be placed on this evening's list. We did meet with the community group. We're sorry. We didn't swear
you on. I'm sorry. I got ahead of me. You swear and affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth,
nothing but the truth of course please and what was the other case 327 north 11th street which is
mi 2020 002263 out on our schedule did you have it listed for today no i i attempted to so what
was requested at the last listing was to send an email attaching them but that's fine i mean i
I'll somehow get them linked up but if we can just continue 329 we'll be meeting with the
community group for the second time to address their their questions in March okay that's
continued thank you so that would have to be a request directly to me Tanya sunk it in order
for that to happen okay thank you thank you Tanya anyone else requesting a continuance or withdrawal
mr chair a mr reginald banks has his hand raised good afternoon mr banks please identify yourself
for the record i'll swear you in hi um reginald banks
are you swearing for him to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
yes and what case are you appearing on 4232 parkside avenue
are you the applicant yes i'm the applicant are you being represented by mr bettel yes
okay are you asking for a continuance no all right then we'll get to your case momentarily
okay thank you thank you any other requests for continuances or withdrawals
mr jeffrey young has his hand raised i won't allow him to speak right now sir
good afternoon mr young you're still on the oath from earlier please identify yourself with a
record good afternoon chair uh jeffrey young 3900 ford road suite b philadelphia pa 19131
I am the attorney for case number MI2020-002343, 1150 South 52nd Street.
And I'm asking if I can just be made the move-in party for that continuous request.
Okay, that was number one on our list, 1150.
MI 2020, that's 002-343-1150, South 52nd Street, Attorney Moving Party.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Anyone else?
No further hands at this time.
No further hands at this time, Mr. Chair.
Thank you.
Carol, I believe we can begin with number five on our list.
Mr. Banks, please.
Calendar number 2340, 4232 Parkside Avenue.
The attorney is Steve Lutill.
Mr. Bertil has been promoted to panelist.
Thank you.
Mr. Bertil, can you put your name and address on the record and spell your last name, please?
Good afternoon.
My name is Steve Bertil, B-E-R-T-I-L, 1835 Market Street, Suite 14, Philadelphia PA, 19103.
Thank you.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Do you also agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
I do, yes.
And have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership tax compliance, refusal or 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, we submitted all the documentation.
Subsequently, we submitted it on Monday morning initially due to a technical snafu on my part.
The submission on Friday didn't go through.
but we submitted all the documentation we did meet with the community
group that we have uh the court all the way around okay so you may proceed
thank you very much sure share my screen here
okay uh good afternoon mr chair and members of the board
As I stated, my name is Steve Bertil here on behalf of the applicant and owner of 4232 Parkside Avenue.
We are here for a fairly straightforward proposal.
We are here seeking variance approval to allow the continued use of the property in question as a psychotherapy and counseling services through the first and third floor in a dwelling unit in the basement.
Just to get a sense of the property, it's located on Parkside Avenue between Belmont
Avenue to the north and 42nd Street to the south.
The property is currently zoned as RSA 3.
As I stated, this property is home to Dunbar Community Counseling Services.
This community counseling services is ran by Dr. Banks, who was on the line with me,
who, after my brief presentation, will be able to firmly adopt my testimony and answer any questions specifically about the services he provides.
But they've been at this location operating as a psychotherapy office and counseling services for 10 years, or a little over 10 years at this point,
providing services to children and families in the community, partnering with area schools who can provide mental health services to their students directly.
Now, this use on this property was actually approved by the board 10 years ago under a previous zoning permit that allowed the use as it stands, although that permit had a sunset provision, which is why we're here today, to maintain the use and to obtain approval for this use into perpetuity without a sunset provision.
At the time, the provision was a five-year provision was to, as those provisions typically are, to ensure that the business actually is up and ran properly, that it doesn't become a community nuisance or an issue as it is in the middle of a residential block.
And I can say based on conversations with the community and that Mr. Banking Cessify, who himself, has been an overwhelming success in terms of becoming a good community neighbor and a partner.
And the multiple letters of support from not just the coordinating RCO, but all the RCOs in the area is a testament to that as well.
So, in terms of the refusal that was issued, we are here under one refusal, and it's the
use refusal for personnel services on the parcel that's RSA 3.
But as I stated, and as you can see in the notes, on the refusal, this use was previously
on the refusal this youth was previously granted via variant. It was just a sunset provision,
granted via variants.
It was just a sunset provision.
which is why we had to come back so that we can get it granted for good. And we're just,
we're requesting just continued use of the service, no change to footprint,
no change to the youth. We did meet with the community on December 15th.
As I stated, we received unanimous support from the community groups,
Also, the coordinating community group, which is the East Parkside Residential Association,
here's your letter of support.
We also received letters of support from Viola Street Residents Association
and the Centennial Parkside Community Development Corporation.
And in addition to that, we received multiple comments and emails of support
from individuals in the area.
So as such, in terms of a de minimis variant, probably as de minimis as you can get
because we're just asking to maintain the status quo.
So we're asking for this board approval
to go forward and do that.
As I stated with me, I have Mr.
or doctor, excuse me, Dr. Banks here with me.
Mr. Banks could raise his hand
so he can be recognized by the board.
Mr. Banks, please identify yourself.
You were sworn in earlier, so you're still under oath.
Yes. Hi, I'm Dr. Banks. I'm the Chief Psychologist of Dunbar Community Counseling Services and owner and operator of Dunbar Community Counseling Services.
Oh, you're sworn in already. So, okay, Dr. Banks, have you heard the testimony that I provided to the board this afternoon?
Do you affirm the truth of my testimony and adopt it as your own?
Thank you, Dr. Banks. And if there was anything you would like to add regarding your business, you can feel free to do that now.
Okay. I am a graduate of Temple University. I actually came to Philadelphia to study psychology
there. And since graduating in 2000, I have dedicated my life to community-based
counseling services. And I've worked at maybe 10 agencies before starting Dunbar Community
Counseling Services, and I started Dunbar Community Counseling Services to address the
unique needs of African-American males in counseling who tended not to use this service
as much as other populations. But as we started to work with those African-American males,
We realized that young girls and families and many others needed this service, and they all
wanted this service within the community. They did not want a large facility, and so we specialized
and created a unique service that addresses those needs, not only in the community, but also in the
surrounding schools in west and southwest Philadelphia. Our primary goal when we set up
our business here was to get to know all of the CBOs, the community-based organizations,
and to partner with them in understanding and accessing mental health services,
as well as to support their individual causes, because we want to ultimately address the
ecological needs of our children and families, not just the psychological needs of our children
and families. So we've been here on Parkside for over 14 years. We plan to continue to partnership
with the community, and we've expanded services in the schools. As you already know, we're in a
pandemic, so most of our services now are through telehealth, but we have staff who plan to
continue services both in telehealth and in person as schools open. So we're an essential
part of the community as we are essential workers. We'll continue to support our community
in any way that we can. Thank you, doctor. Thank you for your good work. Any questions from the
board? No. No. Anyone else like to testify in this case? Please raise your hand.
Mr. Chair, I have Mr. Andrew Goodman with his hand raised. I will allow him to speak
right now.
Good afternoon, Mr. Goodman. Please identify yourself for the record and I'll swear you
Good afternoon. Andrew Goodman, G-O-O-D-M-A-N, here representing the Office of Third District
Councilmember Jamie Gaudier.
We're in the firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
we're in the firm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth yes i do
Yes, I do.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, members of the board.
The council member wholeheartedly supports the variance application being presented this afternoon.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Anyone else would like to testify, please raise your hand.
No further hands at this time, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Jason.
Planning Commission?
Hi, Mr. Chair, this is Mason Austin representing the Planning Commission.
Do you swear and affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
This property is indicated for residential single-family and the city's comprehensive plan and is zoned for that purpose.
However, the variance is requested to legalize a low-impact existing use that serves a critical neighborhood need
and for which there is support by the affected RCO and the district council member.
Accordingly, the Planning Commission has no opposition to the requested variance.
Thank you.
MI 2020-002340, 4232 Parkside Avenue, my vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
My vote is yes.
Calendar number 2341-450 Sloan Street.
Mr. Anastasio had his hand raised, I promoted him to panelist, sir.
Thank you, Mr. Anastasio.
Yes, hello, Ms. Vice Chair, I'm sorry, I'm having a difficult time with my camera.
So please excuse me. I'm going to do this without the camera.
Don't worry. Please put your name and address on the record and spell your last name.
Yep. 1315 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA, Suite 1006, 19107.
Okay. And do you swear or affirm to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Of course, yes.
Do you also agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership tax clearance, refusal or referral, photos, plans of the property, five days in advance of this hearing, and have you met with the RCO, and do you have a letter?
I have all that.
Well, that's good.
You may not proceed.
Go right ahead.
Thank you very much, Carol.
I'm going to share my screen.
Can you see the screen or no?
Make sure everyone sees that.
can we confirm that we see the screen or no we cannot okay i'll try again
I think he just removed himself
Maybe he's off and coming back in.
Carol maybe we should go to number seven I don't even know if anybody's here for that let's go to
number seven calendar number two three three nine five nine zero rector street no exhibits
is there anyone here for five nine zero rector street oh there's verne back he's back before
you get on verne just hold off is there anyone for five nine zero rector street please raise
your hand. No hands at this time, Mr. Chair. Was this case already continued? I believe
it's the first listing, Chair. All right. So MI 2020-002-339-590 Rector Street is continued.
Must be heard. We'll go back to you, Vern. Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I don't know what
happen there. But let's try again. So you may proceed. If you don't mind. Thank you very much.
If you don't mind, thank you very much.
I'm going to try and get there.
Hold on for one minute, please.
Everything seems to be off, a little bit off today, for whatever reason.
But there we go.
can you see that now yes yeah thank you very much sorry for the inconvenience
it's a technology i guess right
so it's a 450 sloan street pretty straightforward application uh it's for a proposed takeout
restaurant in an existing structure. A client would like to do a halal restaurant. It's already
an existing one-story structure. For the last 130 years, this property has been a one-story
structure. It's been for most of its history, spaces for horse carriages, and then ultimately
it was spaces for hot dog carts. So that's where we are with this. So you see it's on the corner
of Sloan and Spring Garden. It's a very large property. It's almost 23 feet wide. It's over 50