floor plan b exhibit so you can just speak to it i think that's what you're getting at tanya am i
I think that's what
correct yes if i could suggest mr um green if you could just speak very simply about what your
project is for therefore you can go forward and get a decision today if not we are continuing
until august so i was trying to not get you caught up too much okay okay well if it's your wishes we
can do that okay do that i think this is going to be an easy one uh i think yeah uh we can get
through that all right you're green i think he's already been sworn in yes okay present your case
please okay uh again um um i'm an athlete i'm not pretty i'm not the best at this i'll give it a
shot. Again, my mother lives 2118. It's a PHA building, and she's pretty much renting. I saw
an opportunity to buy the house right next door to her, which is 2116 North 20th Street. It's
pretty much the same build. There's a duplex, which she'll be occupying herself, whichever
the floor she desires. And the other unit would be for rent. I mean, I'm not doing anything.
The building, I believe, is multi-family. It's single family, but I wanted to just change
it to multi-family, which is pretty much the same thing on every house on the block.
Can I interrupt you? You've met with the RCO.
Yes, Mrs. Judith. Yes, I have met with her.
And you have a letter of support?
Yes, I believe so. It should be. He literally just emailed me everything.
I'm gonna try to go through this.
This is Sharon. There is a letter of support. It should be included in the documents that I
forwarded to you. All right, hold on. Hold on one second, Mr. Green.
the other board members have all the board members been able to look at the
exhibits I'm looking at the I'm looking at the floor plans now Mr. Chairman okay so I'll give
you some time Tom see if you have any questions I'm okay you're okay anybody else have any other
board members have I'm okay with it no I'm okay okay is there anyone else who would like to
testify in this case please raise your hand no hands chair thank you planning commission
here may i ask for a clarification oh yes why don't you state your full name please
Ariel DiLiberto, A-R-I-E-L, D as in dog, I-L-I, B as in boy, E-R-T as in Tony, O.
You swear and affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth.
Okay, please proceed.
Chair, my question was, I thought I heard the applicant state that this has, is an existing duplex, and I just wanted to clarify that.
No, it's not an existing duplex.
It's a single family, but everything else on the block pretty much.
I think you said your mom lives in a duplex.
Is that correct?
Directly next door.
Yes, sir.
Next door.
Right.
Thank you.
May I proceed with my recommendation?
Yes, please.
So again, this is Ariel DiAlberto with the Planning Commission.
In 2014, the zoning map was amended from RM1 to RSA5 at this location in accord with recommendations
from the comprehensive plan and with the support of the community we don't believe that the applicant
has demonstrated the development is restricted by unique physical circumstances or conditions
of the property and that the proposed variance is not necessary to enable viable economic use
so the city planning commission recommends the board deny the variance recommends
that the board deny the variance
All right. And your mom lives next door, you said, and it's a PHA property, multifamily, correct?
I actually, yes, I actually purchased her. The 2116 was PHA also. I actually purchased it from PHA.
Okay. Thank you. MI 2020-000742-2116 North 20th Street. My vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
my vote is yes
my vote is yes
thank you and we go to number 13 colonel
yep calendar number 3075
924 west gerard avenue
bern anastasio is the attorney
letter of support from the 14th ward executive committee
Thank you.
Mr. Anastasio is still on the room.
Mr. Anastasio?
Do you agree to name and address for the record?
Unmute yourself if you have to.
I think I'm already on, but I'm already on the record,
but it's a Vern Anastasio, 1315 Walnut, Suite 1006,
19107 representing child's memorial baptist church i agree to everything do you agree
to wait the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy yes have you emailed the packet
with proof of ownership tax compliance refusal referral photos and or plans of the property
five days in advance of this hearing and have you met with the rco and do you have a letter
yes yes and yes okay you may you may proceed thank you i'm going to share my screen thank you
members of the board mr chairman this application is for 52
accessory parking spaces to an existing house of worship on an existing lot
and quickly
I met with the 14th Ward RCO Executive Committee, and I think they support the project.
I'm sorry, I got distracted for a minute.
The applicant is a church, and these are their words, which has been serving the immediate community for over 80 years and has the highest respect of the close and nearby neighbors.
granting the variances will not have an adverse impact on the immediate or surrounding neighborhoods
but the application is also for signage and i'll go through those plans it appears that the closest
residents of the proposed project will not have any direct view of the sign from their home the
variances won't alter the characteristics of the immediate neighborhood thank you planning commission
This is Ariel Alberto, excuse me, with the Philadelphia City Planning Commission.
Please hold on one second while I bring up our recommendation.
Okay, the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing
CMX 2.5 zoning at this location. The stated purpose of CMX 2.5 zoning district
is to accommodate active commercial and mixed-use development, including pedestrian-friendly retail
and service uses in commercial nodes and along commercial corridors. The development standards
are intended to promote a pedestrian-oriented environment. This proposed set of variances,
which would allow a large surface parking lot and a highway-style animated sign,
plainly conflict with this purpose. We believe that the applicant has not demonstrated
a hardship for the parking use refusal. This is a very large lot that has no apparent unique
physical circumstances that would impair the applicant's ability to develop with a permitted use.
There are also refusals for parking lot landscaping and parking lot standards for
dry vial width. Again, given the generous size of this lot and the lack of any obvious adverse
physical conditions, we find that the requirements of the zoning code do not place an unnecessary
hardship on the owner. The applicant has also failed to demonstrate why the prohibition
on animated illuminated signs represents an unnecessary hardship. Given that the applicant
has not demonstrated hardship and a clear conflict with the purpose of the zoning code the planning
commission recommends that the board deny these variances mr chair just for the record the
landscaping was uh specifically requested to not be included uh it is the experience of many folks
in in various neighborhoods outside of center city that the landscaping becomes a trap for
litter and trash uh and it was specifically requested that that not be the case here
With respect to the sign, this is a sign that every neighbor who lives around this particular property embraces the sign, embraces this church, embraces the use as a lot, especially so that it eases parking crunches that may occur at times.
we hear that all the time from folks so with that i understand uh the planning commission's position
but it's counter to the will and to the desire of the people who live there so with that rest thank
you uh misty liberta is only doing her job mi 2020 that's zero zero three zero seven five
924 West Gerrard Avenue my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes
my vote is yes thank you all thank you so now we go back to
my vote is yes thank you all thank you so now we go back to mr laver
and that is three on the add-on list
calendar number 2482 3948-50 west gerrard avenue
is mr laver here
Mr. Laver, we're back on.
Yes, good afternoon, Mr. Chairman,
Mrs. Tenere, members of the board.
Mr. Laver, it's been brought to the board's attention
that you've not received a from the streets department approval for curb cut is that accurate
there is no approval needed for a curb cut on along gerard avenue since we have revised the plans
to keep the existing curb cut as is i agree that if we had proceeded with our original plan
that further approval wouldn't have been needed.
It's academic, but I wouldn't concede
that I would have been denied.
I did see an email regarding that option,
which is not being pursued, Mr. Chairman.
So we left off.
Refresh our memory, my memory anyway.
we're waiting for some material from mr goodman yes mr goodman had asked for the opportunity to
submit some additional documentation perhaps miss saletta would like to speak to that
um chair i did forward it mr goodman did email to me and i forwarded it to the board members
if you're able to open that um perhaps we should promote mr goodman too if he's here
He's here. Please raise your hand, Mr. Goodman.
He's coming in now and as a panelist.
Can you hear and see me? Yes, yes. Thank you again and you're still on their oath.
Looking at your letter. I guess all the board members have,
I don't know if you had an opportunity yet to read the letter that Mr. Goodman submitted.
Sharon, do you have anything that we need to know before we continue?
No, as long as you've had an opportunity to review it, and I think Mr.
Labor has explained the issue with Streets Department approval of the curb cut.
Mr. Goodman, did you hear Mr. Labor's explanation?
i did yes i mean i just respectfully i defer to the expertise of the city agencies and so
i still would encourage the board to review the correspondence that we had
with the office of transportation regarding the gerrard avenue driveway specifically
labor any comment mr chairman um we haven't had the streets department appear before the
board. However, I would say this, that the original application as submitted called for a different
design. The design changed in response to the community concerns. If the board is inclined to
grant the requested relief and the streets department determines that in its independent
and separate judgment that there is an issue, then we will address that separately with the streets
department i don't believe that there is an issue since the plan has been revised and we have revised
proviso plans that we've shared with the board don't know that until you that that the discussion
takes place correct with the streets department well go ahead this is sharon celete if indeed
that were to happen then it would not go forward i mean mr labor's client would be proceeding at
their own risk. If the streets department were to deny it, then they would either have
to work with the streets department or they would have to come back here if the design
changes.
Any questions from the board? No, not at all. No. I believe I did ask the
no not at all no i believe i did ask the planning commission earlier uh correct me if i'm wrong and
if you have not yet testified please testify now uh ian hegarty for the planning commission we did
enter our testimony happy to recap if you'd like but we did enter it yeah just if you don't mind
from my from my edification just absolutely sir ian hegarty for the philadelphia city planning
Commission. We believe the grant of a special exception will cause detrimental impacts here,
including congestion on Girard Avenue, but more importantly, inconsistency with the comprehensive
plan and the zoning code, which support pedestrian-friendly commercial corridors in
area zone CMX2. Because of the property's location, these impacts would be beyond that which might
normally be expected from the proposed use, which is the standard in the code. These two
illustrative examples that were presented by council on Girard and on Broad Street demonstrate
the reason that the code contains a special exception review for neighborhood commercial
zoning districts for drive-throughs. They create an unwelcome environment and a dangerous
environment for pedestrians. We are recommending that the board deny the special exception.
Okay, thank you.
Sorry about this.
It's okay. Any follow-up by any questions from the board?
no no all right it's an interesting case to say the least thank you for me MI 2020-002-482-3948-50
West Gerrard Avenue my vote is no my vote is yes with the revised plans
two pages sorry yes for proviso yes for proviso yes with proviso
thank you thank you that concludes the uh 11 30 i mean the 9 30 list
is that correct it sure does any unfinished business for the 9 30 list
the midnight buffet will begin in five minutes
not this week okay thank you we'll see everybody back at two o'clock again
good afternoon I'm sorry do we need some time Tonya Lakeisha no chair we're ready to go
already okay good afternoon everyone my name is Frank DiCicco I'm the chair of the zoning board
of Adjustment. I'll be participating in today's hearing along with our Vice Chair, Ms. Carol
Tenere, our Board Secretary, Mr. Confessor Plaza, and Board Members, Mr. Thomas Holloman and Mr.
James Snow, Board Administrator Lakeisha Dandy, and Board Attorney Ms. Sharon Saleta are also
in attendance. For those of you who haven't yet participated in one of our virtual hearings,
i'll go through some of the basics of what you can expect
pardon me first we will be administering oaths to individual participants prior to their testimony
second we'd like to advise everyone that this proceeding is being recorded and that by
participating you acknowledge your agreement to be recorded and the recording will be available
to the public on the web or otherwise third for anyone participating by phone if you wish to
testify you must raise your hand by hitting star nine and then star six to
unmute yourself. I'll repeat for anyone participating by phone if you wish to
testify you must raise your hand by hitting star nine and then star six to
unmute yourself. Finally to enter an appearance statement call Google 267-270-5548
5548 and leave your email address and the address of the property at issue i'll repeat that as well