uh skipped this to to to live in the house that it was close to a cemetery did you finally find
to to leave in the house that it was close to the cemetery
a renter yes i did but it was you know way below what i was i was paying you know for my mortgage
for my taxes and insurance but i had to rent it otherwise you know i would lose a lot of money i
kept it empty for six months what would you say the average rent is in this neighborhood
from your experience so yeah it's it's 1950 so the houses in there they vary between 1700 to 2200
and what rent do you accept for this property so the first rent that i had it was a thousand
dollars a month and then um it was 1250 the maximum but i had to include in there the electric
and and also the water okay is this a picture of the cemetery adjacent to your property
yes this tank ready with all the rules stipulate that this property is located adjacent to a
cemetery uh you know it's a kind of situation when this gentleman purchased the property
he knew it was next to a cemetery he should have done some due diligence ahead of time
talk to a realtor uh i don't want to sound facetious but i'm born and raised across the
street from a cemetery and they're some of my best neighbors i don't think that i do i live
across well i live around the corner from it now 1100 block of federal born and raised there so
uh with all due respect to your client he he can live there himself why doesn't he decide to live
there and so. And that's his plan, Mr. Chair. And the point is that my client testified that
the property sat vacant. He met with potential renters and they did not rent the place because
of the location adjacent to the cemetery. And we'll move on. Thank you.
I would call Maria Zimmerman Culp.
Ms. Culp, please spell your full name when you get on, and I'll swear you in.
Hi, Maria Zimmerman Culp, Maria, M-A-R-I-A, Zimmerman, Z-I-M-M-E-R-M-A-N-Dash, Culp, C like cat, U-L-P like ball, and I'm with REMAX Eastern.
Do you swear, affirm, to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Thank you, Ms. Tancredi.
Good afternoon, Maria. And can you tell the board what your profession is?
I am a realtor in the Northeast, born and raised, still living in the Northeast.
Great. And are you familiar with 2000 Welsh Road?
Yes, I am.
How so?
I sold that to Irvis. And at the time, it was already on the market for over 60 days.
Originally, it was listed for $279,900 and reduced to $254,900, and we ended up getting it at $225,000.
It seems like it's a hard property to sell due to its being on a busy street and the location to the cemetery.
Okay. Have you sold or had clients that bought other properties near cemeteries? Do you have any experience with that?
Yes. There are certain cultures that have a very real fear of being near the cemeteries and won't even look. I've had two listings in the 19116 neighboring area where buyers backed out and lost $10,000, $7,500 deposits when they realized the proximity to the cemeteries.
okay and other than the cemetery can you describe the location of 2000 welsh road
it's very busy there's commercial strips there's commercial uh properties scattered within and
it's near a very busy intersection where there is more than one school located so it gets extra
busy during uh you know arrival and dismissal what is that school um maternity bvm old busselton
and Welsh. Okay. I know that school very well. It's actually the picture that's pulled up now.
If you cut across that parking lot, the school is right there. Right. And that big tree is where
Welsh is. 2000 Welsh. From your experience, do these factors about the commercial corridor and
the congestion that you've described, does that impact the ability to sell a property like 2000
Welsh Road as a single family home? Absolutely. People with small children or with pets do not
Absolutely. People with small children or with pets do not like to be near the main roads because of, God forbid, you know, leaving the yard or something like that. It's just very undesirable.
Are you familiar with the average rents in this area for a three-bedroom, two-bath house similar to 2000 Welsh Road?
Yes, they average between 1,700 and 22.
Okay. So would you say that if Irvus is collecting $1,000 or $1,250 in rent, that that's below the market rate?
Absolutely.
Ms. Kohl, when you sold the applicant his home, did you not have that conversation about what he can anticipate the rent would be?
i mean if you know that people don't want to live on a busy street or next to a cemetery
i would think that the buyer would have asked you what do you think i can get for rent
his ideas for it weren't immediately um he just saw that the amount of land involved and things
like that and thought of you know possibilities possibility of turning it into semi-commercial
space no of making it more outfitted for his family for their needs he still has that opportunity
and i just can't i cannot buy this uh argument that people don't want to live next or close to
a cemetery they just sold the house across the street from me directly next to a cemetery for
$550,000. So, Ms. Tancredi, with all due respect, if we can move on, I'd appreciate it.
And I have no further questions for the realtor. Just in some, you know, other than the location
being adjacent to a cemetery, you've heard testimony that this property is located on
a busy street that has two-way traffic. It's near a commercial intersection.
And the size of the lot, you can see from the photos that we've submitted,
is 10 times larger than any other single-family home in the area.
And I do believe that there is someone else that is available to testify and support.
I have no further witnesses to call.
Do we have a name, Dawn, for that person?
Irvis. Do you have his name?
Irvis?
Excuse me, Mr. Chairman.
Yes, sir, Mr. Holloman.
Why are we discussing the economics of real estate at a zoning hearing?
Claiming it's a hardship, I assume.
that he can't do anything else with the property.
That's the way I gather the argument is being made.
The argument is that it can't be sold.
It's been offered for sale as a single family home and no one purchased it.
So it can't be used for its permitted use.
And it's also even been offered for rent.
And my client can't even get market rate rent.
but he can live there
and he bought it
all right
I'm sorry, Ms. Tancrede, do you have someone else
you said, a witness
Hervis
yes, it's Bujar, he's saying
that he raised his hand
thank you
I'm sorry, what is his name
B-U-J-A-R
there's no one with their
hand up by their name, could he be listening to
someone else
there he is there he is one moment please okay
hello hi please spell your full name sir yeah uh my name is bujar b-u-j-a-r and surname joka
g-j-o-k-a you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
Yes, I do.
What is your address?
My address is 1865 Wells Road, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19-115.
Please proceed.
Yeah, I'm the chairman of the Albenan American Association here in Philadelphia.
And on behalf of my organization, we support Elvis with the project he has for the supermarket for abandoned food and clothes, traditional one.
I have a lot of support from my community, and they're asking to have our own shop, so our people can come and buy our production there.
I have a lot of support from my community and they ask him to have.
Thank you.
And the neighbor there as well, and as I see the property every day when I pass there, it is close to the commercial buildings there, and there's a cemetery there as well.
So it is not too far from a commercial and nothing is holding other residents there.
Anyone else? Dawn, do you have anyone else?
No, I don't.
Thank you. Questions from the board?
Anyone else would like to testify in this case? Please raise your hand.
here we have alice udovich please unmute yourself good afternoon miss udovich uh you know the drill
please spell your full name and i'll swear you in good afternoon chairman members of the board
alice udovich u-d-o-v-i-c-h on behalf of councilman brian o'neill chairman and members
hold on do you swear for him to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
Yes, I do.
Thank you, Alice. Please proceed.
As Ms. Zimmerman mentioned, there is a neighboring strip mall.
This area of the city was designed specifically to have little pockets of commercial that contained only commercial.
And it's completely unfair to those commercial businesses to allow a residence to operate commercially when they're paying rents, you know, right up the street.
So, you know, and if you look at this home, it actually looks like it could be on the historic registry, not used as a store.
So the councilman is strongly opposed to this.
Anyone else to testify? Thank you, Alice.
I just have a follow up question for Ms. Udovich.
um miss hudovich um there are other commercial uses on welsh road isn't that correct
alice if you're there please unmute yourself
yes that is correct and as i mentioned there are small strips of storefronts that are built
at the edges of residential neighborhoods
to confine the commercial uses to those spaces.
And there's a medical office nearby this property, correct?
And the property is adjacent to a church and cemetery?
That's correct.
And the property is adjacent to a school?
Not quite adjacent, but close by.
it touches a school behind it the hebrew school yeah okay thank you
thank you again anyone else to testify in this case
yes chair we have mark nodel or nodal
please unmute yourself two o'clock hour it will be witching hour okay
I have to promote on the panelist chair because it's not allowing me to just allow him to speak.
Hello, can you hear me?
Yes, sir. Please spell your name and I'll swear you in.
Good afternoon, everybody. My name is Mark Nodell. N-O-D-E-L.
Do you swear if I'm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do, sir.
Thank you. Please proceed.
i leave my address is 2004 a as apple welsh road so my house 23 yards from this property okay
those people telling nice story but it's not quite true what they said i have two questions
who is antonio soares uh you have to direct your i don't know who that is for lawyer for for this
for ladies who represent the areas who is antonio saris because we got papers
every paper says antonio saris antonio saris who is antonio saris mr chair that's the prior owner
and you know the paperwork that's filed with the city shows the owner at the time and
the city is behind and updating records and recording deeds right now miss thank you thank
you for explaining that mr nodel would you please just speak to the issue as to whether
Sir, could you please allow the chair to finish speaking before you respond?
uh let's move on anyone else yeah i agree yes yeah we have tara
Let's move on.
Anyone else?
to rise hopefully i'm not messing up the name please unmute you
yes please spell your full name
We can't hear you.
Increase your volume.
P-A-R-A-S
I'm sorry, start again.
P-A-R-A-S
And again, if you can get either closer to the mic or increase the volume, that would be helpful.
P-A-R-A-S
And your last name?
S-M-E-R-E-C-H-A-N-S-K-Y-Y.
Do you swear if I'm going to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Please proceed.
My name is Karas Murchansky.
I live at 2004 Welsh Road, D.
I am also an elected committee person for Ward 56, Division 41.
On behalf of myself and all of my neighbors, I want to say that we adamantly oppose this variance.
This is a family-friendly neighborhood, and our children play right next to this property.
There's an alleyway that touches the side of the property right next to it, where children play,
neighbors come out, and we absolutely do not want any kind of commercial activity next to our house.
We absolutely oppose it.
Or just object to his talking, speaking on behalf of anyone else.
You have to speak on behalf of yourself, sir.
Thank you for your testimony.
Anyone else?
Something new and different.
Here we have Bernard.
Please unmute yourself and please wait for the chair.
Can you hear me?
Yes, we can.
Can I spell your full name, sir?
uh bernard jadek j-a-d-a-c-h i'm with the great evocations typically you swear to tell the truth
ma'am sir you swear to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
yes please proceed okay um
this uh uh property sits next to a cemetery and down the street from residential houses
uh and it doesn't uh shouldn't be allowed to be made commercial there there is no hardship in this
deep lot many people in bustling enjoy deep lots because they put decks and pools in the back
there's many properties if you go around the block from this oh okay uh bustleton has plenty