James Snell, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Thank you, Mr. Saverin.
Thank you.
Case number 11, MI 2022-001574-5669 West Burke Street.
Lynn Nichols is the attorney.
Letter of support from the Winfield Residents Association.
thank you good morning mr chair good morning miss nichols how are you could you state your
name and spell for the court reporter please yes lynn nichols l-y-n-n last name n-i-c-h-o-l-s
right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
Yes, I do.
Could you identify your client in a relationship to the property?
Yes, John A. Bailey, and she is one of the owners of the property.
Thank you.
Our vice chair has a few questions.
Hi, Ms. Nichols.
Do you agree to wait with the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed the exhibit pack with proof of ownership tax compliance, a copy of the refusal or referral,
vote is under 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 okay you may proceed and begin to share your screen
thank you thank you
can everyone see this yes okay um good morning mr chair madam vice chair members of the board
um we're here on behalf of the applicants john a and jasmine bailey who are now the owners of
5669 West Burke Street in order to re-legalize a property that was before you in 2017.
The prior owners received a variance in order to use the property as a triplex, which it had
already been built as. And in 2017, after receiving the variance, for whatever reason,
they never obtained a certificate of occupancy. So we're here now to have that property
re-legalized in order for the owners to be able to obtain the certificate of occupancy to
use the property as a triplex. As you see here, they have a certificate of tax clearance.
These are photos of the property showing a view looking at the rear of 5669 West Burke Street,
which is a property on the corner. It's a large property located in West Philadelphia on the
corner there. As you can see, this is a view looking at the front of 5669 West
Burke Street. I'll pull that up. As you can see, this view here is looking at the
side of 5669 West Burke Street. And during the RCO hearing, we learned
something interesting about this property. It had previously been a gas
station in this area, and it's well known by the residents who live here
that this is the side here probably where it had serviced gas at one point. So it's a pretty large
property which can accommodate the requests that the applicants are asking for the use of this
property at this time. We also have here the addresses that are impacted that we mailed our
letters to. And apologize for my screen moving so slow right now. This is the proof mailing as well
as I'm going to get to the zoning notice that was posted on the property. And this
zoning notice that was posted on the property. And this is the refusal.
The plans here, if the board would like to see the plans do show that the property can
accommodate the applicant's request. And as you see, the RCO sent their letter of support and
it was unanimous. Would you like to see the plans? We only have one question about the
On the first floor, there's a studio label.
What is the studio?
I believe if I can get to the plans.
Give me a minute to get to that page.
I apologize.
My screen is very slow today.
so are you referring to in the uh on which level here right here around the floor
ground floor back up go back up go back up it's okay
I know. Can I just have a moment to stop sharing and get to that and then turn it and bring it back
up? Sure. Excuse me, ma'am. You can also, this is Pauline from IT. You can also try just turning
off your video of yourself sharing all right all right no problem stop video
and then you should still be able to share okay thank you
now where did my document go okay all right here we go
that's better okay so right in the
go up a little bit okay so on the first floor where you see it's entry bedroom
you said it's go back go back up a little bit more oh i see up here studio that's a that's a
utility room. Okay. We just want to make sure that's not a fourth unit. No, it's not a fourth
unit. Okay. Okay. All right. I apologize for my screen today also, but no, that's the utility room.
Okay. Do you have your client here to adopt your testimony? Yes. I'd like to call John A. Bailey
at this time.
Ms. Bailey has been allowed to speak
Hi, could you state your name
and spell it please for the court reporter
Sure, my name is John A
J-O-H-N-A-Y
last name Bailey
B-A-I-L-E-Y
Alright, do you swear or affirm to tell the truth
the whole truth and nothing but the truth
Ms. Nichols, proceed
Thank you, Ms. Bailey
are you an owner of 5669 West Burke Street? Yes. And who do you own the property with?
My twin sister, Jasmine Belli. And do you agree with and adopt the presentation and testimony
that I gave you today for the property that you own with your sister at 5669 West Burke Street?
Yes, that's correct. Thank you. I have nothing further. Questions from the board? No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman. No, Mr. Chairman. Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
i see no further answer mr chair planning commission thank you chair bergman ian hegarty
for the philadelphia city planning commission board members the comprehensive plan recommends
no change to the existing rsa 5 single family zoning on this block however this proposed use
is consistent with the physical configuration of the building which was altered pursuant to a
previous zoning board decision and so the city planning commission recommends that the board
grant the variance. Thank you. MI 2022-001-574-5669 West Burke Street. I vote yes.
Harold Tineri, my vote is yes. Tom Solomon, my vote is yes. James Snell, my vote is yes.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Shemel Shaheed, my vote is yes. Thank you. Thank you,
thank you have a good day all right um so 15 mi 2022 000 643 704 north 23rd street sean ward is the
Sean Ward is the attorney. Fairmount Civic Association did not reach an agreement on this
attorney um fair amount
application. Mr. Ward has been promoted to panelist, sir. Good morning, Mr. Ward.
good morning Mr. Chairman members of the board Sean Ward S-H-A-W-N-W-A-R-D
counsel for the applicants thank you do you swear a firm to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing but the truth yes I do Mr. Ward could you identify your client and relationship to the
property? Yeah, the Gianna Scully's are the owners and applicants operating through their
LLC, Gianna Scully Enterprises. All right. Our vice chair has a few questions.
Mr. Ward, do you agree to wait the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Yes, I do. Have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership tax compliance,
a copy of the refusal or referral photos under 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 i do okay great you may
proceed with your screen it's thank you thank you very much uh mr chair members of the board i've
submitted my typical exhibit packet to the uh zba uh last week i represent anthony and andrew
Gianna Scully, that's G-I-A-N-N-A-S-C-O-L-I, doing business as Gianna Scully Enterprises LLC
for the subject property at 704 North 23rd Street. A1 is the notice of refusal. This is an application
for a residential dwelling unit at the first floor in a CMX2 district. Obviously, residential use is
not permitted at the ground floor level. And there's also a refusal for the number of units
they're allowed to, given the square footage of the lot, in addition to what would be a commercial
or non-residential use at the first floor. But we seek use variants today for that.
A2 is the ZBA application of appeal. A3 is the project information form. A4 is proof of ownership.
A-5, proof of tax clearance. A-6 is a floor plan. A-7 are photographs of the property,
including aerial views and street views. As the chair indicated, I'm sorry, that's a typo. It's
not Propac. It's a fair amount. The RCO letter, they reached no position. The board reached no
position. However, there was a vote in support by the affected neighbors and all attendees. I'll
point that out when we get to the actual letter. A-9, if submitted, I would ask that it be marked
would be the district council, Councilman Clark's letter of, if submitted. A-10 is the relevant
zoning history of the property. In 2014, a permit for additions and use as a first floor business
and professional office in a two-family was issued. In 2020, there was an application for
a three-family with no commercial use on the first floor. That case was dismissed, and I'll
explain that in a second. In 2022, the present application is before you for the three-family
use with no commercial office on the first floor. Other uses on the block, I would point out that
700 North 23rd Street property directly to the left is zoned as a five-family dwelling
pursuant to a ZBA variance. 706-08, the property immediately to the right, is zoned as a three-family dwelling.
And the rest of the block, 710 through 724, are all residential uses, varying from one and two-family.
However, I couldn't find anything for 720. A12 is the zoning map. A13 is the aerial photograph.
Griff. I would just point out they purchased the property in December of 2015. It had a vacant
first floor. The applicant renovated the building. Andrew Gianniscolli occupied the first floor more
or less as a live workspace while the renovations were ongoing. They made application and a ZBA
appeal in June of 2020 for the first floor residential use. However, at that point,
they found a potential tenant for the first floor as a non-residential use but it was proposed as
event space which would have required a zoning board appeal and the likelihood of success for
event space was tentative at best so they chose not to proceed with the lead
tentative at best. So they chose not to proceed with the lease or the appeal. Okay, so the
applicant reapplied for the free family use in 2021 after their case was dismissed because they
chose not to pursue the variance for the first floor residential use because of the possible
events-based tenant. But however, that never panned out. So we're here again applying for
of three-family use. So there's no commercial use on this block other than the church at 728
North 23rd Street. That's the other end of the block. Both the adjoining properties left and
right are used as multifamily pursuant to ZBA variances, and all attempts to find a commercial
tenant at this juncture have been unsuccessful. So we have the, as mentioned, the notice of refusal,
the application, the application of appeal. We have the project information form,
a copy of their deed from December of 2015.
Proof that we are tax compliant. As you can see, there's no balances due.
As far as the floor plan goes, what we have here is a 650 square foot space at the first floor.
In addition, there's a common entryway, which would lead to the stairs going up to the upper units, and you would make an immediate left turn to get into the first floor space.
Again, this current configuration does not lend well to the use as a commercial space on the first floor.
So that's another reason why we seek the variance today.
Here's a picture of the front of the property.
as you can see there's a residential uses on both sides copy of the postings this was a continued
case it was posted twice another picture of the front this is that entryway that I spoke of
this leads out to the street and you would make an immediate left-hand turn into the first floor
apartment there is a three-piece bathroom a bedroom at the rear
living area. Kitchen, as you can still see, Mr. Janus Scully does work out of the space,
but he lives there as well. With regard to the Fairmount Civic letter, as you can see,
let me blow this up for you. While they did not reach an agreement, that was the board,
the RCO board and not the attendees at the meeting, of all affected neighbors, five were in support, zero opposed, and two took no position.
All attendees at the meeting, 14 supported, five opposed, and seven took no position.
And then in their letter of explanation, they do indicate that they were unable to reach an agreement on the proposed use
because there was no absolute majority in support.
Then we have the zoning permits from 2014.
Originally, it was for business and professional use on the first floor,
but two family above.
That's the application.
This is the 2020 refusal for the very use that we're here for today.
With regard to 700 North 23rd Street, as you can see,
It was a change of use, residential, household living, multifamily.
It was granted by the board.
which is primarily accessed from Fairmount Avenue.
And then here is an aerial photo from Google, an angle shot.
This being the subject property here with the red mark, residential multifamily to the left, residential multifamily to the right.
And then these are all residential properties, either one or two family dwellings with the new St. John Baptist Church at the other end of the block.
That is the sum and substance of the application.
We don't believe that the commercial use on the first floor at this property is warranted nor
needed and we would ask that the board kindly grant the variance for the requested relief.
I would ask Mr. Janis Gulley to or one of my other representatives to virtually raise your hand
so that you can be identified and allowed to verify and adopt my representations.
I could you state your name and spell it, please, for the court reporter.
Andrew Giannascoli, A-N-D-R-E-W-G-I-A-N-N-A-S-C-O-L-I.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Proceed, Mr. Ward.
Thank you, sir.
Andrew, you've heard my representations to the board, correct?
Are they true and accurate, to the best of your knowledge, information, and beliefs?
And would you adopt them as your own testimony?
Thank you very much.
That's all I have.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I see no answer.
Planning Commission?
Thank you, Chair.