Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Eugene Natovich, E-U-G-E-N-E.
Last name is N-A-Y-D-O-V-I-C-H.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And Eugene, did you hear my comments?
I did.
And are they true and correct?
They were.
And do you have any additional comments to add about how you came up with the plan to increase the size of the building footprint and the size of the units and how that came about?
Yes. So I'm very active in the community and I constantly take community input on projects, even when they are by right.
So one of the things the community asked is to have larger units.
So in this situation, we didn't increase the number of bedrooms, we didn't increase the number of units, all we did is increase the size of the units, and we are still within 80% of the allowable lot coverage.
And we also met with the community twice on this matter, so we get input on types of facade and giving it that kind of historical look that they want to have in the neighborhood.
And do you have any further comments?
I don't.
And do you adopt my statements as your testimony in addition to your testimony?
Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, I vote.
Mr. Mationi, did you state this was originally approved for 30 units?
Was that by right?
Yes, that's by right.
It had the smaller footprint, Mr. Chairman, and I did adopt the zoning permit for 30 units as well.
What questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
no mr chairman questions or comments yeah so this is hillary mr matthew you mentioned that the um
the green roof was removed is that correct that's one of the things that's still listed
on the refusal are there um revised plans showing that revised no we do not have a revised plan
showing it but there will not be a green roof and it was specific that we were not having a green
roof okay okay i'm sorry thank you that's okay questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no he is chair planning commission thank you chair bergman uh
you know for the philadelphia city planning commission uh members of the board the
comprehensive plan recommends a zoning map change from rm1 to rsa5 at this location
with regard to the dimensional variances city plan.
um with regard to the dimensional variances city planning commission believes that the proposed
dimensions are generally consistent with the character of the neighborhood and don't conflict
with the purpose and spirit of the zoning code however with regard to the proposed use variance
to permit 30 dwelling units we believe the applicants claimed hardship is actually self-created
here by eliminating the proposed green roof from the structure which as i understand it would be
uh the reason that 30 units are no longer allowed um we further believe that the claimed
hardship is not related to a unique physical condition of the lot and so we would have to
recommend that the board deny this variance mr matione you want to respond to that certainly
mr chairman the um the property is on rm1 the multi-family use is permitted and we would have
30 units permitted by Wright, but for removal of the green roof. The green roof was removed
because the community requested at an RCO meeting that we increase the size of the units.
In order to increase the size of the units to meet the request of the community, which
is part of the purpose of the RCO meetings, in order to do that, we had to lower the cost to
build the building. Well, the only way we could lower the cost to build the building and develop
the property as the RCO was requesting was to remove the green roof so but we were still providing
the three affordable units as would be required if we had the green roof and we are still you know
doing 30 units which are permitted as of right as we showed we're just changing the building
footprint and the only way to be able to do that and meet the request of the community was to remove
the green roof mr chairman mi 2022 003 303 892 north 30 892 north 41st street i vote yes
harold tenere my vote is yes thomas holloman i vote yes thanks now my vote is yes
thank you
number 11
MI 2022
002 181
1401 South Patton
Street Henry Clinton is the
attorney
recommendation of support from Tasker
Morris Neighborhood Association
letter of support also
from Councilman Johnson
good morning mr chairman members of the board good morning mr clinton could you state your
name and please and spell for the court reporter sure henry clinton c-l-i-n-t-o-n right do you
swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth i do could you identify your
client, the relationship to the property? Sure. My client is Tree Trimmers, LLC, the principal of
which is Keith Palsis, P-A-U-L-I-C-S. I believe he's on the call, but he is on vacation and he
may not be able to connect from his destination. Okay. Our vice chair, Carol Tenere, has a few
questions. Hi, Mr. Clinton. Do you agree to wait the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its
accuracy i do have you emailed the exhibit packet with the required documents consisting of 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 all the above
you may proceed and begin to share your screen thank you mr harry thank you
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, members of the board. Is this visible?
Maybe just a little larger. That's fine.
Good afternoon, Henry Clinton for Tree State Tremors LLC, the principal of which is Keith Palsas, whose name I spelled previously.
This is my presentation package containing exhibits AA through A11, which I ask to be admitted into evidence.
Appearance statement, this is a refusal.
so just by way of background this is a corner lot and as was typical back in the day in the
Grace Ferry neighborhood and other neighborhoods throughout the city the corner lots were typically
used by commercial on the first floor and residential above although on occasion you
might see a two-family dwelling and this proposal application we're asking that instead of any
commercial on the first floor, we're asking that this be a two-family dwelling. Granted, it is zoned
RSA 5, but it has documented historical use of two uses at the corner, as I will demonstrate.
The refusals concern the rear yard and some open space, but I'll show
uh the rear yard and some open space but i'll show you there's a drive aisle behind the homes
on this block and there's really no yard at all so really the issue today is
is a two-family dwelling permitted in an rsa 5 zoning district
we do have an rco letter of support from tasker mars neighborhood association and it was unanimous
this is the photograph this is reed street going west this is the corner property 1401
south patten street and if you can see between patten and napa street to the east there's a drive
aisle in the back the drive aisle was really impassable as i'll show you from the other
photograph at this end of the block but there's in effect really no rear yards other than an area
for a car to drive through. This is the corner lot here. This is ostensibly the drive aisle
which is supposed to daylight onto Reed Street and then you can go west. So our property
is on the corner as I said and there's two vacant lots next door. Again this is the zoning
map is showing the board that is an RSI A5 zoning district or some RM1 across the street.
This is a park and this is a Salvation Army daycare and also house center.
This is the rear elevation. This is the front elevation brick, which the neighborhood wants
and supports. Party board siding on the second and third floor.
and then here is the actual site plan to show you one of the refusals is for failure to have
five foot setback on the rooftop deck we do have a five foot setback on the rear on the rooftop deck
the reason we that refusal was generated is because other homes on the block have a front porch and
the l and i examiner determined that since our property is coming all the way out to the property
line. He's really counting the front porch as the beginning of where the roof deck should be,
and we're actually pushing it back five feet. And then here's the rear yard that I discussed
earlier. There is a dry vial here. There's really no rear yard at all,
so any refusals for the rear yard really should have no bearing on the application.
these are the floor plans we have a unit on the basement of first floor three bedrooms two baths
and then there's a unit on the second and third floor and that's three bedrooms and two baths
and then there's access to the rooftop deck there's ample area in the rear yard
for trash storage for both the first and basement unit,
as well as for the second and third floor unit.
We have no issues with height, open space.
I just wanted to get to the zoning records.
The rest of the documents that are in my package
are the pro forma documents you would see
in any zoning application.
This is the deed indicating ownership.
Our notices.
and then here's some of the zoning records.
So as I said, ages ago,
and some members actually of the Tascamars neighborhood group
remembers this corner
because they used to get their hair cut there.
It used to be a barbershop and one family on the first floor.
From the records, I couldn't tell when it was demolished,
but the corner has been vacant for many, many moons.
Again, just some more historical records
indicating prior use was both commercial and residential.
So in summary, based on the historical use of the building,
or the lot rather,
we're asking that a two-use be reinstated
at this corner property.
Instead of commercial and single family,
we're asking for two residential.
The commercial corridor basically is Grace Ferry Avenue now,
which is two blocks away,
where they're shopping both.
And there's a bank, there's a supermarket,
pocket and there's a couple other commercial stores there. This is a long vacant lot. We're
not altering the essential character of the neighborhood. We're not impairing the development.
We're impacting light and air of any adjacent property. And with that, Mr. Chairman, I'd like
the rest, introduce my client, have him adopt the testimony if he can make a connection. If not,
and I'll have to verify that he would adopt my testimony.
Mr. Keith Palsas, can you raise your hand
if you're able to connect?
I see no hands at this time.
I see no hands at this time.
Mr. Clinton, you're an officer of the court.
We'll take your testimony.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I very much appreciate it.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I see no hands, Chair.
Planning Commission.
Thank you, Chair Bergman and Ian Hegarty
for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission board members the comprehensive plan recommends
no change to the existing RSA 5 single family zoning at this location with regard to the
dimensional variances we agree that the proposed dimensions are both consistent with the neighborhood
and attributable to the smaller lot size of this property however this is a vacant cleared lot with
no evidence of unusual existing physical circumstances. We therefore believe that
the appellant has not supported their hardship claim to support the proposed use variance for
two-family in this RSA 5 single-family district. City Planning Commission therefore recommends
that the board grant the dimensional variances but deny the variance for two-family household
living. Thank you. Hold on here. Mr. Chairman. And Mike, pardon me? Would you like me to address
those comments? You most certainly can, Mr. Clinton. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So Mr. Haggerty
is correct. This is a vacant lot. It's a long vacant lot. It has not been developed, has not
been touched. There's two adjacent vacant lots to it. So it's really a blight on the neighborhood.
I've documented the historical use of this property as consistently being two uses,
although commercial and residential.
It's not out of character that it have two uses on this corner, as are many other corners
in the Grace Ferry neighborhood.
There's ample light and air because this property is on the corner.
The side area will have plenty of light and air coming from Reed Street and coming from
the north.
so i i submit those comments in opposition to what mr haggarty's recommendation or rather the
planning commission recommendation is thank you plus it's in harmony with the community and in
harmony with the code mr clinton did i see to did the council office prove this or recommend it
i don't know if they weighed in on it mr chairman i i haven't i i think it's mr chair yeah mr
chair this is hillary we received a letter of support from councilman johnston thank you thank
you miss emerson mi 2022 002 181 1401 south patten street i vote yes carl tenere my vote is yes
thomas holliman my my vote is no jane snell my vote is yes
my vote is yes
Mr. Clinton I have you next too