upper stories of the building you see on that elevation building, too, relative to the buildings across the street.
Dr. Cohen, in his expert testimony, made the case that height is arbitrary, but it really should relate to context, paraphrasing what he said.
But I think this indicates that the existing building across the street is significantly lower.
And if this building, whatever its use is, and we'll come back to use, were within the by right height, which was 51 feet, it would be more contextually sensitive than as proposed, which is an additional two stories.
I also want to point out, using this section as an example, that Mr. Labour pointed out to other schemes in the vicinity which he thought were of a similar height and were similar in sort of proposed use.
and i want to draw attention to one scheme that's been in existence now for almost 10 years which
is the aisle which is on venice island and the scheme next to it which is which is a buy right
scheme that's gone through cdr and as yet actually to be built but probably will be approved as
proposed and both of them have um parking on grade on venice island and then the residential units
above start above the bfe by 18 inches but they are then evacuated and accessed by a bridge that
goes over the canal and lands on the retail side of main street that allows during a flood event
not only evacuation of all the residential units but also allows residents to go backwards and
forwards it's a sort of bizarre situation but when the aisle was inundated below at the parking level
during hurricane ida residents were allowed to go backwards and forwards and that is the same
solution that 4436 our proposal in the adjacent is also pursuing this scheme of 3900 cannot do that
And that is the crux of why this residential use here is inappropriate, because you can't, there's no way to connect to.
You have to go down to street level and you have to evacuate a quarter mile in either direction towards Shurds Lane or towards Ridge Avenue.
And that puts you in grave danger for evacuating.
But it also means that you can't get back in the building until Main Street has been completely cleared.
the flood water is gone the city comes in and cleans the whole all the whole area and the
entrance to the building is repaired um and i think that is just the fundamental difference
as i mentioned earlier mr al had bought this building well sorry bought the property in 2016
and in december 2016 he appeared before this zoning board with a proposal to subdivide the lot
into 27 units and build 27 houses um that proposal was denied but that appeal was denied by the
zoning board and the planning uh representative at that time drew attention to the fact that even
in 2016 there had been two significant flooding events and the um the planning commission was
opposed to residential development in the flood hazard area anyway but particularly at this spot
because of the danger not only to residents but also to emergency responders because they would
have to try and make some attempt and if they did they'd be fighting floodwaters that could be up to
10 feet high um the um again the section here just want to point out that there are two office
buildings indicated here to office spaces um the um refusal the revised refusal refers to three
we couldn't find the third one but there are two and then the parking is over on the left hand side
it's not clear if it's I'm assuming that the parking is wet flood proofed there's a flood
proof door shown on the elevation but it's I assume it's wet flood proof but again you can
i assume it's wet foot flood proof but again you can see here the extent of the building
see here the extent of the building
on facing main street and how narrow the way through onto uh the riverside of the land on
the site is even if the public were able to access it um the next slide shows and i really want to
address the three refusals here uh the first refusal is for height that and we've sort of i
sort of addressed it um in in looking at with reference to the section and i think that there
is no information given that justified a hardship for going above the 51 feet that is allowed on
on this site, whatever the use of the building is. The second one is for use, which is changing
from ICMX to mixed -use development of commercial and residential.
ICMX is a broad category in the zoning code, not like I1 or I2, and listed in the code,
there are over 40 different uses which are acceptable with ICMX use.
The building next door to this property to the east, Transamerica, is ICMX, and it's a...
Pardon me. Objection for the record.
Is Mr. Hunter testifying as a qualified expert for presenting the position of a coordinating RCO?
Mr. Hunter, could you just move on from that, please?
sure um um the building across the street is also zoned icmx the buildings should i say
and they have a range of different uses there is a motorcycle um
shop that was there that um and there's um a gym a jujitsu place um a firm of architects
with a large office there and also the office of the state representative Tariq Khan is across the
street so the idea that there aren't possibilities of ICMX use is something that we don't consider
correct and we would challenge us that Mr. Al -Hadar has pursued uses on this site that would
reflect the icmx zoning and there is no need to change to residential use the third one
is for the 50 foot setback and this drawing really shows the 50 foot setback and its impact
which we acknowledge but um one thing i just want to make clear is that and these areas and the
diagrams the total property area that's shown here and given at the square footage x the property
extends out into the river, as you can see, and also to the river embankment. So both of those
areas would never be available for use in development. And when Mr. Al -Hadar bought the
property in 2016, the property was owned ICMX. It had a height restriction of 38 feet above the BFE
plus 16 18 inches and it had this 50 foot setback and the 50 foot setback as explained in the code
but also by Elaine Montes who called in with it with her testimony in the July 16th section of
the hearing pointed out that the 50 foot setback is really there to provide strengthening of the
river's edge, pervious resilient opportunities for landscaping. You can't put car parking on it.
And the impact and the reason that it's there on all these river frontages on the Delaware and the
Skilka rivers is the impact that having pervious surfaces helps down river reduction in flooding.
It isn't necessarily for this site, but it's universal around all these frontages.
The pink area that's left is still areas which could be used and could be developed.
And we don't believe that there is a hardship that's been proven for not pursuing the use of this property for those uses.
um this one i think just reflects again the relative scale of the building relative to the
buildings behind it and adjacent to it we don't believe that building that building this height
relates to its context and is obtrusive and also it's revised
relates to its context and is obtrusive and also its revised design really creates a wall
along the river's frontage which the previous design however inappropriate it was didn't do
i just then want to go back and i'm almost finished uh chair building that um
these conceptual renderings which are seductive and sort of reassuring i think
bear very little relationship in detail to the elevations and sections we've seen above.
We found that this was the case with the previous CDR review that came twice,
and it was mentioned and noted by the panel and the committee in their notes that were forwarded to the ZBA.
I've already pointed out that the second floor plan doesn't have the accommodation that the testimony said it did, such as electrical rooms.
There was also a mention that in addition to the office on the ground floor, there would be an office on the second floor to deal with evacuation.
There's no space there, and it's not indicated.
But looking at the exterior, you can see here that all the materials shown are entirely different, except for the ground floor in some areas, than the elevations that were shown that were submitted.
And here you can see that the materials have changed.
The openings on the first floor are significantly different facing the river.
And again, I don't believe that you could engineer windows of that scale that are shown on the first floor, which are different from the other elevations, and make the first floor dry, flood -proof, as was given in the testimony.
You can also see on the left -hand side that there is a sort of a recess in the lower two floors and a sort of covered area, which again isn't on the elevations.
And then coming down to this one, which comes back to my comments about the roof plan, here you see additional structures shown that were also indicated on the roof plan, which would significantly change the height of the building.
On the left is partly where the staircase would be for the pilot house, but it's been enlarged to include an elevated roof terrace and another structure which actually isn't even on the roof plans.
In addition to that, it's higher than the parapet of the building, and there is a similar one indicated on the roof plan at the other end of the site.
they're they're not explained and they don't relate to the elevation shown earlier here again
is one of these seductive renders as conceptual renders as mr. labor called it and again this
view is an impossible view because it's standing in the river the wall on the left -hand side doesn't
exist it's actually below the floor level but it could be constructed but it's actually wider than
shows on the site plan and you can see again it shows these large windows and the recessed
opening further down which makes the the river walkway seem appear accessible and generous
and that is not the case when we and i'll show you in the plan when we get to it this is the
main street elevation again totally different in the appearance and seductively so it has different
materials um the openings at the first floor start off similar there's that loading dock and how
you could have a loading dock door that could sustain um a 10 foot high flood event i i don't
now but further down you can see that um the pacing and the materials changes and there is
also recesses and columns which make the building look more seductive it also has structure which
it raises above the upper floor and you can see on the left hand side um not only the staircase
but some other structure which goes up significantly higher so this is something that
again I want to really draw your attention to because the building looks fantastic and I
applaud SGA's renderings of it but it's not reality. I just then want to go back to the
flood preparedness and resiliency protocols which is a long title. The evacuation of this
the evacuation of this building relies on technology in fact mr labor draw attention
building relies on technology. In fact, Mr. Labour drawer.
to that in the available systems but again that's to get people out of the building it doesn't get
the people to a point of safety other than giving them diagrams and having um sort of
biannual sort of tests and routine sort of explanations but that only would work if it
is maintained and continues for the life of the building and that is a long time and there's no
way that that is legally and legally enforceable for the life of the building that is the
weakness of it. On the temporary parking section, the one below, I've already pointed out that the
number of parking spaces provided is in the order of one to three for the residences rather than
one to one. That'd be one parking space for three residential units. But there are still 78 cars
that probably would be not covered and would be out on the street.
But I just want to point out again,
which is not a problem that I expect this applicant to solve,
is that with all the other schemes that we've mentioned
that have residential parking in the floodplain along Main Street,
they total to about 1 ,000 cars,
which would have to be evacuated, hopefully successfully.
in the event of a flood event and we have no idea where those cars would go to mr labor gave
some sort of reassurance that they would provide temporary um locations um for the
46 parking spaces only but those parking spaces then when the cars are parked
um they can't come back to this property until all the lower main streets have been cleared
and the overhead doors repaired
and the parking spaces cleaned out of all the debris
and material that will be deposited.
Hurricane Ida was a real instructive and tragic event,
but after the event on Main Street,
when Main Street was reopened after about five or six days, you would drive past Transamerica
next door to this property, and you would see a team of at least 10 people in white hazmat suits
working for about three weeks, pulling out all the material that was trapped inside the Transamerica
site. And that, to me, is horrifying and instructive about the dangers of putting
residential units in this location. On -site management, I'm jumping down to sort of the
on -site management. I don't know who Mr. Alhadad's employees would be who would volunteer to isolate
themselves on the upper floor of the building during a flood event because they would never
be able to get out for for several days if there's an event of something like 10 feet
um all the doors that are down at street level and you'd have to wait until the flood events
subsided but if there are then the that office management might help people out or it might
help people who've decided to stay in the building but it's not really um a resilience of protocol i
would think um the elevated unit utilities uh is a requirement in the code um it's all of those
utilities including large pipes and penetrations can have to be above the bfe plus 18 inches
um so because there isn't an actual physical way a pathway or a bridge to get out of this building
to a point of safety we don't consider that there is a flood preparedness and evacuation system
that will work for the life of this building now the other thing i just want to go back to
and i've almost finished is this plan um again there was much interest understandably from the
board members and there were questions about this um path along the river and that hopefully will
eventually be proposed but you can see from this plan the narrow entrance from Main Street
you can see from this plan the narrow entrance from main street and there are the in this
landscape plan the gates that i mentioned providing or not providing access to the public
to part of this pathway that goes only on half of the site to the east it's about 200 feet
but you can see also on the left because the building and the parking has ignored the 50
foot setback and it's being pushed to as far as it can which is where the floodway changes to the
floodplain that there is no room by the river's edge wall to continue a pathway that some of the
members asked about it's planted at the moment but it reduces down to almost just about three feet
at best but it's also planted so people coming into the the public area if it is open to the
public could only go in a small area and all of that planting would be decimated the first time
there's a flood not necessarily a flood of 10 feet which is the worst case but just floods of
three four or five feet which would objection speculation thank you um i think with that um
i would conclude by saying that we believe that we would like to see um a development
on this piece of land we don't want it to be left as it is for the last nine years
sorry seven years neglected and open and we understand that you know some retailers and
some neighbors are concerned about that but this is not the scheme that should be provided a variance
to proceed and we think that we concur with both the planning commission recommendation in 2016
16, with the CDR's recommendation, which where they voiced serious concerns on a basic level
for this development in 2023. And the program manager for the city, Elaine Montes, her conclusion
when she gave testimony on July 16, was that this development was unsafe and irresponsible.
And we completely agree with her. Thank you.
Mr. Laver, do you have questions?
I think that I can clarify in a few responsive statements, Chairman Bergman.
Go ahead.
Thank you.
We've just heard a lot of speculation.
Can we please stop screen sharing?
Sorry.
Mr. Chairman and members of the board, unfortunately, we've just heard a lot of speculation and unqualified testimony.
We attempted to be respectful and not to interrupt too much to allow the voice of the coordinating RCO to be heard.
We have a really important public policy issue before us right now.
Plans have been refined in response to input from many different sources over the period of three years, and the suggestion has been made that Mr. al -Haddad perhaps did something wrong by updating the plans.
But public policy would encourage applicants to be responsive to community input, to the input of the various boards and stakeholders and officials who offer their thoughts.
specifically in response to Mr. Hunter's testimony and written statement which we received a few
minutes before five o 'clock yesterday we have a vote from the coordinating RCO from it appears
11 or 12 people who voted in opposition we have the statement made that parking is insufficient
However, 3 to 10 parking, a very common high ratio of parking in the city, would be 35 spaces, whereas the plans have been revised to provide 46 spaces at street level, not below grade.
The contention has been made that there will be a loss of commercial parking for the commercial users across the street.
parking for the commercial users across the street. As the record shows, the commercial
As the record shows,
user across the street is in support of this project. Furthermore, this site, the subject
property, is not zoned for parking. Mr. al -Haddad has attempted over the years to
to put in fencing for safety and protection, which has been taken down by others.
Any parking that's occurring on that property right now, quite frankly, is trespassing.
But Mr. Al -Haddad is trying to be a good neighbor.
And actually the support, I suppose, of many of the nearest neighbors speaks to that.
The submission that was made to the board states that the proposal is out of scale with the historic district.
Although we would concede that we are close to the historic district, the subject property is not in the historic district.
And what's perhaps most troubling is that MNC purports to be recognized without basis as flood resiliency experts.
And in a very complete record before the board, the applicant submitted the testimony written and verbal of several actual experts, and that's fully in the record.
There are also unclear references that have been made to other cases, proceedings, another case that I may be bringing before the board that's completely unrelated.
All of that is irrelevant.
Regarding Hurricane Ida and the photos that we saw a few moments ago, they are very powerful.
Photos from across the city of Philadelphia of that dreadful flood are shocking.
I still have photos on my phone of Vine Street Expressway in Center City being completely submerged and flowing like a river.
Multiple locations throughout our region were impacted.
Yet, Mr. Chairman and members of the board, we have not abandoned those locations.
So what do we do?
Do we champion responsible land use?
Do we recognize the right of a property owner to do something appropriate with his or her property?
References were also made in testimony today to Venice Island.
The subject property is not an island.
It is not Venice Island.
It's located on Main Street.
And those references are quite misleading.
We object to the consideration of an unsigned flood analysis report from a quarter century ago, which was submitted to the board by MNC yesterday.
A lot has happened since then.
So what's most relevant is that there is engineering in place for responsible development.
Clayton Smith of Taylor Wiseman and Taylor is the engineer of record.
And we have eConsult and also Dr. Cohen, true experts who have presented testimony and reports that the board has reviewed.
And I know that there was extensive questioning in our last hearing.
So we're left, Mr. Chairman and members of the board, with, do we perpetuate parking lots and self -storage, or do we allow appropriate use of property here in Philadelphia?
I don't think it's necessary to ask specific questions at this time.
Very much.
Hillary, our next step would be planning.
Yes, Mr. Chairman.
Planning Commission, please.
Amy Boyd with the Planning Commission.
The proposal completed its Civic Design Review in October 23.
The Civic Design Review Committee's advisory recommendations are not an expression of the City Planning Commission's recommendations or opinions regarding zoning invariances, special exemptions, or other discretionary approvals associated with this proposal.
The City rezoned this property in 2014 from industrial to general industry to ICMX, industrial and commercial mixed use.
The site is within the floodplain and within the special flood hazard area.
The comprehensive plan recommends a change in zoning at this location to CMX2 commercial mixed use to encourage commercial development.
While residential use at the proposed density would be allowed under the recommended CMX2 zoning,
would be allowed under the recommended CMX2 zoning. The appellant has not shown
The appellant has not shown.
that approximately 24 additional feet in height is required to afford the appellant relief.
We also note for the board that absent participation in city, state, or federal program
or a city zoning initiative affordability mentioned in the appellant's testimony cannot
be enforced by any city agency. The City Planning Commission remains concerned about placing
substantial residential proposal in a location with proven flood risk and with less than the
required waterfront setback? Just a couple questions, if I may, Chairman Bergman? Sure.
Thank you. Ms. Boyd, thank you for sharing the Philadelphia City Planning Commission's
recommendation today. In formulating your recommendation, the recommendation of the
Planning Commission, did you have the opportunity to fully review Clayton Smith's report, Dr.
William Cohen's report, and Dr. Peter Angelides' reports?
Thank you for your question, Mr. Lieber.
I will not be answering questions.
In that case, nothing further, Chairman Bergman.
Thank you very much.
We're going to hold this vote for two weeks.
Am I right, Hillary, two?
Yes, Mr. Chair, December 4th.
December 4th, and we will vote on this at 9 .30 a .m., Mr. Laver.
Thank you, Chairman Bergman and members of the board.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.
Thank you, and thank you, Mr. Laver, and thank you, Mr. Hunter, for your testimony today.
Thank you.
Is there anyone in the virtual audience whose case has not been called?
I see no hands.
Thanks, everyone.
See everyone tomorrow morning.
Great job, everyone.
Good afternoon, everybody.