attended ronhurst civics rco meeting just to show you the vesting deed from the year 2000 to the
complex the legal description starts right here it's one paragraph that ends here but it states
both buildings so again that's just uh you know evidence to show you that the problem here in
freddie mac size is that the complex is described under one description
um continuing onwards here's the zoning map the property is zoned rm2 which does not have a cap
on the number of multi-family units the 2300 hartel building has 25 permitted units
the 7701 bustleton building has 64 permitted units and then i do have other aerials that's
one you already saw i'm going to go through these really really quickly but i'll go back to anything
that piques your curiosity just let me know these are just other angles the shared parking
lot here with some landscaping that serves as a buffer to bustleton ave
that's the site plan again these are various images of all the different sides of the
buildings there's three different street frontages
that's the corner of busselton and hartel there
uh that's one of the two driveways that serve the parking lot this one's coming from hartel
it is shared with neighbors but note that no neighbors um opposed this application one who
didn't come to the rco meeting even called me to affirm that she had received the notice but had no
objection um these are just photos of the zoning posters uh we have a few photos of the interior
of i believe this is the 7701 building the lobby with the mailboxes a hallway
i have photos of the interiors of two units as a sample i think we're good with the inside okay
thanks mr chairman um and then um i guess the last two things i'll touch on is
Both buildings were built at the same time in the mid-60s.
I have the original construction zoning permits for both, which match their current rental licenses.
So all of the records are current in terms of licensing.
And then finally, I submitted a memo of law, which touches upon why the denial of the application today would impose an unnecessary hardship.
um why the denial of the application today would impose an unnecessary hardship and and why the
application satisfies um all the standards for the grant of variances um why don't you bring your
client on sure um david chryser um could you raise your virtual hand if you're in the audience
they're being promoted to pan
can you hear me i yes yes we can could you please state your name and spell it for the stenographer
sure david david kreiser k-r-e-i-s as in sand e-r do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole
truth nothing but the truth yes counsel uh david um did you hear my testimony in your case this
afternoon yes was it true and accurate to the best of your knowledge information and belief
yes uh are you authorized um to represent the um various owners of the property today
yes um and on their behalf would you adopt my testimony as if it had been your own
yes okay thank you questions from the board
questions or comments from our attorney not at this time mr chair questions or
comments from the virtual audience no hands at this time planning commission amy boy with the
planning commission the comprehensive plan recommends no change in zoning at this location
from the existing rm2 residential multifamily the proposed lot line adjustments will have minimal
impact on surrounding properties and the physical configuration of the property is not proposed to
change as part of this application the planning commission recommends that the board grant the
requested variances for parking and side yard right mi 2025 006 439 7701 bustleton avenue i vote yes
michael johns my vote is yes so guest and my vote is yes tanetta graham my vote is yes ryan mcadams
my vote is yes i own my vote is yes right so alan you and alex have three more all right and we'll
do them right in a row but i'm going to go stephanie has one right so why don't you come up
we'll do Stephanie's and then you three will go right in a row. Okay.
Thank you, members of the board. Oh, thank you. Thank you.
Thank you. Good afternoon.
Stephanie, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Stephanie Magana, S-T-E-P-H-A-N-I-E. Last name is M-A-G-A-G-N-A.
All right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
could you identify your client the relationship to this property my client is bsi construction
um they are the designated agent for design build project to reconstruct the thomas home school by
the school district of philadelphia the property is owned by the school district i see that there
was um unanimous support 25 votes by six council district who hosted the rco meeting um our vice
chair has a few questions good afternoon um have you submitted your documents and exhibits five
days in advance of this hearing? Yes, I have. And do you waive the written of the refusals and stipulate to the accuracy? Yes, I do. All right. Thank you. You can show your screen and proceed. Thank you. Mr. Chair, I just want to note for the record that we did receive a letter of authorization from the school district indicating that Claire Harrison could represent them at this hearing. Thank you very much. Thank you. Yeah, so this property is 9125 Academy Road. The southern half of this site, which occupies the full block bound by Willett's Academy and
home ave is the site of the newly reconstructed thomas home elementary school the other half of
this site is a park and recreation space this application is seeking approval for two accessory
signs two signs in addition to by right signage that was previously approved all part of the
school district's standard signage package for their schools specifically this application
requests approval for one wall sign to identify the building off the primary entrance along willits
and a second sign to a digital sign that will also be located at the main entrance on willits
in this zoning district this special institutional district the digital sign is not permitted as well
as the height of our wall sign is also above the second windowsill so we are seeking relief
for both of those conditions we presented the signage to the upper holmesburg civic association
WE PRESENTED THE SIGNED TO THE UPPER HOMESBURG CIVIC ASSOCIATION ON JANUARY 15TH THERE IS A UNANIMOUS LETTER OF SUPPORT THAT IS INCLUDED WITHIN THE PACKAGE AS WELL.
on January 15th.
THESE ARE EXISTING SITE PHOTOS THE SCHOOL RECENTLY OPENED. AT THE TOP OF THE SCREEN YOU CAN SEE WHERE THIS YELLOW KIND OF IDENTIFYING MARK IS. THAT IS THE PROPOSED LOCATION FOR THE DIGITAL SIGN.
that, again, this is immediately adjacent to the primary entrance to the school and its parking
lot. The second picture here below shows the main entrance of the school, and the brick wall that is
facing us in this photo is the location of the wall sign that is proposed. For reference and
context, on the right side of the screen is a photo of the TM Pierce School. This school has
the same signage package that is proposed on the Thomas Holden School for
reference. So here you see a non illuminated wall sign that extends
above the second windowsill of this school building the same way that we are
proposing our wall sign to be placed and to be shown. There is also the digital
sign that here at TM Pierce is on the wall of the school whereas we're
proposing ours along the main entrance but the size configuration use proposal
as well as all the standards for change of message will be the same.
The programming of that sign will be the same, and the size as well.
Here's a site plan view of where the signage is proposed, if it will pull up.
Sorry, I'm looking at the screen and not on my computer.
I'm sorry. I don't know. Let me pull that up again and try that again.
I apologize for the delay.
there we go can we see that there we go um just for reference willits avenue here on the lower
part of the screen is is the where the primary entrance is located um the digital sign will be
placed right here you can see that as well and the wall sign is here this is the primary parking lot
and circulation for drop off our bus drop off is along academy road um so both signs will be
intended to serve as building identification signs along the primary entrance and as i mentioned the
programming of both of these signs is intended to be consistent with the school's package for
their schools it'll be you know the standard across the district um and that includes the
programming of the digital sign is it is accessory it is accessory and limited to issues related to
the school and is intended to be able to convey messages that would be more difficult with a
non-digital sign the recent snowstorm being a perfect recent example of being able to communicate
messages um that are important in current information um with that i'll ask my client
um chuck calvin is from bsi construction to be sworn in sure could you sure mike one
yes hi could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer sure it's chuck calvin is
c-h-u-c-k-c-a-l-v-a-n-e-s-a right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and
nothing but the truth yes counsel thank you chuck have you heard the statements i made to the board
this afternoon are they complete and accurate to the best of your knowledge yes would you adopt
them as your own yes thank you um i'll note for the board as well we have melissa stigler who's
from blackney hayes there's a project architect as well as chuck longacre from city signs if we
have any questions and john nichols from the school districts is here questions questions
from the board questions or comments from our attorney hillary emerson not at this time mr
questions or comments from the virtual audience
planning commission amy boy with the planning commission the comprehensive plan recommends
a change in zoning at this location from the existing sp civ special purpose civics to rsa2
residential single family the proposed signs will have minimal impact on the adjoining properties
the planning commission recommends that the board grant their requested variances for sign
and elimination thank you mi 2025 006 989 9125 academy road i vote yes michael johns my vote
is yes cheryl guest and my vote is yes tenetta graham my vote is yes ryan mcadams my vote is yes
tyowen my vote is yes thank you council thank you thank you take a break yeah so uh alan one
Alan, so the first one we're going to hear is 1455 North Marston.
So the first one we're going to hear is 1455 North Marston.
Come up and get set up, and we're just going to take a five-minute break real quickly.
all right so so number eight mi 2025 006 448 1455 north
marston street alex goldberg is the attorney could you please state your name and spell for
the stenographer alex goldberg a-l-e-x-g-o-l-d-b-e-r-g do you swear or affirm to tell the
truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do could you identify your client the relationship
to this property my client is 1455 north marston street llc which is the owner of the property and
its representative shlomo levy is in the virtual audience and i see there's a letter of support
from brewery town shardswood community civic association um 11 the one vote and a letter
of non-opposition from council member young our vice chair has a few questions sir good afternoon
um have you submitted your documents and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing i have and
do you waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy i would object to
its accuracy in one respect and i could do that now or when we get to the refusal exhibit what are
don't um no don't do your project oh okay sure all right well thank you show your screen and uh
start with the case okay so this is a single family home in the brewery town sharswood
neighborhood um as the chairman stated we had overwhelming support by the community group
and uh it sounds like non-opposition from the council member um we're asking for
two-dimensional refusals, or sorry, one-dimensional refusal and one refusal that is the result of
the Brewery Town Sharswood overlay, which is an overlay that, to my understanding, was at least
pushed in part by the coordinating RCO that we presented in front of, and the portion of that
overlay, which you can see on the screen, is the provision against roof decks. This is a very small
lot. It's 474 square feet, which has something to do with the second refusal you see, but
the main reason why we wanted to propose a roof deck here is because there's really not a lot of
outdoor space. It's a small lot, so we are extending the building into the required rear yard
to get some more indoor, you know, space so that this is, you know, livable for a single family home.
And, you know, that five feet of outdoor space that we're proposing is not super usable. I mean,
maybe you could have a grill out there or something, but the roof deck that we're proposing
would make you know a much higher quality of life for the family that lives there and um the
community supported it you know they understood the reason i think that in general they don't
love roof decks but under the circumstances they felt like it was appropriate so we have their
support um the refusal item that i objected to was the second one um per code section 147012b7
in this zoning classification because our lot is less than 45 feet deep it's 36 feet deep we should
have a rear yard depth requirement of seven feet that says nine feet so we're two feet short I
believe that is a de minimis variance request I'd also note that because of that 45 foot
lot depth we're completely exempt from the occupied area requirements so which is why
you don't see that on the refusal uh the refusal list so those are our two refusal items here's
the letter from the coordinating rco 11 to 1 the zoning committee voted five in support and one
abstention and the majority of the near neighbors were in support uh here's their letter where they
basically said what i just said that you know this roof deck is going to provide reasonable
outdoor space for the future occupants and the one thing i didn't mention yet is the exact same
thing was granted by way of variance directly next door now at the time in 2017 when 1453 North
Marston was approved it was just for the roof deck setback a pilot house setback in the rear
and the rear yard the roof deck overlay had not been implemented yet at that time so the roof
deck was allowed by right but there's a roof deck right next to us there's a roof deck at 1440 there's
a roof deck at 2714 Jefferson which is right around the corner here's that 1453 North Marston
approval again also single family somewhat similar design matching the the roof line
we are very importantly matching the rear wall so they have that five foot rear yard as well
so we're not impacting their light and air in any way shape or form here's the aerial view of the
site see a lot of vacancy on north marston street but we're going up sort of in between a vacant lot
sort of in between a vacant lot and this single family home right near the intersection of
and this single-family home right near the inner...
jefferson street here's the zoning map single family rsa5 no use no use variants there
here's the photographs um this is what the site looked like um prior to my client owning the
purchasing the property which was just uh late last year um so glad to keep the cars off of the
lot this is it in 2011 so it's been vacant for at least uh 14 years 15 years if not longer
here's a posting photo to the right of the property left mix of two story and one story
structures here here's the plans and drawings so you can see i'll zoom in
and a small yeah it's tough to see
here we go um you can see this is the building structure here it looks tiny because it's a small
lot um so that's why we have that five foot rear yard back here and you can see we're matching the
rear lot the rear building line of the building structure next to us the pilot house for our roof
deck. It's not super clear on here, but it's the sort of cross-hatched rectangle with the lines
going in both directions. So there's a small space behind and in front. You'll see that on the floor
plans. Here's the floor plans. Pretty basic single-family living. You walk in on the first
floor, you have a living and kitchen with a powder room in the rear. You have a flex room in the
basement with a bathroom and laundry there's a door that goes directly out to the rear which is
where trash will be stored second floor you have one bedroom and the third floor you have one
bedroom and then you can see that roof deck there as well here's the rco meeting notice we met with
brewery town sharswood community civic association december 18th we mailed notice to 184 properties
here's those mailing certificates the application for appeal
deed to the property showing 1455 and marston street llc owns the property
and the tax clearance with the only balance not being due yet that i'd like to call my client on
sure about my testimony. Shalomo Levy. If you're in the audience, can you please raise your virtual
mr levy and he's coming back in as a panel thank you very much
can you hear me we can sir could you please state your name
and spell it for the stenographer and if possible turn on your video
sorry can you see me now yes hi hi everyone state your name is spelled for the stenographer
shlomo levy s-h-l-o-m-o last name levi l-e-v-i do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the
truth nothing but the truth i do proceed counsel slomo did you hear my testimony today i do i did
and was it true and correct 100 yes and you adopted as if it was your own
yes thank you questions from the board
by the way this is the first time i saw the rco approve one of these
right am i right alan did the community meeting so i'll give him credit
questions or comments from our attorney hillary emberson
not at this time Sharon questions or comments your your uh correct the uh seven foot for the