Thank you.
Good morning, everyone. The hearings will start shortly.
Thank you.
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Thank you.
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Thank you.
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Hey there.
Hey Justin, how are you?
Thank you.
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Thank you.
Thank you.
we're ready
good morning my name is bill bergman i will be chairing this morning's meeting
with me is our vice chair ismail shaheed president mr president mr chairman board
member cheryl l gaston president mr chairman or board member tanetta graham
president mr chairman or board member michael johns
there he is yep and our board member tie a win she should be coming through the door
And our board member, Taya Nguyen, she should be coming through the door.
Also, here is our turn.
Are we on the record?
I'm sorry.
This is the reporter.
They were on the record right away.
Do you want to go over it again?
My apologies.
My speaker was not on.
I'm sorry, Chair.
Okay, sure.
All right.
Good morning.
My name is Bill Bergman, and I will be chairing this morning's meeting.
With me is our Vice Chair, Ismail Shahid.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Board member Cheryl L. Gaston.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Board member Tanetta Graham.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Our board member Michael Johns.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Board member Taya Nguyen should be here any minute.
Also, here is our attorney, Hillary Emerson, our director, Ian Haggerty, and our board
administrator, Lakeisha Dandy.
Recording of this hearing will be posted on the ZBA website.
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This is an in-person meeting with remote capabilities.
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Once you've been sworn in, please state your name each time before beginning your testimony.
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There are three ways to enter your appearance.
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call 267-270-5548. Leave a message that includes your email address and the address of the property
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Let's look at our schedule for this morning.
Number 13, MI 2025, 000391, 3449 8th Street.
Alberto Perez is the listed applicant.
We want to check for all the exhibits. Mr. Perez.
Good morning, Chair. This is Nadia, and I'll be your co-host today.
Alberto Perez, if you're in a virtual audience, please raise your virtual hand.
Excuse me, Mr. Chair. We just received an email from Attorney Daniel Loza, and he's been retained to represent the owners in this appeal.
and he is requesting a continuance.
I believe his hand was raised previously.
They have been promoted to panelists.
Is he here, the attorney?
Yes, Chair.
He's coming in as a panelist.
Sir, could you please state your name
and spell for the stenographer?
Yeah, my name is Daniel Gustavo Loza. I'm a real estate attorney. I'm located in 9200 Academy Road, Philadelphia, PA, and I represent the owners of 3449 H Street, Philadelphia, PA 19134.
Sir, could you spell your name, too, for the sonographer?
Daniel D-A-N-I-E-L Loza, L-O-Z-A-Z-E-B-A-A.
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
yes sir sir i understand you're correct uh requesting a continuance
i i'm requesting a continuum for the file please okay thank you so um case number 13
mi 2025 000 391 3449 h street this case is
000 391 3449 8th street this case is continued till 11 525 at 9 30 a.m thank you very much sir
We'll see you next time.
thank you so much
number 14 mi 2025 000 393 5339 wayne avenue this case is continued are there any other requests
for continuity mr chair do you have a date for number 14 14 would be 11 5 25 at 9 30 a.m thank you
i see no hands thank you
so number two
number two mi2024-005-130-4047 north marshall street julio sanchez palmer is the listed owner
listed applicant alzandro gabriel no exhibits second listing
so may have a request for withdrawal yes i just want to note for the record yes we
we did receive an indication from the applicant that they are no longer seeking to pursue this
case however to date we haven't received a formal letter requesting the withdrawal is there anyone
in the audience. I see no hands. MI 2024-005-130-4047 North Marshall Street, I vote to dismiss.
Michael Johns, my vote is to dismiss. Cheryl Gaston, my vote is to dismiss. Tanetta Graham,
my vote is to dismiss. Tyia Nguyen, my vote is to dismiss. Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is to dismiss.
Number three, MI 2024-005-324-2951 Rose Hill Street.
Juan Carlos Pagan is the listed owner.
Anthony Sanfrani and U.S. Remodeling Construction.
This is the second listing.
No one appeared the first time.
Mr. Pagana.
I see no hands.
MI 2024-005-324-2951, Rose Hill Street, I vote to dismiss.
Michael Johns, my vote is to dismiss.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is to dismiss.
Snedder Graham, my vote is to dismiss.
Tywin, my vote is to dismiss.
Ms. Mel Shahid, my vote is to dismiss.
And number seven, number seven, MI-2025-000305-2304-North Smedley Street,
Afisha Haynes is the listed owner, no exhibits, first listing.
I see no hands.
MI-2025-000305-2304-North Smedley Street. Cases continue to 11-525 at 930. Must be heard.
We're going to go to our add-on list.
number one mi2024 001 644 2135 west venango street i vote yes with proviso per refusal dated 11-1-24
Michael Johns, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Tywin, I certify that I watched the video, and my vote is yes with Proviso.
Number two, MI 2024, 004-330-437 North 52nd Street.
the vote on this matter will be held to 6 4 25 at 9 30 a.m
number three mi 2024 003 268 3501 g street
I vote yes.
My vote is yes.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes.
Tana Graham, my vote is yes.
Tywin, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Dishmell Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Number four, MI 2024-007-496-18.
MI 2024-007-496-1808-Wiley Street.
I vote yes with proviso per refusal dated 5-21-25.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes with proviso.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes with proviso.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes with proviso.
Bayouin, my vote is yes with proviso.
Ishmael Shahid, my vote is yes with proviso.
Thank you.
We're going to go to our main list now.
Number nine, MI 2025, 0003116533, King Sessing Avenue.
Agner Kelly is the applicant pro se.
Agner Kelly, please accept the promotion to the analyst.
Hello.
Could you please state your name and spell it for the court's photographer?
Yes. Anya Kelly, A-I-G-N-E-R, Kelly, K-E-L-L-Y. I meant, sorry, K-E-L-L-Y. Yeah, sorry.
Sure. Do you swear or firm to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Have you had your meeting with the RCO?
No. I have been unable to get in contact with them. I sent out an email in January and also
this month and I reached out by phone and I still have not heard back from anyone.
Mr. Chair, we do have Craig Melodosian with his hand raised.
Okay, sure. Mr. Melodosian.
Craig Melodosian, please, does that have a motion to panelists?
computer but yeah i know
brandon's not here
hi craig good morning chair bergman good morning could you please state your name
and spell it for the court stenographer?
Craig, C-R-A-I-G, last name Melodosian, M-E-L-I-D-O-S-I-A-N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
I do, Chair Bergman.
So this particular case, we do not have an RCO meeting yet.
Could you give us an update of where you stand with this?
I have no idea what the applicant is speaking about.
We've ran searches on our email, both by the email address that was used by the applicant on the application, as well as by the street address.
We have no communications on that project since 1-17-2025 when we received the original notice of the application and all of the contact information on that was correct for me as coordinating RCO and for the other RCOs.
Okay, thank you.
And I would indicate that, you know, we would look forward to meeting with the applicant and discussing the project.
In the past, we have not supported this size daycare in the middle of a block.
We supported at the end of the block.
I'm not here to try it now.
Sure, I understand.
We would like to meet with the applicant.
Ms. Kelly, we're going to have to continue this case.
All right.
um so am i and the normal date am i correct hillary hillary um yes i think that should be
fine okay good so mi 2025 000 311 6533 kincessing avenue this case is continued to 11 525 at 9 30
a.m thank both of you thank you and miss kelly if you have um difficulty reaching the rco please
um reach out to the rco notification email okay make sure that you have the correct contact
information okay thank you
Number one, MI 2024-004-946-2137 South A Street.
Dennis George is the attorney.
Good morning, Mr. George. Could you please state your name? Make sure you turn that on for me if you would.
Got it.
Okay. Make sure you get as close to you as you can.
Will do.
Could you state your name and spell it for the sonographer?
Dennis George. Last name G-E-O-R-G-E. First name Dennis. D-E-N-N-I-S.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client, the relationship to this property?
Patrick Zen, Z-E-N-G, he is the owner of the property.
And our vice chair has a few questions.
Good morning, counsel.
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal or stipulate to his accuracy?
Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that's needed and required to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
Thank you, counsel.
Please proceed.
Thank you.
Good morning, Mr. Chairman.
good morning members of the board um i have um the submission of the documents which include
the refusal the application for appeal the project information sheet the deed the tax compliance
letter the plans the neighborhood notification letter the rco rejection letter uh or non-support
i'm sorry and the supplemental photographs i can go over any and all of the documents that
So why don't you start with your refusal and then make your presentation?
Yeah, the refusal is for, we have requested, it's currently two residential units with a commercial first floor.
If you note on the refusal, this formerly was granted a three-family dwelling back in 65 with the removal of the commercial aspect of the property.
What has occurred since my client acquired the property in 2009, at that time he acquired it, it was two units, two residential units and a commercial space.
It was rented at one point by a small insurance firm, but since the pandemic, like many properties similar to this, there has been a vacancy.
Since 2020, this has been vacant, and so have other properties on that block been vacant that are commercial.
The problem I think we have here, and we'd like to convert the first floor to a living unit so that it is no longer vacant and it becomes functional.
The issue, I fully understand, having practiced before this board for over 35 years, that it's difficult when the RCO has a non-support letter.
I'd just like to note in the RCO refusal, there were a total of four people at the hearing, two opposed, one was in favor, and one abstained.
In addition, I understand the councilman has supported the RCO and has a letter of opposition.
I think in consideration of this, the uniqueness of this property, can we go to the photographs, Nick?
keep going i want to see the property next
this is the property next to my client's property which is whether legal or not
i i'm not going to comment on but is a multi-family unit with a first floor garage go to the next
photo. Next to that property is an automotive garage and a multifamily unit. This is two
doors away from my client's property. Next photo. That's just a bathroom, some interior
photos. There should be a photo of the other property next to my, this is the interior
space of my client currently. And this is the property next to my client, which is also vacant
with the commercial unit and apartments up top. If you notice, my client's property has two
entrances and our position would be it would be more functional if it's occupied and used as a
residency rather than continuing to be vacant. We don't see in the foreseeable future with the
internet age anyone attempting to rent this facility for commercial space in
the future quite frankly insurance companies and other small companies no
insurance companies and other small companies no longer utilizing spaces like this and we think it
longer utilizing spaces like
would be a unique situation and would not harm the public safety to convert it to a residency
questions from the board
questions or comments from our attorney not at this time mr chair questions or comments from
the virtual audience? I see no hands. Sir, could you have your testimony adopted by your client?
Just having to state his name. My name is Patrick Zhang. You got to get to the mic. Okay. My name
is Patrick Zhang, P-A-T-R-I-C-K Patrick Zhang, Z-E-N-G. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth,
the whole truth, nothing but the truth? Yes. Please proceed, counsel. Have you heard the
testimony today? Yes. And do you affirm and consent
that it's true and correct? Yes. Thank you.
Planning Commission. Thank you, Chairman, and good morning. David
Fecto, F-E-C-T-E-A-U, with the
City Planning Commission. Do you swear or affirm that tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, sir, I do. Please proceed, sir. Thank you, sir.
Chairman and board members, the comprehensive plan recommends no change
to the rsa5 residential single-family zoning at this location the city rezoned this neighborhood
in 2019 in accord with the recommendations from the comprehensive plan this property has a
documented history as a multi-family dwelling the elimination of the commercial unit will bring this
property closer into compliance with the residential zoning the city planning commission recommends
that the board grant a proposed use variance for three dwelling units.
MI 2024-004-946-2137 South A Street, I vote yes.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes.
Tanada Graham, my vote is yes.
Kaya Nguyen, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shahid, my vote is yes.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Councilman.
Number five, MI 2024-005-327-2801, Grant Avenue.
Julie Bernstein is the attorney.
Can you turn your mic on, please?
And pull that as close as you can on the mic.
Hi, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Julie Bernstein, J-U-L-I-E-B-E-R-N-S-T-E-I-N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client, the relationship to this property?
So my client is Empire Grant Avenue, LLC, and they are the owner of the property.
Our vice chair has a few questions.
good morning have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that's needed and required
to perceive this case five days in advance of this hearing i have and yes i am thank you please
proceed and i should mention that we have a recommendation of opposition from west tarsdale
morel park civic association and i understand we have a letter now that came in i think this
morning hillary am i right from council members also against is in opposition and i'll make sure
you get a copy of that. Thank you. Well, good morning. I'm Julie Bernstein with Kaplan Stewart
and I'm the attorney that's representing the owner of the property that we're here seeking
relief in order to have approval for a seasonal outdoor expansion of a currently existing personal
services fitness center that's existing on the property. The property is 7.36 acres and is located
on the north side of grant avenue just southeast of the northeast philadelphia airport it's next
to self-storage facility and otherwise doesn't generally have any other neighbors there's a
railroad on the other side tracks the property is zoned as i2 industrial and which does not permit
a personal services use which would be services associated with grooming instruction and the
maintenance of fitness, health, and well-being by right within this area. However, this particular
use has been approved since 2016, and there has been a gym on site. The property is improved with
the 61,240 square foot structure. Why don't you show the photos? As you're speaking, it might be
you should have this is just a general
so this is just a general kind of site plan that we submitted the initial notice of refusal just
to kind of give quick background was for it was a refusal for the expansion of this particular use
but it also listed three issues with landscaping provisions these have since we've amended to
withdraw our request for relief because the notice of refusal was subsequently amended when this
particular plan was submitted showing that the landscaping did in fact comply but this shows to
you kind of what the the very irregularly shaped property again you can see kind of the top of the
property has this railroad that goes alongside above that is where the northeast airport is
located and then kind of this is um it's really kind of sort of east of the property there's a
self-storage facility um again the property is improved with a single kind of building right
here and it has parking lot around and and counsel could you explain also the restaurant issue i think
your your license has expired for the restaurant so um so why don't you explain what what it is
so in 2016 they received this approval for um to have the gym and kind of associated office space
um on the property and then in 2021 they came in with a kind of concept for a restaurant kind of
health restaurant that would be a sit down and have some groceries where you could get vegetables
and a juice bar those types of things that was improved approved in 2021 with a sunset provision
um these were kind of ideas that were thought up as an expansion in you know response to covid and
how to kind of deal with you know what happened and the impact on kind of fitness facilities to
bring people back in they didn't end up kind of pursuing that the gym has been doing really well
It's, you know, a great amenity for this community. And as you'll see at the end, I have 160 letters of support for this application, both from members and the neighbors who just really love it and think that this is not only a wonderful gym, but having outdoor space is really kind of a boon to the community and a space in which that people can go.
one of the letters was from a doctor that actually even mentioned how, you know, typically the outdoor
spaces for exercise in Philadelphia are targeted for children. Kind of the outdoor exercise
equipment would be kind of kids' equipment. And there really isn't a space comparable to that
for adults. It's not appropriate to go to that. So this kind of provides that outdoor space for
the community. And there's just abundant support for this expansion. But again, they didn't end
pursuing that so it did sunset i do want to let you know when you walk in i'll show you here kind
of the internal photographs this is just a site plan i included of the building but this is more
helpful these are the photographs so this building up the photograph that's on the left of this page
is the way it looks right now um you kind of walk in at the back right hand part of this um
photograph you can see there's sort of windows over there that's the entrance to the space
When you'd walk in, you would check in. They have, you know, fitness beverages and protein powder, the types of things that, you know, people want when they walk into a gym and they maybe forgot their protein bar. Then you come in and they have all of this interior exercise space. I'll just point out for you, and the left point of the left photograph is sort of a hallway you can see.
that would be the hallway that goes to the outdoor space that we're kind of talking about in this
application. The outdoor space is at the rear of the building away from Grant Avenue.
So here's some additional photographs of how the gym looks on the inside, taken very recently.
It's a super active gym. Again, it's really nicely maintained and has different types of spaces for
exercise equipment, kind of a personal yoga area and things of that nature. And then this is kind
of the outdoor expansion that I'm talking about. So when you walk down that hallway, you kind of
exited here, if you can see my cursor into this sort of this gray box that you can see in the
aerial shot that has exercise equipment outside, sort of, you know, gym bars and things of that
nature then in the green kind of space right below that there's some areas that um you would
be able to kind of sit down and lounge and take a break have drinks and then they and have these
basketball courts um which i think my understanding was sort of how this spawned people who went to
the gym were looking for outdoor space to kind of play basketball and exercise and they slowly
started expanding they did all around that already so there is so you can kind of see in these
photographs that there's it's very much so sorry my tech skills are not fantastic so
are not fantastic so i don't know if you can see here there's there's kind of like a wall there's
I don't know if you can see here there's there's kind of like a
a buffer along one side but this to the right the right right side of the photograph where the
basketball court is there's almost like a full wall and it's taller than a human so if you were
standing in the parking lot um you really wouldn't be able to let's see if i can zoom in so
so this is the parking lot area and this kind of wall is what barricades in that outdoor space so
the outdoor space is kind of behind this wall and so if someone's standing in there exercising
they're kind of really blockaded off it's even kind of raised up as you can see there's this
you know the car kind of goes and there's a stone barrier and then a wall even above that
And otherwise, it's very much so kind of an enclosed space.
Let's see if I can drive over so you can see closer.
Counsel, were you at the RCO meeting?
I was at the RCO meeting.
Tell us what happened.
So I think part of it was that I was the person who came to the RCO meeting.
The owner of the property was out of town.
We had a really long time trying to get an RCO meeting scheduled with actually, what is our RCO? They responded some and then wouldn't schedule a meeting. So we reached out to the council person's office to try to coordinate a new meeting. We got one with an RCO that isn't technically the West Torresdale that oversaw us.
there were some people who thought this was like no big deal and then I think there were some people
who just you know felt like they were a little maybe confused that there had been a restaurant
that had been proposed and now we were proposing something different they weren't necessarily kind
of following the change or the expansion I didn't get you know any kind of there was you know the
only real feedback while I was in the room they obviously ask you to leave when they you know
they discuss in private and then vote but the feedback that i got was can you guys have a yoga
class outside so obviously whoever asked that because i can see the vote count you know was
persuaded to vote no and i think part of it was potentially or likely the fact that as you can
see here this was constructed and i do have two witnesses with me i have a representative of the
but I also have a representative from Fusion Gyms, and he now understands that he was wrong,
but I think in his mind he thought that a gym was permitted on site and then an expansion into what
to him was like the backyard of his space was really no big deal. I understand that you don't
agree with that. I understand that like he has now been advised he's working to pull all of the
permits and knows that he will not do something of this nature without either coming for relief
here pulling all of the necessary permits but i think in his mind there was just so much kind of
excitement for some outdoor space and that there was you know in his mind you look outside outdoor
space here and available and there was no there's really no neighbor there as you can see kind of
it's blockaded in the parking lot what's next to that has felt storage and then even the center
for autism that's leases another part of this building they didn't come to the meeting but
they have written a letter of support they have no issue with this and have told the owner who
then told me that they really like this neighbor they think they're great they've had you know
some maintenance issues and the maintenance guy from fusion gym comes over and helps them so i
think that you know this is a really nice business for the community and they really really really
support it and unfortunately we did not get a hundred people to come out that night it was
raining and it wasn't our rco to kind of express that to people who were unfamiliar with the site
didn't understand where it was weren't familiar with the gym so didn't really realize you know
what was going on and in their mind i think they're like well this is an industrial zone and
the zoning says you're not supposed to do this and you didn't move forward with the last kind of
proposal and so i don't really know why like this is needed now um but so again we're kind of here
a mea culpa and asking to legalize this um it's really a beautiful space i went out there and
again there's just the the community really loves it and you know we we do feel that this is a
natural expansion of something that currently exists that you guys approved and really has
no negative impact and instead a really really positive impact on this community
okay one do you want to bring your client on to adopt your testimony
i'll have mayor sure why don't you why don't you come up who's the owner sure
sir could you um turn to michael and make sure it's on the light should be the green light and
sir could you um turn to michael and make sure it's on
then pull yeah it's on could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
mayor jacobowitz mayor m-a-y-e-r jacobowitz j-a-c-o-b-o-w-i-t-z right do you swear or
affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth i affirm okay um counsel please
for your testimony to be adopted so um mayor you are a representative of the owner of this
property is that correct correct and you heard my explanation of what went on and the use that we
are here seeking approval of is that correct correct and was everything that i explained
accurate yes and if you had provided testimony explaining what happened and the scope of this
application, would it have been substantially similar to what I just explained? Yes. And will
you adopt my testimony as if it's your own? Yes. Okay. So I'm going to have questions from the
board. And then if there's someone else in the audience to testify when I call for comments from
the audience. Okay. All right. Questions from the board. Go ahead. Okay. Well, is there any time
through the season that there's
coverings over the equipment?
So when I went
out and looked after the kind of notice
of violation was issued, they shut down the gym
outside. And so there's
like, you can see in the photograph, there's like
a little barricade, so they're not letting people out there.
And a lot of the equipment is
covered. So there's
like, there were kind of tarps over some of it.
I mean, like for like tents or
something like that. No, no, no.
No, this is outdoor.
Thank you.
who what's what's what's adjacent who owns or what's the grass area to the rear and to the right
of that uh that space who who owns it or who controls it are you talking if you go back to
your if you go back to the the image that image so who who controls these areas and if is that
part of this who controls that so um that is part of mayor's property the empire grant property and
they are the owners um i could defer to you my assumption is that fusion gyms would be responsible
for maintenance of this outdoor space is that correct correct and and the green space around
it or just or just the space where they have their equipment so um let's see if i can
including the green space around it including the green space around right okay so you want
all the whole partial correct until the railroad in the back and the airport in the side right
gotcha so and you can kind of see there's like in the land there's like a lot of kind of shrubbery
as you kind of get further past the green that you can see right around the equipment yeah so
it's just interesting that there there was opposition um and um for the for the project
if you don't really have neighbors it seems you know um so i'm just just that's just interesting
that there was such opposition that anything else sorry um again it was i mean there were really
it was a very small kind of group there.
And my sense is that kind of,
there was something about the changes in use
and, you know, and that this was done first.
And since they were so unfamiliar with it,
that, you know, there maybe was a sense
of we don't like asking for forgiveness
after this was done.
Gotcha. Thank you.
Other questions from the board?
So I have a question.
Oh, go ahead, Cheryl.
Yes, a question.
so the actual gym as it is now holds about how many people so tony chowdery is also with me
and he's the owner of fusion gyms he might be able to better answer that question if you want
me to call him up uh yeah oh sure i guess i'm just trying to get an idea of how many more
people will be talking about in terms of the capacity.
Sir, could you please state your name and get closer to the mic?
Yes, sir.
Please state your name and spell for the stenographer.
Yeah, my name is Tony Chowdhury, T-O-N-Y, last name Chowdhury, C-H-O-W-D-H-U-R-Y.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, sir.
Please proceed counsel.
So that's my question.
that's my question the question is what's the capacity without the outdoor space and then what
The question is, what's the capacity without the outdoor?
is it with the um outdoor space typical capacity for a 40 000 square foot gym is generally about
eight to ten thousand we have about half of that we have about four thousand members and then
outside it would double our capacity but we're nowhere near capacity and we've been open for
close to 10 years. Okay. So, and then what, uh, well, okay. So I'll, I'll freely admit I'm pretty
much a couch potato. I have belonged to gyms. I didn't necessarily go that often, but a lot of
the equipment was, uh, like they use like electricity. So these don't do that. These are
no ma'am. Yeah. It's all free weights. Uh, so a big portion of the outside weights and like
like the stationary bikes and yeah so it's all strength equipment it's all plate loaded and
pin loaded equipment so no electronics okay and then what happens when it's raining outside does
the equipment stay out there and you just people can't use the space or yes ma'am it's only open
weather permitting okay and that means like rain snow no it's too cold yeah it's close okay all
it and then uh the surface for this how what what is that and is it something that kind of
cushions folks in case they fall or something it's one in stick rubber ah okay like you would
have in some of the playgrounds like for kids exactly have that soft cushioning thing oh
Interesting. So I'll just say that I don't think this is a case for natural expansion because I don't think it's non-conforming in that sense.
But one of the things that it, well, a couple of things that it talks about is that it's not an excessive expansion or that it's a new or different use that you're introducing.
So this isn't new or different. This is just an expansion of what's already there. And if what you're saying is that you're basically just maybe doubling the amount, I'm not sure if that's excessive in that sense.
um like this is um and and i guess my other thing is and i don't think you can answer this
i'm not sure why it is you need permission to use part of your property that just
happens to be outdoors i'm not sure if i'm understanding the so i i think that's you
what you're getting at is what i think tony's feelings were about this so typically i think
the position of philadelphia and why a notice was issued and why we're here is that when we come and
ask for this type of relief typically it's subject to us complying with the testimony and exhibits
that we previously provided so when this was initially presented there wasn't a kind of a
conversation about outdoor exercise it was only indoor exercise and so i i you know i have a level
of agreeing with you that this is you know a continuation of an existing use that's really
nice in the area it's just expanded in size um and so i i am really you know hopeful that you
guys will find this to be you know reasonable and appropriate for the space as it's just really
great for the community um but i think that is why we believe we're here i think i have a number
of one question um so um for the expansion was any of the additional parking cut out
no there was actually um parking added the 38 38 spaces are new okay all right
all right so one how many square feet is the outdoor area that's fenced in
for use? I would say give or take 30,000 square feet. Okay. And then were the basketball courts
already there or you had the basketball courts? So we started with the basketball courts.
So I want to give an explanation why we did it. So initially- Without permits. I want to know why
you did it without permits. So initially we went through the process and we got a zoning approval
for a fast casual restaurant just because I wanted to provide healthy meals to our members.
And all of our members were opposed to it. They said, hey, Tony, listen, if you're going to spend any money, please build us an outdoor space that gives us more of a use because our indoor space, we don't really have much space to build a basketball court.
So we initially just started with the basketball courts outside and then slowly over time, it just.
So we initially just started with the basketball courts outside, and then slowly over time, it just grew.
I feel like a business that only makes money is a very poor business.
I've always looked to make an impact on the communities that we served.
I've been in the industry for about 18 years, and we're competing against, you know, big box, you know, multibillion-dollar corporations.
And how we've been able to compete with them is just listening to our customers.
And I do apologize, you know.
I do get a little overzealous as an entrepreneur, and, you know, you don't know what you don't know.
i thought it wasn't a big deal to use our backyard and then as we went through the process
ellen and i came by they gave us a bunch of violations and then i hired an architect i
hired a site engineer to kind of work through the process and then make make all the according
plans and then it was a long drawn out process initially and then it was declined and then they
told us to close the outdoor gym because it didn't have the zoning approval so it's been closed since
last year. And now we're here, you know, seeking relief to do things the right way. I know what I
did was wrong, but I didn't think it was a big deal because we weren't hurting anyone. We weren't
bothering anyone. We're in the middle of an industrial park. We had full support from our
neighbors, like the Center for Autism, Spikes Trophy, the self-storage place. And then, you know,
you know, I feel like we're doing a great thing for the community. You know, in Philadelphia,
you know it's not the safest place and we have hundreds of kids that come every day after school
and use the outdoor facility or used to use the outdoor facility and use the gym and they stay
off the streets and notably so like we've gotten a lot of attention from big developers in
Philadelphia like Bart Blasti you know we're doing a project similar to this you know throughout the
city and then in Atlantic City as well just because you know he builds communities and we're
building a community within a community to give people a safe place to go and enjoy like if you
really come to our facility it literally feels like it's an escape from philly it's it's a
paradise i think that's great i think i'm more concerned that you did a 30 000 square foot
expansion without permits this has nothing to do with zoning for me the use i mean i'm i'll you
know align with cheryl there but like you built two basketball courts that required drainage they
require excavation right they require foundational support you have to make sure the soil is a
certain resistance to be able to support that use without permits so i guess my question is
at one point where the architect and the engineer brought in during the construction process how
much of the basketball courts were already constructed and would you guys um would you
have take issue with a co being required as a proviso yeah so um it was uh as soon as we got
But the violations, we hired an architectural firm to draw it out.
It's just been a long, drawn-out process.
Again, I'm a young entrepreneur.
I don't...
Understood.
So architect came in as an as-built?
After it was built.
So not for construction.
Correct.
So what were the contractors using as their base plans to do the construction itself?
So we hired a concrete company.
This is what they do each and every single day.
They put the proper drainage in.
They put modified stone in.
They put the drains in.
i mean and we we documented everything so it was as built we hired professionals to do it we spent
hundreds of thousands of dollars on it um and you know we are doing everything we can to legalize it
and you know get the approval from the city and get the proper permits my second question is about
any electrical outside like i know you said the equipment doesn't but are there any outlets for
either light or like speakers things of that nature that are operating out there no ma'am so
we have uh perimeter lights along the entire building so that's enough light for the outdoor
space okay and then um my other question is about the fencing how tall is the fence let's say about
eight feet so fences that high typically also require zoning is that hillary does that need
to be on the permit so it's above six feet if it's well if it's behind the setback i don't
I don't think that it necessarily matters.
So, yeah.
And then my last question is about egress.
So right now, is the only way to get to the outdoor area
if you come through the gym itself?
No, ma'am.
There's two points of egress, one on the left side,
one on the right side.
Does one exit directly onto that parking lot or onto a walkway?
Other questions from the board?
Questions or comments from our attorney?
So, I just wanted to clarify because I know there was some confusion with the use. So, the two other uses, the retail sales and the other food services use, those have expired. Those are going away. And so, this use is essentially expanding into where those uses were going to be as well.
So this use is essentially expanding into where those uses were going to be as well.
is that
Is that correct?
So I think part of, Tony can correct me, but my understanding, I wasn't involved with the
prior restaurant application, but there's kind of, there are, you kind of like walk in
through this room.
And as I mentioned, they're selling kind of, I would say it's accessory to a gym, but they
do have protein powder and sports beverages, things of that nature.
So that is being sold in front, but you'd walk into the kind of main gym space and walk through that and there's an additional, there's additional rooms, there's separated rooms. And I think, I believe that it was in there that they were going to build out sort of a restaurant. Is that correct?
Correct. So our front desk area, it's roughly 1500 square feet. We were going to use that for the restaurant. We opted not to use it. So it's just remaining as like the front desk area.
okay okay um all right so so the any sales accessory it's not a that's not another primary
use to the the property no i just want to be i just wanted to be clear that you know if you
walked in you could buy a power bar or protein powder like and that's typical of other gyms
but i didn't want to pretend that that wasn't happening right that created a problem i no no
that's fine no i know some at some point i think when there starts being like juice bars and things
like that then l and i starts considering it another like a prepared food shop sort of sort
of use but that's not the case here so and then those those other spaces are just not being not
being used or the other the space for the gym is not or sorry not the gym the um the restaurant
proposed restaurant is now not being used for that so that area so so i think i kind of showed
see if i can get it so yeah we're just using the same space as we've been using for the last 10
years so as you can see there's kind of there's this like other space so like they i think would
use that for you know other types of fitness um so i think all the entire kind of internal space
is now just currently being used as a personal service fitness area um i could see it being
possible that they would set up maybe some equipment in there maybe not depending upon
And again, as he said, what customers want, like, do they want, you know,
a big open space to do, I don't, I will.
That's why I was also trying to figure out if Ellen and I was seeing not only
the outside piece, but if they were seeing the,
because seeing expansion in the interior because those other uses were
expiring. So, okay. It doesn't sound like that was.
All right. Thank you.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I see no hands.
Planning commission.
thank you chairman and good morning david fecto with the city planning commission
chairman and board members the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the i2 medium
industrial zoning at this location there is no unique physical condition or circumstance
of this property that would prevent it from being used in strict conformity with the zoning code
the appellant has not shown that an expansion of the previously approved personal services
is strictly necessary to continue deriving value from the property the city planning commission
recommends that the board denied a proposed use variance for expansion of personal services
so council what we're gonna i'm gonna take this to executive session next wednesday
that's the fourth and we'll vote at 9 30 a.m i just want to make sure i get get some input from
all the board members okay okay thank you thank you thank you all thank you sir right um number six
MI 2024-006-487-3401, Gerard Avenue.
Autusa Sharasp is the attorney.
Autusa Sharasp, please raise your virtual hand.
She's here.
She's coming up.
Good morning, counsel.
Good morning.
Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Yes, my name is Atusa, A-T-U-S-A, Shiras, S as in Sam, H-I-R-A-S as in Sam, B as in boy, and B silent.
Do you swear or affirm the tell the truth, told truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Could you identify your client, the relationship to the property?
Yes, my client is the Philadelphia Water Department, and the city owns.
My client is the Philadelphia Water Department, and the city owns the property.
It's Fairmount Park.
The address is 3401 West Girard Avenue.
All right.
Our vice chair has just a few questions.
Oh, sure.
Do you agree to read another refusal or stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed in all the required documents that are needed and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing?
Thank you.
You can proceed.
Okay, thank you. So, as part of the water department's water revitalization…
Can you show your screen?
Oh, yes.
Show us some photos.
Okay, so just a brief background on this.
So as part of the water department's water revitalization plan to upgrade and expand Philadelphia's core drinking water infrastructure, PWD, which is the water department, is proposing to build a second drinking water pump station at the northeast corner of the intersection of North George's Hill Drive and South George's Hill Drive.
um the building will have six pumps that will deliver up to 21 million gallons of water per day
uh pwd obtained a use for basic utilities and services through city council ordinance bill
which i submitted um so the goal of this new pump station is to provide a redundant water
service source to maintain uninterrupted service during maintenance or rehabilitation activities
So this just ensures that if one of the system fails, there are other parts that still provide safe, reliable drinking water to the neighborhoods in West Philadelphia.
The station will only move drinking water.
There will be no sewage or waste products on site.
And PWD is here today to request a special exception.
There are about five heritage trees, but only three require replacement.
The other two are in poor condition. So of the trees to be removed, 16 are infected and dead trees. There's 130 trees, including three heritage trees. We will be replacing the trees in the remaining space around the facility.
so 47 trees including all 11 flowering trees um and then given the limitation of space which i
will show you in a few minutes um the uh in coordination with ppr we will be paying a
lutein fee in the amount of seventeen thousand seven hundred dollars to a city fund to
plant and maintain trees across the city um all right so this uh exhibit a or one is the
original zoning permit that was
that was provided to L&I
so why don't you if you could go to the photos or plans I think that would be
Sorry, I can't see.
So here were the original plans that were submitted.
I do want to make one note that the revised plans that were submitted include a signage.
The signage was not included in the original plans, so we're not asking for the signage to be included at this time.
We're pursuing that separately.
All right.
So this is the water pump station here.
There are actually other photos that I can show you that might give you a better view.
So this is the site of where the pump station will be constructed.
And then looking at the RCO documents here.
Other page.
There we go.
All right, so this photo, you can see where all the trees are planted, where they will be will be planted, excuse me, the proposed trees and.
Where they will be planted, excuse me, the proposed trees, and you can see the actual pump station where it will be built, and then the proposed trees around it, and then the flowering trees as well.
There's also shrubs.
Is there a pump station there now?
No, there's not.
So this is a brand new?
This is a brand new one.
There is one nearby on the east side, so this is the second one.
Right.
okay and then i have the complete tree list of again like i said there's 47 trees that are going
to be planted 11 include flowering trees um and then the because of space limitations um
we'll be paying a lewin fee
just want to show you one more photo okay and this is another photo um that might be helpful
to locate where the pump station is going to be constructed um and with that i can go through the
other exhibits did you go to the rco meeting i did not attend the rco meeting there were several
of them okay um there were would you like the dates no okay um do we did did you do a mailing
yes so we we did email and um letter mailing yeah but there's no neighbors around there anyway right
you didn't receive a letter from the rco correct uh i have not received a letter okay we we're not
aware of yeah we don't have there's no neighbors necessarily there's the man center yep across
street which we've been working with to conduct various like acoustic studies and such for them
right um right and that's why we had so many rco meetings okay yeah um okay do you have a client
here today i do uh he is remote uh brian sparks yep we've i think we've heard from him before
Mr. Sparks.
Brian Sparks, please, is that the promotion to panelists?
Hello. Hopefully you guys can hear me.
Yes. Good morning, Councilor.
Sir, could you please state your name as Bell for the stenographer?
Yeah, it's Brian Sparks, B-R-I-A-N-S-P-A-R-K-S.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, told truth, nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, Council.
Hi, Mr. Sparks. Did you hear my testimony?
Yes, I did.
And did you see the exhibits?
I did.
Okay. And can you please verify that everything I represented is true and correct?
It was, yes.
And will you adopt my testimony as your own?
I will.
Board, do you have any questions?
Questions from the board.
question for you is that is the and looking at this image is the the building across from there
is that the other pump station uh no i believe that's a part of the man center um it's one of
their secondary stages i believe i think it's called the skyline stage yeah so so there are
water pipes that are already existing in north georgia's and south georgia's little drive
that will connect that's correct yeah and that's why we chose this location because the water
mains that we need to connect to are already exists there okay what's the structure of what
will be the structure of the building um it will yeah yeah it will be masonry uh construction
reinforced masonry with um you know steel um structure masonry infill how what's the security
I will have a yeah we'll have a security fence um uh key card access for PWD personnel only
all right thank you ornamental yeah fencing other questions yes is there a letter of support and
were the centennial district and the man sort of notified of the plans yeah we met with a couple
rcos um throughout this i said i didn't say the rcos i said the centennial districts and the man
like the consortium of cultural institutions that live on this land were they informed
yeah we've been coordinating with the man center um i believe it used to mention that we're doing
some um acoustic studies for them some vibration studies um and also just coordinating um you know
construction sequencing to limit impacts to neighbors um centennial i don't believe that
we've coordinated with them to date okay um one like this is like a very heavily used site like
Okay. One, like this is like a very heavily used site, like right where you guys are sort of this intersection is heavily trafficked when there's any type of public event in this space. And so I just want to know bigger picture, like how is this going to impact the users of this space?
right where
because especially given like what's your construction timeline this is going to be a
major location that people are going to be visiting specifically next year when i'm assuming you'd be
trying to do principal construction so what's the what's the phasing plan and we haven't seen
anything about this building how high it is an example of a similar structure that this would
look like its footprint how many square foot it is how high it is so i feel like it's really hard
to judge this without knowing anything other than like a circle on an aerial map the skyline stage
is huge so even the like scale of your circle is very very big um right and yet you've talked about
tearing down 16 trees which would be like you know a couple of the lines in that circle in scale so
i'm i'm trying i'm having a hard time understanding how what the like final impact of this is going
to be yeah too sad is there rendering in these slides um it looks like appreciating and understanding
pump needs right for water right yeah i think if we flip through this there should be a rendering
of the new facility um maybe prior to this um while you do that uh is there uh a space for
parking for employer employees and if so is that enclosed as well yeah we again working with the
man center they have um some labor um like more like vendors and stuff that that's a good one if
you want to go back to that previous yeah right yes that shows the rendering to the right there
um to answer your question about building size is approximately 9 000 square feet
and then it's a single story but that story is taller than a typical building to allow for
you know overhead crane to be able to traverse the floor um we have to lift you know pretty
big pieces of equipment up so we need the head height to be able to to accommodate that um but
that's that's what we're looking at you know right there on the side of the screen um to go back to
the parking space for man center um we're going to provide them um i believe it's around 50 spots
during construction and then post-construction they'll have more than that um approximately
100 you know give or take you know a dozen here or there but that's kind of what they needed for
their vendors and labor-related workers to be able to park and work the events.
And then how long is construction anticipated to occur?
It's approximately three years.
I think we had four years on here, but three to four years, yeah.
So for four years, the Mann Center would have, what, 50% reduced parking?
right which seems like they are able to accommodate okay right
and then when would this commence um so we're going to include restrictions in the contract
documents to not allow the contractor to start before november of um 25 or i guess it would be
more like 26 but basically their events go from may to october can you go back to that picture
that you just had up yeah that that was those spots yeah but go ahead right oh yeah and then
the image that atusa just had up i think that was the temporary spot so we're accommodating
is that if you if you go back up atusa one more uh maybe down sorry yeah i didn't know which way
you're flipping yeah there you go yep yeah so that'd be during construction and then we probably
I have a slide after this for post-construction parking.
Yeah, there you go.
That's what we're still going to provide to them for their event staff.
And then what's the closest building?
I mean, there's a lot of structures in this section of the park.
I know typically when Water Department does structures that they try to match sort of the character of either the existing architecture or the neighborhood,
this one doesn't necessarily seem like it was trying to do that.
so I guess just trying to get a sense of like how does this relate if I'm on the ground all
of these are aerial images like what's the closest relationship that I would see to a physical
building that skyline stage is a across um South George's Hill from us um again not really like a
a building um that's yeah I wouldn't consider that a building right yeah kind of building
I know there's a historic house over there I know you've got the carousel house like there's a lot
of buildings on this site. So I guess I'm trying to understand with
on this site so i guess i'm trying to understand with tree cover like what's the proximity
is this going to feel out of place for its location and look and look look out of place
not feel yeah yeah i mean we try to pick materials that are more you know ornamental in nature like
more aesthetically pleasing and we did um get art commission approval for this uh structure
so they thought that you know aesthetically it wasn't obtrusive you know and then my last
question is just a lot of the pwd pumping stations end up getting closed and then they sort of sit
as leftover infrastructure across the city and other neighborhoods um is there a sort of sunset
expectation on this already or is this something that we think is going to be in service for
a long time yeah no we anticipate the staying in service you know for decades if not longer
okay right other questions um go ahead just one uh so the actual erection of this building
and its use for basic services and utilities was authorized by a city council ordinance
Is that what I'm seeing?
So then what we're really here for is about the heritage trees and the replacement and or the payment in lieu of replacing some trees.
All right.
Thank you.
Questions or comments from our attorney, Hillary Emerson?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience or the audience here?
yes chair we have daniel troopman with their hand raised
daniel troopman please let's have promotion to the panelists
he declined to be promoted hi could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
chair he declined to promotion okay thank you is there anyone else
there are no other hands play any commission
Thank you, Chairman, and good morning. David Fecto with the City Planning Commission,
Chairman and Board members. The comprehensive plan recommends no change to the special purpose
open space zoning at this location. The appellant has shown that this project cannot be practically
redesigned to protect the heritage trees for this critical public infrastructure.
The City Planning Commission recommends that the Board grant a requested special exception
for heritage tree removal thank you mi 2024 006 487 3401 west rod avenue i vote yes
proviso revised plans four pages stamped by cba may 28 2025 stamp pages 2 and 15 to 17
per conversations with l and i michael john my vote is yes with proviso
Tenetta Graham, my vote is yes with proviso.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes with proviso.
Tywin, my vote is yes with proviso.
Shmuel Shaheed, my vote is yes with proviso.
Thank you, counsel.
Thank you.
All right.
Thank you.
Number 8, MI 2025, 000309-10151 Busselton Avenue.
Leonard Altieri is the attorney.
there's a letter of opposition from somerton civic 13 to 8 and a letter of non-opposition
from council member o'neill also there's an applicant provided support with two signatures
from neighbors on the block council could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
yes mr chairman leonard l-e-o-n-a-r-d last name is altieri a-l-t-i-e-r-i and i am with
the law firm of Claire Harrison Harvey Brandsburg here in Center City, Philadelphia. Do you swear
or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth? I do. Could you identify
your client, a relationship to the property? Yes, my client is Busselton HD LLC, which is the owner
of the property located at 10151 Busselton Avenue. Our vice chair has a few questions.
Morning, counsel. Do you agree to wait the reading of the refusal or stipulate to his accuracy? I do.
Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits as needed five days in advance of
this hearing i did mr vice chair with the exception of a revision yesterday uh when we
received the letter of non-opposition from the councilman's office thank you council um please
proceed and show your screen. Thank you very much.
Okay. So again, good morning, everyone. Leonard Altieri with the law from McClare Harrison
for the property at 10151 Busselton Avenue. It is important to note at the beginning that
we are here for an application for a retail bakery with baking on-premises. The L&I refusals
for food and beverages and groceries in an existing commercial structure. The existing
commercial structure, which we'll get into greater detail through the presentation, was
originally approved in 1962 and has remained a commercial use and has been a commercial
operated entity or commercial operated property since that time. Again, we'll get into greater
detail, but I just want to make sure that we frame that for the board, you know, that it's been used
as a commercial property since the 1960s. It was approved, as I said, by this board seven years
before we landed on the moon to give a little context on how long that's been around. So again,
the property is currently 10151 Busselton Avenue. It is currently a daycare for the St. Luke
Orthodox Ukrainian Church. When you look at the property, and this is it from a sky view,
property is located right where my cursor is. George Washington High School is located to the
left. You do have some institutional uses, such as a synagogue across the street, and then there
are some residential structures around it. Again, this is a front view of the subject property.
and again a more zoomed out view giving you the context with the entire parking lot
again since its construction in 1960s the subject property has continuously been used as commercial
use it is located in the rsd3 and this is just going down pusselton again properties to the left
so george washington high school is to your right
and properties here here's church washington high school the property is in the rsd3 residential
single family detached zoning district it is also subjected to five overlay districts none of which
are applicable for this morning's hearing what my client is proposing to do is to keep the existing
walls of the structure and renovate it to do a bakery. The bakery will be the entire footprint
of the property, excuse me, of the existing structure. And we received the refusal from
L&I because the proposed use, the retail sale of food, beverages, and groceries is prohibited in the
RS3D zoning district. Again, the bakery will take up the entire footprint of the building,
and it's going to be Mediterranean themed. So they're going to have pita, which will be baked
on premises. Other baked goods, which will be cooked on premises, including cookies, baklava,
general sweets, hummus, olive oil, spices, coffee will be ground on premises. And again, pita will
be one of the large bakery items that they provide. There's also a small grocery that is
proposed, grocery area, if you will, which as you can see on the floor plan right here. So again,
shelves are going to be here. You're going to have some shelves in the back and then refrigerated
areas to similarly look as what we're showing right here. This will not be a sit down. And
after having conversation with the RCO, we will not even have chairs for people who are waiting.
That was one of the things that the RCO did request that there'd be no chairs on the inside.
There also will not be a bench on the outside. The RCO had some concerns about students congregating
afterwards. And my client is going to respect the wishes of the RCO on that. Hours of operation will
be 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week for customers. There will be reduced hours on Sunday.
We do expect that employees will be in there from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. The reason why the employees
will be there earlier is, again, because this is a bakery. Obviously, baking gets done early in the
morning. We are expecting that with regards to total number of employees, it will have around
four to six. Total number of parking spaces is what's already there existing, which is 19,
including two ADA spaces. We have had conversations with the neighbors, and we do have a petition of
support that was signed by three neighbors across the street. We've also had conversations with
other neighbors around who were indifferent to the project, but were not comfortable with signing
anything. And here is that RCO, excuse me, here is that petition of support, which for some reason
isn't coming in as clearly right now in these exhibits. We will have an exhaust hood. The
the exhaust hood will be located, the vending will be on the roof, and we will control that.
Understanding that we are in close proximity to neighbors, my client is going to be installing
an electrostatic air cleaner that will hang internally and will discharge fresh, clean air
from the top. These electrostatic air cleaners are for industrial-grade
venues, if you will, and they collect particles such as dust, oil mist, cooking fumes,
and various pollutants, usually in factories and machine shops.
But we understand that we are in close proximity to neighbors
We understand that we are in close proximity to neighbors, and so to cut back on the bakery smells, we are going to install one of these.
and sort of cut back on the bakery smells.
Again, it is important to remember that we're not preparing to cook anything on premises.
There will not be any fried food.
It will be purely the only thing being made there is going to be things associated with baking.
So, again, cookies and pita.
We will have loading and unloading.
That will occur in the back of the building at street level through the existing doors.
Deliveries will be as needed and only during business hours.
the storage and trash there's currently a a playground in the back that'll be a separate
enclosed trash enclosure that we will have for the for the dumpster area as you can kind of see
right here trash will will be picked up potentially three times a week and maybe even more if needed
and we will coordinate the trash pickup during business hours starting at 9 a.m not at 6 not at
AM, understanding that, again, we do have a lot of neighbors that are around us.
Now, I alluded to in the beginning of this presentation about the prior zoning history,
and I apologize, and we've already seen these.
This property was originally approved in 1962 for the erection of a medical center with
accessory all-street parking and an accessory sign.
That use has continued to the present day, with the most recent being, most recent decision
from the Zoning Board in 2016, granting a variance for a religious assembly along with
the previously approved use of group medical dental health practitioner. The site has never
been used for residential. The site is also not laid out, quite frankly, for residential use the
way that it is right now. With regards to the RCO meeting, as the chairman alluded and as part of
my exhibit packet, we did have an RCO meeting on May 13th where the RCO voted not to support the
variance. The vote was 8 to 13 against. As was stated in the letter of opposition, there were
45 members present. Only 21 members voted, so less than half. But none of the individuals who
were present at the meeting, none of those 45 that were there, and none of the 21 that voted
were members who were in the affected area. No one there received a letter of notice for that
hearing. They were just individuals as part of that RCO that came for their general meeting.
Again, while there's nothing controversial or concrete on why the application itself was
denied. The questions were pretty benign when we went through the presentation. The RCO letter did
state three or four questions that were asked as potential reasons of why we might have received
the refusal. The one had to do with concern about traffic exiting the site and making a left-hand
turn onto Busselton Avenue. Having conversation with the councilman for this district, along with
my client, we will, at our own expense and in coordination with the streets department, install
no left-hand turn, so you're only going to be able to make a right-hand turn onto Busselton,
so you won't have to cross over Bustleton to make that left. I think people were concerned
with regards to George Washington High School being there and traffic flow being pretty heavy.
Concern about proximity to the building to nearby residents. Again, this use for over 60 years has
always been a commercial use. We believe that this is a nice transitional use from the institutional
use of George Washington High School to what I will refer to as a soft commercial with a bakery
and then going into that residential district. Again, it's always been used as a commercial use
with those residential properties around it.
Again, being aware of the proximity of the neighbors,
we're going above and beyond
with that electronic electrostatic air cleaner
to collect any sort of pollutants or smell
that might be discharged from the baking.
And then lastly, there was concerns
about the adjacent high school
and the quote, afterschool misbehavior
of various kinds on the part of some students.
Again, my client originally was gonna have a bench out there
for people who were waiting for baking,
for their bakery items to be done.
The RCO, prior to the vote, asked if we would remove that.
We will still respect the wishes of the RCO, even though they gave us a letter of opposition.
We will not have a bench there.
But we don't view George Washington High School being right next to us as a detriment.
My client actually views it as a benefit to retain employees, to retain individuals who
might have an interest in the culinary arts, such as baking.
And that's something that he hopes to cultivate with that school.
The RCO did request, as a condition of approval, that we deed restrict the property so that
there would not be any sort of commercial uses, which realistically are already prohibited under
the zoning code, but that they view as concerning, such as tattoo parlors, medical marijuana,
dispensaries. They were all referenced in the RCO letter of opposition. Even though the RCO voted
to vote, voted against us, and we did say, you know, at the hearing, hey, we would enter into
that deed restriction. They still voted to oppose the relief that we're requesting today. So even
Even though we're no longer bound by saying, yes, we'll do that, we do believe that that's important to the RCO, and so we will deed restrict after final non-appealable zoning.
We will put a deed restriction in there to address the zoning uses that they have concerns about.
We will deed restrict our property to, again, be a good neighbor to that area.
uh to that area lastly and in closing again uh we did receive that refusal from l and i because of
Lastly, and in closing, again,
the the proposed use of retail sale food beverages and groceries is prohibited in the district and
we do have a letter of non-opposition from the councilman we were in contact with the councilman
prior to the zba here excuse me prior to the rco meeting and then also after the rco meeting
again highlighting the fact that we do believe this is a soft transitional use and also the fact
that for 62 years, it's always been a commercial property and has continued to be a commercial
property. With that being said, Mr. Chairman, I do have my client here that I would like to just
have adopt my testimony. Sure. Sure. Could you make sure that Mike's closed here? Could you
please state your name and spell for the stenographer? My name is Hashim Dahabra. First
name Hashim, H-A-S-H-E-M. Last name Dahabra, D-A-H-A-B-R-E-H. Do you swear or affirm to tell
the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth.
Please proceed, Counselor.
Hashem, can you state what
your interest is to this property? You're the owner
of, are you the, excuse me,
are you the
authorized person of Bustle Center HDLC?
Yes. And you're the owner of the property?
Yes. And were you present while he gave the
testimony a few minutes ago? Yes. And is everything
that you heard true and accurate to the best of your knowledge, information
and belief? Yes. And if I was to call
you to testify, would you adopt that as your own? Yes.
Thank you very much. Counselor, what he
prepares there, will he be shipping that
anywhere or everything he prepares stays right there i'll stay right there okay other questions
from the board yep um so the rco letter reference like noise from the machine read that you'll be
using uh do you anticipate like any like noises from the fans or any machine read that you'll be
using especially because and i'm trying to make this clear if i can miss graham uh at the rco
meeting that'll be that that electrostatic air cleaner is installed internally and it gets vent
that externally so the noise would be if there is any noise from it which they said is similar
to a commercial air conditioning unit would be inside you know where the baking is taking place
i have a few questions one i see there's an existing parking lot but it doesn't look like
there's a curb cut at the sidewalk um how do you access the parking lot as a vehicle
i believe there is a curb cut but i might be okay it is there is it just doesn't look like it from
map view yes so it's right of course it's cut off but is there an existing curb cut there yes
there's a curb cut okay and then um so a few questions i have one so you said there's no
frying so you're not making any like donuts or fritters on site ever no no frying okay um and
then my other question is about hours of operation. I know most bakeries open very early in the
morning. And was that addressed at all in the RCO meeting with neighbors? Yeah, I mean, it was
addressed, Ms. Wynn, with regards to, we told them what the hours of operation would be, that baking,
we expect our employees would probably start arriving around 6 a.m. We told them, you know,
that is just kind of the standard with baking, you know. But outside of that, there was no
follow-up questions with regards to the hours of operation for our employees. Okay. And then are
are most of the customers going to be individual like residents or are you
doing larger scale orders to things like other restaurants or other food
establishments?
Yeah. So I think, and I'll let Hashim answer this,
but the idea is to start off as individuals, right? I mean, listen,
if it's, if it, if it becomes like cupcake boss and he starts, you know,
doing really well, God bless him and good for him.
But the intention is not to do a wholesale distributor.
It is really just to do individuals who are coming in,
maybe like a family party trice will be probably the largest to that extent all the questions yes
and should you grow to the point where you need the wholesale distribution that's another category
where you'd have to get permission anyway and and and i enjoy coming before this board and i will
make sure that we are here okay so my other question now how far is this school from the
bakery it is right next door next door so if you look at it from the satellite view
miss gaston um here is the bakery right here where it's a saint luke orthodox ukrainian church
where my cursor is the school is located right here so we share a property line all right um
and i guess uh my other questions are about the delivery so how are we doing the deliveries
there is doors there are existing doors in the back and so our proposal is to have it again come
in drop off the deliveries and take off or leave okay and you're not going to be having uh the baked
goods picked up and delivered anywhere that is correct that is not the intention okay and then
so then people will come in and they have to kind of find some place to stand around in there well
Well, yeah, it's going to be like, you know, any other bakery that you would go into. So I'll show you the floor plan again. So you would go in, you, there's a small grocery area here where we'll have some pre-packaged materials. But then you have here the cake refrigerator and the other shelves, both in the back and also in the front.
yeah it's going to be like you're right you know any other bakery that you would go into so i'll
I'll show you the floor plan.
so you would come in if there's not something that you already see on any of the shelves
and let's say you're waiting for something to be made then you would just stand around like you
would at any other you know deli counter if you will um until your order is is prepared
and we did originally propose to have like three or four chairs so that if someone comes in last
minute says hey i want to get a family tray and they need to go out in the back and make more
um that they had a place for them to sit but the rco was very adamant about having no
seating um and congregating okay and and what other kinds of things are you going to be selling
i mean what's on these shelves so it'll be hummus it'll be olive oils it'll be coffee which will be
ground fresh and daily um and then you know those are kind of the high level ones but it's
mediterranean themed yeah so that's what you mean by mediterranean themed uh okay all right thank
you other questions questions or comments from our attorney hillary emerson not at this time
mr the comments from the audience or the virtual audience i see no hands planning commission
thank you chairman and good morning david effecto with the city planning commission
chairman and board members the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the rsd3
residential single-family detached zoning at this location. The zoning in this neighborhood
dates to 1978. This property has a documented history of commercial uses dating to at least
1962. The proposed use is in keeping with the nature of those previously approved uses.
The City Planning Commission recommends the board grant a proposed use variance for retail sales of
food, beverages, and groceries. Thank you. MI 2025-000309-10151, Busselton Avenue, I vote yes.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes. Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes. Taneta Graham, my vote is yes.
Ayawen, my vote is yes. Ishmael Shaheem, my vote is yes. Thank you, Councilman. Thank you very much,
everybody. Number 10, MI 2025, 000334, 2523 to 41 North Bear Hill Street. Meredith Verlicker
or Brandon Sabrin are the attorneys. There's a letter of support from APM and a letter of
non-opposition from Council Member Lozada. Hi, everybody. Good morning.
Good morning, Brandon. Could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer?
Yes. My name is Brandon Saverin, spelled D-R-A-N-D-O-N. Then S as in Sam, A, V as in Victor, R-A-N as in Nancy.
You swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
But you identify your client and the relationship to the property.
Sure. My client is the property owner, Fairhill Lofts, LLC, and is represented today by one of its principals, Simon Shane.
Our vice chair has a few questions, sir.
Good morning, counsel. Do you agree to wave the read and other refusal or stipulate to its accuracy?
Yes, I do.
Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that's needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
Thank you, counsel. Please proceed. Share your screen.
Good morning, members of the board. One thing I'll just point out right off the bat is that there was an error in the original refusal. So seven days after its issuance, we received this amended or corrected refusal, if you will.
So if you are inclined to grant the variance, it might be helpful to have a proviso noting that it is per an amended refusal dated December 24th, 2024.
So with that, I am here to speak to you today about a building that is brand new, nearing the completion of construction, but has never been occupied.
And it was built over the course of the past year or so as a 22-unit apartment building.
And what we are here seeking today is permission to rent the units both on a long-term basis,
as is permitted by Wright, and on a short-term basis. And what you'll see on your screen
and on a short-term basis. And what you'll see on your screen is that this refusal identifies the
I don't know.
short-term use, which needs a variance as visitor accommodation, and the long-term use,
which is already permitted as household living. And we're looking for permission to do both. So
really, the concept for this is it is a furnished apartment building where all of the units will
have appliances and furniture. And we're right at the point where we would begin to install those
items based on the outcome of the hearing today. This is really a concept that does exist in some
other neighborhoods, but certainly not here in Fairhill in eastern North Philadelphia.
And the benefits to the community of this kind of facility, I'll touch on more in a moment, but really allow people who might be visiting relatives, people that are between longer leases to have somewhere to stay.
that is more of an apartment building than a hotel, although it does have some hotel-type
amenities, which we'll walk through, which make it appropriate for this and able to handle it.
Further, there is a need sort of on my client's end for the flexibility to get folks into this
building who may want to try it before committing to a long-term lease. Because as I'll show you
here, when my client began planning for this project a few years ago, it sort of knew that
this was a tough block. So we're one and a half blocks below Lehigh. The street at the top of our
block is Huntington, and then one more would be Lehigh. And this is a block, and I'll sort of
verify this with some aerials in a second, where we are surrounded by vacant land. Vacant land
is really used in a very sort of unsavory way with the parking of chopped up vehicles, dumping,
etc. And that's our side of the street. On the other side of the street are largely auto chop
shops and garages, very few residential uses. So my client's hope was that by the time we got to
this point, other folks would have taken what are some other large lots like ours and developed
some more residences to continue the transition to a residential neighborhood because it is zoned
RM1. So the zoning allows for residential use. That's why our building was by right.
But that hasn't happened. So that's why we are making this sort of late in the game request
to allow short and midterm rentals, because we are fearful of our ability to fill this building
with folks putting down a security deposit and committing to an entire year lease.
Because whether you know this block or you don't know it and you're seeing it for the first time,
there's a good chance you'd have some hesitation about living here and really committing to a full year lease.
So what I'm going to do is introduce you to the building,
and then I will touch on some of the benefits to the community again.
And you just sort of heard my pitch about why my client is pursuing this for its own aims.
And I did draft a memo of law that sort of translates that into a hardship argument.
But I really want to focus on the building and the needs of the community for the rest of the presentation.
So real quickly, as the chairman mentioned, I attended two meetings with APM with my client.
The first was a closed door preliminary meeting and the second was the public meeting.
um that this was robust community support um i think folks saw this as something that could
benefit them as community members without negatively affecting them because again there's
very few homes on this block so the folks that came out to this meeting they might live a few
blocks away you know but um they understand sort of what this block is and how it would be um you
know difficult to sort of operate a normal long-term only building there at this time
so of the 17 folks that voted at the meeting 14 voted in support I then corresponded with
Sloan folks in councilwoman Lozada's office told him a little bit about the project and
how the RCO meeting went and we ended up with this letter of non-opposition from the councilwoman
And we ended up with this letter of non-opposition from the councilwoman.
Thank you.
Now to show you the building and the property.
So here's the zoning map.
As I mentioned, it is on this block, zoned RM1.
The next block up, you'd have CMX2 zoning on our side of the street.
This is a series of a few aerial photographs.
So you have kind of evidence of what I mentioned earlier.
our block, especially our side of the block is just not in a good way right now. We unfortunately
only own a few feet sort of beyond the walls of our property. And we're going to fence that and
take care of it. The folks who are staying here or living here are going to have a private rear
backyard that is fenced in, but we just simply do not control most of this area. And it is used for
illicit purposes sadly uh a lot of dumping a lot of dumping um just to show you a few more angles
and across the street i'll show you street levels in a moment
on the other side there are garages so just aerials from different angles
and that's the back street reese so here's what the building looked like as of a few days ago we
got very recent photographs for you as I said not occupied but nearing construction so forgive the
plywood over what is going to be the front door there under the canopy here's the back side with
the fence that I mentioned there are Juliet balconies on the units there is no roof deck
and there is no balcony on which someone could really hang out
Again, with the boat and the cars here, but this is the backside.
Photos of our notice posters.
So this is what's across the street from us.
It's not necessary to sort of touch on the conditions of the building or the spray paint.
That's sort of beside the point.
What I really want to highlight is these are all automotive garages for the most part.
That's the point I'm trying to make.
They're not residences.
And again, my experience has been that folks that own these sorts of facilities, they tend to sell them when given the chance.
So my client was really hoping that sort of things would change here since it started the planning for this.
It just hasn't yet.
And this is directly next to us.
There's also a really large garage on our side of the street directly to the north there.
more garages to the south there's one home as I mentioned there are a couple homes
uh our side of the street to the south uh this is Reese directly behind us and yet again it's just
it's another uh automotive use and I I'm assuming they may be connected to the cars in the lot there
but there's the garage um so this is um the uh well i'll go i'll go a little out of order here
let me actually jump to the the plans and i'll come back to the interior photographs
okay so this is a part of the loop that wasn't right all right that one more time so so brandon
i i think one of the i appreciate the plans but i think oh okay where where you might want to be
with this i think your your actual words it's like a hotel right so could could you explain why
it's like a hotel yeah it's your thoughts about that okay absolutely yeah it's it's um it's not
a hotel it has some amenities that are um maybe typical of a hotel or a high-end apartment building
and i think you'll actually sort of see that the use of the word high-end is not hyperbole when i
show you the interiors of the units. But it's not a hotel. But I'm saying, I think you used that
term. Well, yeah, just I was specifically going to write here what I'm showing you now, Mr.
Chairman, which is that we're going to have on the first floor, a lounge space where folks can,
you know basically congregate or reserve it it will be locked behind a key card door but to the
extent they want to gather with folks and cook a meal it's going to have a kitchen so that could
have been a unit but we turned that into sort of an amenity we do also have a small lobby that's
going to be open at all times and we have a trash room which has direct access to the side yard so
that trash is, you know, collected and not sort of taken out through the front doors or anything
like that. Other than this lounge, though, so I'm sorry if I got carried away with that description.
It really is just an apartment building. It's just a furniture apartment building. So
let's just take a look quickly at the building permit plans.
Let's just take a look quickly at the building permit plans.
So these are the building permit plans to which this is currently under construction.
This is the floor I already showed you.
I do have our architect, Tim, here from Design Blends, if you have any questions.
But all of the units on the ground floor are two-bedroom.
And then as you go up, I think the remaining three floors are very similar to one another.
and you have one bedroom unit and five two-bedroom units on each of those.
So again, more like an apartment building than a hotel.
All these units have full kitchens and they're very spacious.
I mean, a family could, you know, a young family at least
could really comfortably live in most of these units.
So that being said, I'll go back to the photos.
And if you do want to spend more time on the floor plans, just let me know.
I think we're fine.
So this is that lounge, which I did mention in there. Oh, man, sorry. Very jumpy today. My mouse. OK, so this is the communal kitchen. And again, this, you know, this room will be sort of for reservation, but, you know, will be available for people to rent.
And this is really, to be frank, an amenity that is more geared towards people that do live here longer term.
This is this is not being rented out on like a short term basis or something like that.
It's an amenity for tenants. And again, it was planned sort of when we built this out from the from the jump.
And here are the units. This is a typical upstairs hallway.
so this is a kitchen in one of the units um you know with somewhat of like an open concept floor
plan really nice uh floor to ceiling uh glass doors for the juliet balcony just another vantage
point on a different unit which i think has a similar thing going on but horizontally flipped
yet another kitchen in a different unit i think that's the same one there
This is one of the two bedrooms in an apartment with a nice closet and the windows and space for the HVAC service box to go into there.
Brandon, I think we have a good perception of what the building looks like.
So, Mr. Chairman, let me just close.
I'll stop sharing my screen.
You know, let me just close with a, you know, brief pitch on sort of why I think the folks at the RCO meeting sort of went for this and supported.
So, you know, there is someone who might live in Center City, University City, right?
If they have a family member coming from out of town visiting them or maybe more than visiting them,
Maybe they're an elderly person who needs, you know, in-home care or support temporarily.
You put your relative up in a hotel, right?
There's a lot of them in Center City and University City if you don't have space for them.
And they stay there and, you know, it can be months, but, you know, at a hotel or a furnished, like, executive stay apartment, like Roost, if any of you are familiar with Roost on Chestnut Street, you kind of can customize.
I'm going to be here two weeks. I'm going to be here two months. And the management makes an arrangement for you. So that's what this will bring to a neighborhood that has none of that, where if your family member can't fit in your house, they're staying miles away downtown.
You know, that is sort of the core benefit. And there's also, to be candid, and I don't think this is a surprise to anybody, plenty of folks in Philadelphia with the rental crisis we have right now that get priced out or otherwise have to move out of a unit and need somewhere to go.
And we can be somewhere for them to go without committing to a full year lease.
But if they want to do that, they're allowed to.
That's the benefit of sort of the dual use permit.
We will take people on regular leases.
So I just wanted to conclude with that.
So is your client here?
All right.
Why don't you bring your client on and adopt your testimony?
Simon Shane is who we're looking for.
Simon.
Please accept a promotion to panelists.
Hi, sir.
Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Simon, if you can, just unmute yourself and turn on your camera.
You're on mute right now.
Thank you.
Would you state your name and spell it?
S-H-I-M-O-N is my first name.
S-H-A-I-N is my last name.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, to hold truth, nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, Brandon.
Thanks, Mr. Chairman. Simon, first of all, are you authorized to speak on behalf of Fairhill Lofts, LLC?
Thanks, Mr. Chairman.
Simon, first of all, are you authorized to speak on the...
And you're one of its owners?
Okay. Did you hear my testimony in your case this morning?
Sorry.
Did you hear my testimony in the case this morning?
I did.
Was it true and accurate to the best of your knowledge, information, and belief?
It was.
Okay. I just, Mr. Chairman, have a couple of very brief questions for him to add a little color. So the story that I sort of told there about needing to pivot, you know, as this progressed based on what was going on on the block, was that true specifically?
Okay. And then lastly, can you touch on in your own words, you had mentioned to me that you're not only going to have a building management company for regular property management, but you will have a sort of unit turnover company that separately, you know, cleans and sterilizes every unit after it's occupied. Can you identify who that is and just speak to that for 20 seconds?
sure uh yes there's a company that is uh community-based uh with employees all from
the neighborhood uh the name of the company is cozy um one second clean up and touch up crew
llc i apologize clean up and touch up cool llc they are community-based members who will come
and you know take care of every turnover that's needed and we also have a security cameras
everywhere and we have a security team that's watching the cameras 24 7 so if there's any
spill or any mess or anything any incident uh the the they're in constant uh they're on top of it
24 7 and you know either in touch with myself or my team or the management company or the uh special
clean-up and touch-up crew LLC company.
And you already have other properties in Philadelphia
where you put these things into practice
with the management and the security cameras,
so this isn't new to you, is it correct?
Correct, correct.
Thank you.
So, Brandon, I'm going to open it up to the board,
but real quick question.
So you view this building as a mix.
You could stay there a day or you could stay there a year.
I'm going to say yes, with the exception that
I think a day is shorter than we're looking for, right?
We're looking for a few days and an absolute bare minimum and more likely a couple of days.
All right, questions from the board.
Yes, I have a number of questions.
And I guess one, when the property was purchased in 2021, were you aware at the time that the majority of this block was public owned land?
I'm going to let my client answer that because I wasn't in the scene at that point.
I didn't do specific research on who owned the land.
I just know that there was a lot of empty lots on this block, on the next block.
You did no research to verify that every property except yours was owned by the Philadelphia Land Bank when you purchased the property from PWD?
I did not, no.
And then what was your plan in 2021 when you purchased the property for the site?
This same building was the plan, but the plan was more for long-term tenants.
and then what specifically shifted the plan because i think i'm having a hard time understanding
hardship i'm saying a self-created hardship where a building was built on public vacant city-owned
land and a part of the city that had been in that use for a really long time and you're now saying
oh i built the building it's not even complete yet and i can't rent it out
so i'm trying to understand like we didn't yeah we yeah i mean it's it was basically when we
built it when we bought the property in 2021 it was at a time that the area was developing block
by block um we ourselves developed properties on north 4th street north 5th street germantown
um you know so we we built we we ourselves developed properties leading up to that and
as we we were actually one of the first developers in the area but as we started a lot of other
people joined us as well and not just joined us they obviously did much more than us and that was
our understanding was okay here's another one it's another two blocks out and it's gonna you
know it's it's it's uh it's expanding the area is expanding um and and then you know sort of
the construction, you know, construction costs went up and, and, and, and interest rates went
up and construction slowed down and it just stopped, you know, pushing out towards there.
And we ended up our, you know, left alone over there. And we're, we're, we're always
We're always in contact with leasing agents and, you know, they, you know, when we brought them in fairly early and they looked around and they said, yeah, you know, nobody's going to, you're going to have a really hard time bringing in, you know, fully long-term tenants here.
in contact with leasing agents and, you know, they.
Yeah. And then so with the short term rental or the visitors accommodations, what percentage of the building are you sort of planning is going to be either the short term rentals or the temporary users versus a more long term tenant at any given time now with the with the new plan?
um i mean i don't have a specific it's really going to be based on demand you know if we
if we bring in long-term tenants we'll take them uh but anything that's not taken up we'll do
short-term until we can you know either you know we'll see how we're which one is more demand and
that's when the way it's going to go we'll probably go floor by floor are you all intending or
planning to accept vouchers for long-term tenants um we accept vouchers on our other properties
and we we're very happy with that specific one though yeah so i mean i'm saying we're we are
open to vouchers on this on this specific property okay and you're in so i guess if
you're accepting them at other properties you're already uh approved as a as a pha landlord yes
um board member win i just want to clarify one thing it does not at all sort of refute
you know your statements or your questions um but the city or pwd um they were not a direct
seller to my client on this property the city did own this property but there's an it was an
intermediate owner for actually quite a long time so my client bought this from a private property
private party. Gotcha. Understood. And then my last question is about the green roof. So
are you, I saw a permit from 2021 that shows that the building was going to have a green roof. I've
noticed just from the aerials you showed in your presentation, it doesn't seem like that is still
the case. Was that removed from the project scope? That is still in the project scope. That's
something that we're going to do towards the end of the project so that is still happening okay
yeah other questions do you own short-term rentals around the city already um do we own
short-term rentals we we don't own any short-term rentals ourselves we do have another uh we do rent
out a few units to someone else and they short-term you know they rental they rented out
short-term. How will you deal with issues related to short-term renters considering
the surrounding neighborhood? I'll let my client answer. How are you planning to vet
your renters considering what's sort of the activities that are happening directly around
on the building so that building doesn't turn into a brothel go ahead simon yeah i don't want
to step go you can answer that go ahead sure so um we do i mean for airbnb you do there is a you
know you do vet your client people that make the bookings as well they make a request and you have
to approve them and you and you get to see um background information based on previous um
short-term rental owners, as well as we also have specifically over here, there's not a lot of
outdoor space. There's no roof access. The porches, if you look in the pictures, are really small.
They're about 18 inches to 24 inches wide. There's no room for outdoor parties. And we do have video
cameras. So if we see more people than are allowed into each unit, we automatically call them and
tell them that they have to quickly either leave or they will be, or they will be, you
know, their booking will be canceled.
And then we have a security company along with the police that comes there and make
sure that that happens.
I just wanted to say, Board Member Johns, that Simon is a Philadelphia resident, so
he is not clueless as to the issues facing some of our neighborhoods.
Okay. Questions from our attorney?
Hillary Emerson?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience or the current audience?
I see no hands.
Planning Commission.
Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Chairman and Board Members.
David Fechtow with the City Planning Commission.
Chairman and Board Members, the comprehensive plan recommended a change in zoning at this location
from I-2 medium industrial to RSA-5 residential single family.
In a 2017 zoning map change, the city changed the zoning to...
In a 2017 zoning map change, the city changed the zoning to RM1 residential multifamily in community requested map change.
There is no unique physical condition or circumstance of this property that would prevent it from being used in strict conformity with the zoning code.
A 2020 zoning ordinance passed by city council, which regulated short-term rentals, did not change the basic rule prohibiting full-time use of a dwelling unit as a short-term rental.
This type of absentee management, where the owner does not live in the unit, has been illegal since the first short-term rental zoning regulations became effective in 2015.
What's changed since the passage of the 2020 ordinance is that there is now a licensing and enforcement mechanism.
The City Planning Commission recommends the board deny the proposed use variants for visitor accommodations.
So number 10, MI 2025, 000334, 2523 to 41 North Fairhill Street, I vote no.
Michael Johns, my vote is no.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is no.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is no.
Taya Nguyen, my vote is no.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is no.
Thank you, counsel.
Mr. Chairman, I just want to put on the record because Mr. Fecto used the term illegal.
There's no illegal activity.
that's why we came to you to seek permission. Okay. That's it. I heard what you said. Thank
you. Thank you. Number 11, MI 2025, 000383, 3627 Wall Street. David Orphanides is the attorney.
David Orphanides will be joining as a panelist.
morning mr shannon members of the board council are you okay to go on i am okay all right could
you just state your name for the record certainly my name is david orphanides last name is spelled
o-r-p-h-a-n-i-d-e-e-s right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the
truth i do um could you identify your client the relationship to the property certainly my clients
are Eric and Catherine Johansson,
and they are the owners of the property,
husband and wife that own the property
and live in the property with their children.
I notice there's a recommendation of support
from the Manchewa Civic Association.
That is correct.
Our vice chair has a few questions.
Counselor, do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal
or stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed in all the required documents
and exhibits as needed to proceed with this case
five days in advance of this year?
I submitted everything except for the tax clearance,
which we uploaded yesterday.
thank you council please proceed certainly may i share my screen yes thank you
okay i just minimize this this over here okay all right again my name is david orphanetes and i'm
here this morning on behalf of eric and catherine who goes by katie johansen who are the owners of
the subject property what you see up in front of you uh is a rendering of what the property will
look like I've clouded around our property. You'll see in the photographs, it's presently
an existing two-story dwelling with a front porch similar to the building that you see to the left
in this rendering. You will also see in the photographs that will provide that there is
a lot next to us that is not built upon, and that is either owned, well, it's definitely used by,
I'm not sure if it's owned by, I have to go back and look again, by the owner of the three-story
building that's on the other side of that to our property. As mentioned by Chairman Bergman,
we met with the Mantua Civic Association, and we have a letter of support from them.
I did reach out to Councilwoman Gauthier's office, and I received an email from them that they are
not going to be taking a position on this matter. Here's an aerial image of the property, which I've
clouded and the surrounding area. You will see at the time of this aerial, there were all vacant
lots located across Wallace Street from us. There was recently a zoning approval, building permits
were issued and construction has been undertaken to construct two multifamily dwelling buildings
at that property, each one being 16 units for a total of 32 units. You'll see there's a PHA
housing development to the east of us off the, I guess that's the northeast corner,
36 and Wallace. As I scroll down, you'll see that there is an existing larger building behind us
and that has 10 apartments in it. The property is zoning classified RSA 5, as you can see here
across the street from us is RM1. That RSA 5 classification also applies to the 10-unit
multifamily apartment building that's located behind us to the north uh so here's some exterior
to the north uh so here are some exterior photographs uh here's the existing property
of my clients the front of my client's house here you can see the front porch the the proposal here
is to not disturb the front facade of the building but to erect a third floor addition
that extends from the front of the building to the back this front wall there will be a mansard
roof it will not be going straight up it'll be built above this cornice line that you see here
So the decorative cornice that you see will remain as long as the other decorative aesthetic elements that you have here at the front.
And then what you'll see on the plans, we've set, there'll be a fourth floor that'll be set back with the roof deck in front of it.
Here is the lot that I mentioned that's to the right of us and then the three-story building.
Here are the other two-story properties that extend to the west.
but going back to the back to the photographs this is the lot that's being utilized by the
three-story building you'll see on our plans there our building is the full width at the front
then there's a side court on the east side and then a large rear yard there's a bump out at the
second floor bump out at the first floor that you'll see on the plans the plan is not to go
any deeper than what we have right now. Just basically build above the portion of the structure
before you get to the one-story and the two-story bump out in the rear.
Here's a three-story building. Now extending to the east, you see a series of two-story dwellings,
and then a three-story at the end. And then on the opposite side, this is the new construction,
three-story RM1. Then extending here, you have a three-story vacant down at the corner of
southwest corner of 36 and Wallace. You have these boarded up buildings and vacant lots a little
further down to the east between us and 36th Street on the opposite side. Again, the project,
the total of the 32 units, two 16-unit buildings, which did go before this board for a dimensional
variance. Vacant lot further down at 37th, and then swinging around, as mentioned, back here
to our property. Presently, typical single-family home, open living room, dining room, kitchen on
the ground floor, and then three bedrooms with a bathroom on the second floor. You can see here.
Um, I did include with my exhibit book, uh, the, uh, let me just go to page display.
Um, the zoning archives for both the property across the street, the 232 unit, uh, I keep
saying 232, it's total 32, 216s, the notice of refusal.
There was a side yard refusal for that.
And then the property behind us at 36, 18 to 28 Mellon Street, the zoning permit for that.
Again, our project involves a third-story addition above the existing two-story.
You can see here, I'm going to zoom in a little bit, as I mentioned, and you will see this in the front elevation in our renderings that I already showed you.
We're not going straight up with the vertical face.
We're setting that third floor back, soften it, maintaining the cornice line of all the abutting buildings that extend to the west of us, extending back.
And then again, the fourth floor you have here with the roof deck in front.
Our only refusal that we have, and I'll show you in a minute, is that the height to the top of the fourth floor is 40 feet, 9 inches.
You can see that we have not been excessive in our floor-to-ceiling heights going up.
We have an eight-foot floor-to-ceiling height at the third floor and only a seven-and-a-half-foot ceiling height, which is the minimum permitted, at the fourth floor, which will just be like a family room for the family.
Sorry about that.
So that's what we're proposing.
Here is a site plan.
I'm going to zoom back out.
and again you can see the here you can see the ones the ones the first floor bump out which goes
out deeper than the second floor bump out that's presently existing we are going to be here's the
side court that i referenced and i showed you a little bit of in the pictures we're going to be
covering that with the third and fourth floor that presently is the from the ground floor all
the way to the top of the second floor we will not be serving the front porch a little bit of
the front yard, the planting, or the front steps. We will not be diminishing the existing rear
yard depth, which at 19 feet 6 in an RSA 5 property, we know is far greater than the minimum
rear yard depth that's required for RSA 5. The open area, existing open area is 37%.
The only reduction in that will be covering this, the side.
The only reduction in that will be covering this, the side court.
So we will still be far, far below the permitted occupied area for RSA 5.
The thing to note, and I included it in my exhibit book, I'll show you in a second,
is that by right, as you know, RSA 5, 38-foot tall building, 42-inch parapet around the
roof, roof deck above, which can be 48 inches above the midpoint and the high point between
the top floor than a 10-foot pilot house above that. Those are options available to my client,
but they like the way the front of the building looks. They feel by sloping it back. You can see
we have a line of sight here, a six-foot tall person, and you see it when I show you the
rendering again. It'll catch a little bit of the railing in front, but actually won't catch the
fourth floor. So somebody walking right in front of our building won't see either, but somebody on
the opposite side of the street at six foot or taller. We'll see a little bit of the railing of
the deck, but won't see the front of the fourth floor. Somebody shorter than six feet wouldn't
even see the front of the fourth floor. But they preferred, and I'll show you what a buy rate would
look like, keeping their two-story, doing the addition above, not bumping it out any deeper,
not maxing out the property. This building could be demolished in a 38-foot-tall building that I
mentioned could be built by Wright, but they've lived in the neighborhood for a while. They like
living in the neighborhood. They want to stay here. Their children go to school in the neighborhood,
and they're looking. I know that personal circumstances aren't the basis for the
granting of the variance, but they want to stay here with their growing family and stay in the
neighborhood, be involved in the neighborhood. And this is, when you take a look at the occupied
area, again, which isn't being increased other than covering the court, the small court,
to the rear, to the side, we're keeping the height as low as possible. And again, going up a little
higher in this portion, it's not a whole fourth floor that is the full extent of the third floor.
And again, it's not going any deeper into the available open area rear yard depth to the rear.
So, David, why don't you bring your client on?
I think Eric Johansson is on right now.
If he could raise his hand, he would adopt my statements.
He's one of the owners.
Eric will be coming in as the panelists.
And by the way, Mr. Chairman, while he's coming on, I do have revised plans.
They don't change the nature of the proposal.
They just cleaned up some of the dimensions, some of the calculations in the zoning table.
and it's more just to tighten everything up.
And your only refusal is the height, am I correct?
Yeah, and again, it's 40 feet 9 inches,
which is actually below what we could have with a parapet,
which is 41 feet 6 inches.
Eric, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Eric Johansson, E-R-I-K-J-O-H-A-N-S-O-N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth,
nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, counsel.
Eric, you and your wife, Katie, own the property, correct?
Correct.
And did you hear the statements that I made to the zoning board this morning?
I did.
And are they true and correct to the best of your knowledge?
They are.
And would you adopt them as your own?
I would.
Thank you, Eric.
That's all the questions I have.
Questions from the board.
The board has any.
And I also have the architect on, I believe, who can also talk to my statements regarding
the architectural drawings that she prepared and the renderings.
Let's see if there's questions from the board first.
Sorry.
Sorry. Do you have the approval from both your neighbors on both sides?
Eric would have to speak about the neighbor to the west, but the neighbor to the right of us who has a three story house, which is taller than our proposed building and then uses the I called it vacant at the community group meeting.
She didn't like that. You know, when we say vacant, we just mean there's not a building on it. She was at the community group meeting.
Yeah, so we have the RCO meeting approval. I don't actually know about the neighbor to our east because it's a lot. And then the neighbor to the west is actually recently deceased. So there's no one in that house right now.
but she was yeah but again the woman to the to the east that uses the lot
next to us and was at the meeting was that was at the community group meeting and real quickly i
just want to also show um we did do a shadow study comparing the by right option to what we're
proposing the yellow is what where the by right shadows more than what we're proposing the green
is where uh what we're proposing shadows more in almost every circumstance you can see a little
bit of green here but it's always the by right that shadow is more than what we're actually
proposing with our uh with our addition other questions so you said that
Other questions?
So you said that the person who uses that vacant lot was at the meeting.
Correct.
Were they in favor, not in favor?
They didn't reveal the question.
She seemed more concerned about construction and whether there would be any disturbance to her property.
And we advised her that everything was going to be coming through the building, staged from the front.
And she didn't have any zoning questions.
Again, we're talking about a height refusal that creates a structure because we have no parapet above the fourth floor that from the outside is clearly smaller than what's permitted under the zoning code.
So in terms of shadowing on her property, again, the shadow studies are much worse by right than what we're doing.
But most of her, again, all of her questions were more on the construction side of things than about the zoning and the massing and the little bit of additional height we're looking for here.
Okay, please continue.
So, again, you've danced around my main question.
Is she in favor of this or not?
I answered the question, Cheryl.
I said, we don't know.
she asked questions and we we weren't told we we would go outside we weren't there for the vote
right so so we you know we we're not we're meant most of these meetings the applicant isn't made
privy to what the vote is they're either handed it in by slips electronically or we're asked to
leave you know as i understand we understand i was i was more just trying to get a sense of whether
you had spoken to her and she had said yes no oh oh i'm sorry no well yeah yeah i mean
And informally, informally, I just told her that we would manage our contractors.
She she has not expressed any concerns about the project, just about like things like construction start time.
OK. All right. Thank you. Other questions?
Yeah, I have a question. At completion, will this be the tallest building on this block?
No, I think, and I'll show you here, the building that's located, we will be lower than the woman who uses the lot next to us.
We will be lower than her building.
We are going to be lower.
I think we're about the same height as the new construction across the street.
There is a tall three-story building down the block.
And again, just to show, this is what a by-right building looks like at this property.
I know.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, but clearly we're going to be lower than the nearest three story building to us, which is just on the other side of the lot to the east of us.
Yeah. That's the one I was trying to compare to that building across the street. So you think you're about at the same height as the building across the street and you're a little bit lower.
I'd have to look again at the zoning archives if you'd like to. I can answer other questions.
No, it's fine. I think this shows me what I mean. And while I understand your point about by right, that does not change the fact that this was a majority two story block. And if we're trying to keep in line with the existing structures, even something that might be legally okay and by right does not mean that it's visually in line with what's already on the block.
Yeah. And I would say on the opposite side, it's all three stories. I think there's one two story, then the vacant lots and three story, including the new construction, the two 16 unit buildings. And then on our side, I would agree that there is this stretch of two stories that were of a similar design, probably built at the same time. And then it goes up to the new construction three story that's to the east of us, drops back down and goes back up.
So in terms of the – on our side, yes, there's more two-stories.
In terms of the whole block, I'd probably have to sit down and do the math.
But I would say right now it's probably pretty close to 50-50.
And as we know, when the new lots get developed, almost certainly they're going to be three-stories, if not four.
So I think three-story will become the norm if it's not already more than 50 – around or 50% or not higher.
Questions from our time.
And again, we stepped back.
david david david let me let me for questions from our attorney not at this time mr chair
questions or comments from the audience questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no hands planning commission thank you chairman and good afternoon david fecto with
the city planning commission chairman and board members the comprehensive plan recommends no
change to the rsa 5 residential single family zoning at this location the city rezoned this
neighborhood in 2017, and a community requested map change. The proposed building height is within
10% of the allowed height in RSA 5. Under the Planning Commission's policy, this counts as a
minor variance in keeping with the spirit and purpose of the zoning code. The City Planning
Commission recommends that the Board grant the proposed dimensional variance for building height.
MI 2025-000-383-3627 Wallace Street, I vote yes, proviso. Revised plans, one page, stamped by ZBA, May 28th, 2025.
MI 2025-00038
Eight.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes with proviso.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes with proviso.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes with proviso.
Fionn, my vote is yes with proviso.
Ishmael Shahid, my vote is yes with proviso.
Thank you, counsel.
Thank you.
You may be excused.
You can.
Thank you.
So number 12, MI 2025, 00039083 Herman Street.
Sherman Toppin is the attorney.
Is that your case?
Do they have a case?
Hillary, we don't have anything after this, do we?
For me?
Good afternoon, members of the board.
Okay. Hi. Okay.
Sherman.
Yes. Okay.
Yeah, I see. Okay. Sherman, hold on. I'm going to take number four first.
Okay. Thank you.
MI 2024-005-326-3421
North 22nd Street, Darlene Treat
Treat is the attorney
Thank you.
Good afternoon, Commissioners. Darlene Threatt on behalf of the applicant, Kevin Garcia.
Darlene, could you please spell your name for the court stenographer?
Darlene, D-A-R-L-E-N-E, Threatt, T as in Thomas, H-R-E-A-T-T.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client again, please, and his relationship to this property?
My client today is Kevin Garcia. He is the owner of the property, and he is on the line.
All right. Our vice chair has a few questions.
Good afternoon, counsel. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal or stipulate to its accuracy?
I'd like to amend the refusal at this time.
Originally, we filed for a four-family dwelling.
After a meeting with the community, we're amending it to a three-family dwelling.
Fair enough. Fair enough.
uh have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits as needed to proceed with this case
five days in advance of this hearing yes and yesterday i uploaded the community letter of
support understood thank you please proceed and share your screen
We did that.
Thank you.
I'm still here. I'm having a little problem with my cursor.
Just give me one second, please.
Here we go. Can you see my screen?
Good afternoon, Commissioners. I represent Mr. Kevin Garcia in the application he filed with the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
Commissioners, we filed for a zoning use permit for a four-family dwelling.
I submitted a package of information today.
Contained within that package is the refusal, the appeal, the property information form, deed, tax information, plans.
the appeal, the property information form, deed, tax information, plans, pictures,
a community letter of support, proof of mailing, and a petition with the residents on the block's
signature. Commissioners, again, originally we filed for a four-family dwelling. We met with
the community. They really wasn't in support of a four-family dwelling, so at this time we are
amending to a three-family dwelling. This is a RSA 5, and we are staying in the use intended for
RSA 5s, which are residential. Commissioners, I'm going to scale down now to the plans for
our property. And I am having a little curse of trouble today.
Oh, shit.
Here we go.
commissioner that's the appeal that we follow that's the property information form
this is the adid
new tax information
and here are the plans
I'm just going to reduce it a little bit
so you can see the entire plan
this is the site plan
of how our property lays out
on the block
this is the first floor of our plan we just plan to use it for utilities only the basement will
remain empty this is the first floor apartment when you walk into the apartment there's a nice
size living room there's a nice size dining room you walk a little further back you have a nice
kitchen area. You have a bathroom area and you have two bedrooms in the rear. That's the entire
first floor apartment. On the second floor apartment, the makeup is just about the same.
You have a nice living room in the front. You have a dining room area. You have a kitchen area.
You have a full bedroom area and you have two bedrooms in the rear of the property. The third
floor is a one-bedroom apartment you have a nice one bedroom in the front you have a bathroom off
the bedroom you have a kitchen area here and you have a living area here i'm going to scroll down
a little bit and just show you how the property looks in general commissioner this is the front
of our property and here is the posting here uh this uh block in general is in need of some
development the property next door to us had a fire about a month and a half ago and we did
sustain some damage to our property this is the entire block has as it looks here is a great open
space in need of development there are seven houses on this block two of them are multi-family
I did not find zoning use permits for them.
One is a single family, and I believe the other two on the block are currently vacant.
That's just another look at the property.
This is looking to the right of the property.
Diagonally across the street is a multifamily.
This is also RSA 5, and it has about five or six apartments in it.
On the next corner is actually RSA 5 also, but it's used as a business center for the community.
Adjacent to our property, the entire block is vacant.
I believe a new structure, a multi-unit apartment is coming there soon.
And this is just looking down the 22nd Street on the same side.
as you can see there's a lot of vacant space on the end of this unit on the end of this block also
and there are just some other photographs here's the community letter we did we meet with the
community there's the proof of mailing there's a petition of support which has individuals on the
block i did upload the community letter yesterday from the allegheny west civic association
supporting a project with a couple of provisos and then I
a couple of provisos and then i have some additional pictures i'm just going to scan
through very quickly for you so you can get a look of the area this is the front of the
block with again it has seven houses on it two of them are multi-family i did not find zoning
use permits for them i see one as a rental and a rental unit this is diagonally across the street
just showing you how the block looks, how the area looks, and the need for development.
This is directly across the street from our property.
These are two single-family houses directly across the street.
In the middle of them is a big lot, which could use some development there also.
That's a long look at the opposite side of the street to show you how it looks.
Currently, parking in the neighborhood is not an issue since the whole next block is pretty much empty.
This is a side view of the houses. I want you to see how long the properties are and how big they are. It's well suited for three apartments, one on each floor.
It's just some other looking at the block in the houses on the block and the uses and development.
Why don't you bring your client on?
Mr. Garcia, are you on the line today?
Mr. Garcia?
Garcia, please raise your virtual hand.
Please, is that promotion to panelists?
Kevin, are you on the line?
They're promoting him now.
mr garcia hi can you hear me i can't could you please state your name and spell for the
stenographer yeah i'm kevin garcia k-e-v-i-n garcia g-a-r-c-i-a right do you swear or firm
to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, counsel.
Mr. Garcia, are you the owner of this property?
Mr. Garcia, have you heard my testimony
as presented to the board today?
I did.
Mr. Garcia, if you were to adopt, excuse me,
if you were to testify today,
would you adopt my testimony as true and correct?
I will.
That's all I have in my client, Commissioner.
All right, the question is from the board.
I have a question.
What are the provisals from the RCO?
The provisals from the RCO were two units and one unit apartment.
I'm just going to scan back down to the letter.
Was there anything about the trash in there, trash storage?
I believe trash storage is in the basement until trash day, and we will participate in the Philadelphia.
Let me just highlight that a little bit.
trash program
what was with the commercial
yeah I just wanted to make sure he was okay with the provisals
from the art show here we go I just highlighted them here we go so we got
three story three units no basement use
we'll utilize city trash
program trash will be stored in the basement two two bedrooms
and one one-bedroom, and we did discuss some pricing for the apartments, but we agreed to
all of those provisos. How do all of the units have access to the basement?
All of the units, you would actually have to come out to access the basement. There is no access
throughout the house from the third floor to the second floor to the basement. Only the first floor
apartment actually has access to the basement, you would have to go around and go through the
back to access the basement. There's a side yard? There is no side. There is no side yard. There is
no breezeway between these properties. So, okay. So then how are the third floor and the second
floor units going to access the basement to store their trash? Well, they would actually have to
walk around to the rear to get to the basement to store the trash. Generally
trash will be stored in the apartment to trash stay. There are a lot of houses
that store their trash in the front here and we didn't think it was
We didn't think it was aesthetically appropriate to put cans on the porch to store the trash in the front.
aesthetically appropriate to put cans on the porch to store it.
I understand that. You keep saying they're going to walk around the back.
How exactly are they going to walk around the back if this is an attached property?
Well, I don't have a picture of it, but you can walk around the back and enter the rear of the property through a breezeway.
Can I chip in? Nobody's going to do that. That's unrealistic.
I would agree with you. The community didn't really want us to store the trash cans on the porch.
So those was the only options that we had, sir.
Yeah, I think I think you've got these are decent sized units, bigger than most we've seen.
You've got enough space within the units to have a closet dedicated with exhaust for it for trash.
You know what I mean? So I think that's considered.
I think that's a good idea, and we're not objecting to that type of proposal.
I think it's unrealistic to think that tenants are going to walk a half a block around the corner through essentially an alley to put their trash in the back.
They're just not going to do it.
I would agree with you.
So then my second question, because where are all of the meters going to be located?
Mr. Garcia, are you on the line?
Yeah, I'm still here.
And can you explain to Ms. Wynn where the meters are located?
Yeah, so the water meters, of course, is going to be in the front of the building, and all the power units, they're going to be in the basement.
So all the picot meters, this is going to be all electric?
Yeah. Okay. And so how are the second and the third floor units going to be able to access their electric meter in case of an issue? And where the furnace is going to be located?
Like the main breaker will be like in every single floor. Right.
Okay. Because you didn't show a mechanical closet on the plan. So I just wanted to understand how you were districting that.
Sure. Okay. Questions or comments from our attorney?
Just briefly, so there are two RCO letters that we received, one from Allegheny West Civic,
which was in support with provisos. The ones that would be enforceable, there would be maximum
three dwelling units, no household living in the basement, and trash stored in the basement.
We also received a letter of opposition from Swampoodle Neighborhood Parcels Association, but they did say if the board is inclined to grant, they asked for provisos similarly, but maximum two dwelling units, interior trash storage, and no household living in the basement.
Those are the enforceable ones.
I would say interior, not basement.
Everybody does not have access to the basement.
So I'm just letting you know what the provisos were that came through.
Thank you.
All right. Yep. So questions from the audience. Darlene, we have at least three people here.
Sure, sure. So do me a favor. Get the speaker real close to you.
Right. Could you please state your name and spell it for the stenographer?
Sure. My name is Nicole Fletcher, N-I-C-O-L-E-F-L-E-T-C-H-E-R.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, sir.
Are you a neighbor?
Yes, sir.
Why don't you proceed?
Can I read my little bit?
Yeah, sure.
I said, to whom it may concern, my name is Nicole, and I reside at 3410 North 22nd Street.
I would like to vote no against the idea of a three-unit apartment to be placed at 3421 North 22nd Street.
Here are the few reasons for this vote.
Currently, there are only six family homes on the 3400 block of North 22nd Street.
The rest of the homes have either apartments or rooms in them.
There are only 16 homes in the entire block.
The parking is starting to get out of hand.
I listed some of the addresses, like 3415.
that's an apartment building
they literally have six cars
it's getting out of hand
also people will park
on your sidewalk and when you ask
them to physically remove their cars
from your sidewalk
they become very rude and disrespectful
there is
no vetting process for the tenants
in these homes
we have had people with mental illnesses
We have had people with mental illnesses ringing our bells, begging for money, and people have some not-so-nice children.
ringing our bells begging for money
We have had people burning barbecue grills on the porches, which is very dangerous.
If a fire should start, the porches are connected.
There is trash and debris left from tenants moving in and out over the past year, which has not been picked up by the city.
I've called 311 several times for a trailer that has been sitting for two years.
The trailer has attracted rodents of all kinds.
I have been told that the property owner has been cited by the city, but hasn't been made to clean it up.
These citations mean nothing.
Trash from these addresses have been set out with bags open.
Property owners listed above also asked for variances and were denied.
stating they wanted to make our neighborhood better.
However, they have not.
They only care about the profit they will make
on these properties.
They do not live in the neighborhood
and never plan on doing so.
They don't care who they put in these places
just as long as someone can pay the rent.
Our neighborhood is no longer family owned.
My grandparents bought our house in 1952
and we've lived in that house ever since.
90% of the homes on 22nd Street and within a 500-foot radius
are either group homes, shelters, rooms, or apartments,
a lot of which are illegals.
When the owners and investors of 3421 North 22nd Street
came to our community meeting,
they told us that they could not rent a single-family home
because no one would be able to afford rent, but in researching homes for rent
in the 1-9-1-4-0 zip code, I found plenty of homes for rent, some for a little
more than the rent these investors are wanting and some lower. I will also note
that the petition these investors brought to our community meeting had 32
signatures, 19 of which were from North 22nd Street. However, 18 of the 19
signatures are from residents living in illegal rooms or apartments. I find it crazy that multiple
people from an address can change the zoning in the neighborhood, but only one resident per
household can elect a block captain. They also put down the owners slash investors and residents
of these properties during the meeting,
but want to use these same residents
for their personal gain.
The remaining 13 signatures are from residents
within 500 feet.
They don't care.
They're not on our block.
The investors have suggested that we continue
to complain about these homes to get them shut down.
That's easy for them to say
because they don't live in the neighborhood.
We have had neighbors report this information to 311 numerous times.
However, 311 gives your information to the person that you've reported.
So now we have to live in fear of retaliation of those people.
So what's the point?
Again, I would like to vote no, but we'll see.
Thank you.
Darlene, do you have any questions?
Ma'am, did you attend the community meeting?
Yes, ma'am.
I spoke to you and I didn't speak to Kevin.
There was another gentleman with you at the community meeting.
And at this community meeting, we discussed some of the issues that you're speaking with
today about today.
Yes, ma'am.
And you were the one that suggested that I call 3-1-1.
That's all I have, Commissioner.
All right.
Thank you.
Hi, my name is Keith.
Hold on one minute.
we're going to get that a little closer to you okay okay so could uh could you state your name
and spell for the sonographer all right my name is evie wiggins my name is evie w-i-g-g-i-n-s
i am 70 hold on hold on a minute you swear her firm to tell the truth told you and nothing but
the truth all right so are you in favor of this project or against because i think your partner
or just went through a lot of stuff.
I'm against this.
I'm against it.
Is there anything you can think of different than what she said?
I'm 77 years old.
I clean my block.
And they have boxes and trash there,
and I have to put it out most of the time.
that's why I say no
That's why I say no.
alright well thank you very much and we do appreciate you waiting
All right.
Well, thank you very much, and we do appreciate you waiting.
sir do you want to testify
Sir, do you want to tell us?
you're going to have to talk in the microphone
good afternoon
could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
name is Leon Allen III
right could you spell that
please
L-E-O-N
A-L-L-E-N
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth
told truth nothing but the truth
Mr. Allen you're a neighbor
Yes. Please proceed. Are you in favor of this project or against?
No. And I think you've heard a lot from the letter.
Is there anything else you can offer than what we've heard?
I just repaired my payment.
It cost me $5,000 to repair my payment.
This comes from people parking. It may sound similar to what Nikki has said,
but I paid $5,000 to have my payment repaired.
I get parking on my payment because I hear that there's plenty of parking in the neighborhood, and there's not.
So I pay $5,000 to have my payment repaired just so that I have insurance.
I couldn't have fire insurance.
I had to have my payment repaired.
Yes, sir.
And when I call 911 to get the cars moved off my payment, they don't come.
We appreciate you waiting.
We appreciate your testimony.
Darlene, do you have any questions?
Not of him, sir.
Okay, thank you.
Is there anyone else in the virtual audience?
Yes, Chair, we have two hands raised.
Charles Richardson has been promoted to panelists first.
Can I ask a quick question?
One, can anyone tell us whether if someone calls 311 to file a complaint,
that that complaint their information is given to the to the uh the entity that they're complaining
about i don't know i i've never heard that before but um as soon as we get out of here i'm going to
check on that and um i'm not really aware of that either so that's i don't think i am either but
well maybe mr richardson can help mr richardson
Charles Richardson
please unmute yourself and turn on your video
sorry about that
good afternoon Mr. Chair
just state your name please and spell for a stenographer
certainly Charles Richardson
R-I-C-H-A-R-D-S-O-N
office of Councilwoman Cindy Bass
room 508 City Hall
do you swear or affirm to tell the
whole truth nothing but the truth
And before you testify, did you hear the comments about 3-11?
I was getting switched over to a panelist, so I didn't exactly hear what was being said.
Well, they're basically saying when you complain to 3-11, they tell the person you're complaining about your name.
I've never heard that.
I haven't heard that either.
Okay. All right. So why don't you testify, sir, where your position is with this?
Councilwoman has no opposition to granting the variance, but we do have a concern with regard to the trash situation.
If the board is inclined to pass, we ask that they have interior trash storage in each unit.
Thank you very much for your testimony. Is there another hand?
Yes, Chair. We have a number ending in 3552. They have been allowed to speak.
what's that
Adrian
hi Adrian
could you state your name
as Bella for the stenographer
Adrian
my last name is
Fernandez
spelled
F-E-R-N-A-N-D-E-Z
do you swear
to tell the truth
the whole truth
nothing but the truth
please proceed
I can see there's
several issues here
first of all
3-1-1 information being disclosed to the public open records of pennsylvania's office can answer
that question because that information may be available through open records if requested by
other neighbors we have had complaints of neighbors information being given out and i
personally experienced 9-1-1 giving my information out recently to a person pretending to be a police
officer that I had to rectify myself. And they threatened me by text, my phone number given to
them by 911, even though it may be illegal. Next, I want to talk about the, there's four
affected RCOs for this address. Of the four, one of them served as RCO coordinator for this
address, and that was Allegheny West Civic Association.
We've been having problems with Allegheny West Civic Association falsifying votes.
Allegheny West Civic Association falsifying votes. We received no meeting summary forms required by
We received no meeting summary.
the Philadelphia Code for this address and for many others. We didn't know what was going to
happen with that, whether we would get it or not. It's supposed to be sent out to all parties that
receive RCO notification. At the meeting, the affected neighbors voted no, that they were
opposed to apartments at this address. They wanted to remain single family and to preserve
their architecture. However, somehow Allegheny West has decided that the community approved of
this variance. That was not true. I was also there. The majority votes were opposed to this
variance. The letter that Swampwood RCO sent in is a letter of opposition. We are asking that
the zoning board vote no and if they do not we were asking for a limit of two units because as
expressed for many reasons parking is required for rca3 properties that want to have apartments
as one per unit but there's none proposed here and neighbors have expressed the financial burden
and other burdens that they've experienced because of that in a city where there's lots of shootings
these sort of confrontations to long-term residents by transient residents is a problem
that variances can enhance or increase. We're also asking for interior storage of trash.
There was nothing on the drawing to show how that would be done, and I think the drawings
have to be amended and presented to the RCOs for approval before there's any, if there's
a granular variance, although we are asking that this variance be denied.
And, of course, the no basement living, which
both, I think there was a third RCO there, but we all asked for that.
And we are also asking for no rooftop decks.
This property is next to our
Central Regional Rail Allegheny Station, and it is on the 33 bus route.
However, long-term residents who have been maintaining the block, all their lots are clean
because they keep them clean.
We've known these residents for like 10 years.
They've participated in community meetings for zoning,
and we have long-term information that they are the ones who are keeping this block clean.
We do get more assistance from the city in my part of Toronto there in Tiago
because we are right next to the business district.
They're on 22nd Street, but technically the residential area is right above it.
So we're asking that the zoning board can oppose this variance
because the nuisance problems, they're just great
because there are a lot of absentee landlords in this area.
Thank you.
Thank you for your time.
Is there anyone else in a virtual audience?
I see no hands.
Planning Commission.
Thank you, Chairman and Board Members.
David Fecto with the City Planning Commission.
The comprehensive plan recommends a change in zoning of this location
from RSA 5, Residential Single Family, to RM1, Residential Multifamily.
the city rezoned this neighborhood in 2006 in a council requested map change at that time this
property was zoned rm1 the proposed rm1 would allow four dwelling units the appellant requests
three there appears to be on balance more single family homes than multi-family on this block face
although multi-family dwellings do exist the city planning commission recommends the board grant
the proposed use variance for a multi-family dwelling but with a limit of two dwelling units
Thank you. We're going to vote. We're going to get together next Wednesday morning and talk about this case. We appreciate everybody that came in. And we're going to vote at 930 a.m. next Wednesday, which is the fourth.
Commissioners, if I could, I would like to make a closing statement.
I've heard, I did attend the meeting, and I did have an opportunity to talk to the neighbors and talk to some of the problems in the neighborhood.
As one of the neighbors testified, I am the one that told them to call 311 in regard to certain complaints.
Originally, we requested four units, and now we reduced it to three units based on conversations with the individuals that attended the community association.
I don't think that it's really fair to charge my client with the activities of other individuals that live in the neighborhood, i.e., barbecuing them on the front porch and the trash.
We will vet the individuals coming to stay in our properties.
We do have a relationship with the community and the community organizations, and we are accessible for complaints and to resolve any issues.
and we are accessible for complaints and to resolve any issues commissioners they're going
to be good development and there's going to be a bad development uh our development is
consistent with what's happening in that neighborhood and i like to point out to you
there are some illegal multi-families on this block we did not try to go the illegal route
we did try to come to the community and did try to come to a meeting of the minds in regard to
development. We did seek and we did obtain a letter of support. I didn't get any information
from Swamp Poodle, nor did I get any letters from Swamp Poodle or any complaints per se
in Swamp Poodle. We did do as the board and as the provisions provide, we noticed all the RCOs
and we did come to the meeting and we were available to discuss anything that was going on.
And with that, I would ask that you grant our requests for the three-unit development.
Thank you very much.
I appreciate your sentiments.
So we're going to vote on this next Wednesday at 9.30 a.m.
You're welcome to come down, but you can actually do it by phone.
You can listen to where we stand by phone, okay?
Thank you very much.
Thank you for waiting all the time that you did.
We appreciate it.
All right.
um number 12 mi 2025 000 390 83 herman street sherman topman
uh i'm going to continue this at two o'clock thank you
good afternoon hi sherman yes can you hear me yeah you're very low oh i see it yes so sherman
i hate to do this to you but we're going to continue this to two o'clock
okay okay so you'll be first what two o'clock all right thank you all right and mr toppin i just i
just wanted to know because i won't be here initially on the two o'clock list the board
can hear this case but it will need to hold it for a um a corrected refusal um there was a few
problems with the refusal as i reviewed it one it didn't mention the accessory parking that's being
proposed um it didn't list the use that's being proposed and it also um instead of giving a
refusal for height it just mentioned that the pilot house was oversized so i'm gonna i will
i will send it back to ellen i and ask them to correct that but you can still have your hearing
today we'll just vote on it next week with a corrected refusal that's fine that's fine we'll
be around thank you for understanding okay thank you
good afternoon everyone um before we start this afternoon's list we have one case from this
morning that we have to finish so we're going to hear that case then we'll go right into the
two o'clock list mi 2025 000 390 83 herman street sherman top and as the attorney
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair. This is Jason Hand. I will be a co-hosting for the session. Mr. Chairman Toppin will be coming back in as a panel shortly.
Good afternoon, members of the board.
Hi. Mr. Toppin, could you please state your name and spell for the sonographer?
Yes. My name is Sherman Toppin. I'm sorry. My the video button had just opened up here. Sherman Toppin, I'm here representing the owners of 83 Herman Street, LLC.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
I do. Mr. Toppin, I understand from our attorney, this is going to be you'll present the case and that we're going to hold the vote. Is that correct?
I believe so. Yes. OK.
Okay. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, told the truth, nothing but the truth?
I do, Your Honor.
Okay. Do you waive the reading of the refusal and agree with its accuracy?
The refusal, the reading, yes. Well, the accuracy of the refusal is what is, what are the issues there?
There's two omissions of the refusal, I think.
Okay, I got it. Okay, well, so why don't you start your presentation?
Okay, great. So I will begin to share my screen at this point in time. Let me just get that in front of you.
All right.
And is the board viewing my cover sheet for 83 Herman Street?
I do, sir.
So we're pleased to be bringing this before you.
This project, as you can see, this is the, on my cover sheet here, you can see that this
is the end product that is envisioned for 83 Herman Street.
the end product that is envisioned for 83 herman street um it'll be two single family properties
of semi-detached on a existing lot on my next page here you can see the over the conditions
from an from the from above um the it's a vacant undeveloped lot at this point and right almost
the the neighbor property is also a two single family semi-detached structure this structure
will be in infill very much the same except a little more modern. It will be in keeping with
the same color context and we'll talk about what it will be there but the neighbors of this
particular area are pleased to have finally the property that was there was demolished and now
they're going to have a new two single family infill on Herman Street as they desire. So in
In our typical package, we've got the refusal, the deed, application to the ZBA here, the
product information sheet, zoning map showing that, photographs of the property, which we
have already seen, plans, we'll talk about what happened at the RCO meeting, and of course
our addresses for the RCO meeting itself, certificates of mailing, notices of the ZBA
and proof of posting of the ZBA poster, tax certificate, and culminating with a letter
of support from the community and I will begin the presentation here so my the first item
of course is the refusal in looking at the refusal and of course we've waived the reading
of it but what is what is proposed here and what what the board will be noticing is that
for the erection of these two single family semi-detached structures single structure
It's mainly dimensional changes and the roof deck structure that is present on this refusal.
The height of the structure is absent from the refusal, which we will be seeking a change of
because the pilot house that is above the structure causes it to exceed the height restrictions.
Also, this particular property will have, it is projected to have two curb cuts.
one for each of the two single family homes for entry into the garage. And we'll see that lower
down. So with the exception of those two items, the existing five items on the refusal do show
that we're looking for what we view as a de minimis extension, like the roof deck access
structure should not exceed 125 square feet. We're looking for approximately 50 square feet
larger roof deck, and you'll see why when we get to the plans. For the structure of lot one and two,
the minimum area that's proposed for development, minimum lot area is 22,250 square feet. We're
asking for what is proposed as 2,232, slightly smaller for each of the two property, which we
view as de minimis in dimensions. And third is the minimum lot width for the RSA-3 in which this
particular existing structure is located. It should be 25 feet, but we're seeking a 22.6 feet
lot width, which is again just about two feet four inches shy of what is permitted by right.
And finally, the last one is for the side yard. On each side, eight foot is a proposed side yard is a minimum depth. We're seeking five foot six. So again, two feet, four inches there, shy of what is by right.
So what we're looking, so looking on the face of our refusal, it's mainly dimensional. And these dimensional refusals add significant, though they're minimal in what they appeared to be, it adds significant saleability and appeal to the structure to cause it to be a property that is saleable in this particular area.
There's not a lot of new construction of single-family properties in this area.
There's been a couple on various corners, multifamily.
But to make a single-family construction feasible, these are the variance items that we seek today.
So in our Exhibit 2, we have the D, which shows that 83 Herman Street LLC is the owner.
As we go into our Exhibit 4, that's the application for appeal, which sets forth what I've said already.
Project information sheet is just a standard thing that was required.
And as far as five, we can see this. This is the zoning map of the area. It's it's RSA three pretty much all around. So this area is strong as heavily single family all around. However, there's been at this particular in this spot here in the little circle that I've got at the end of this block. There's been a multifamily property built here. And also on this corner here, catacorned to the property, a multifamily property was built there neighbors.
Here, cat a corner to the property, a multifamily property was built there.
Neighbors and members of the community don't want any more multifamily in this particular
And they were very pleased that our owners who grew up in this neighborhood have opted
to do single family in this area.
So in keeping with the RSA 3 designation, zoning designation.
So currently, as you've seen, the property is an undeveloped lot.
there's no curb cut as you can see based on the picture here there is a curb cut
just slightly off picture going along the side it's the same is true for all
the properties down the street there's at least there's one curb cut here we're
seeking for that curb cut to be distributed in the center rather than
the side we just repositioning it so that each property will have a driveway
access and we'll look at that more closely in the plans that are here so
let me make this smaller so that can be visible all right so again here's the exterior elevation
which we looked at from the cover sheet in the exterior we're looking as you can see the materials
are the same sorts of materials that are already on the in the existing housing stock around the
in the neighborhood as far as red brick on the front and siding along on the sides we're looking
these properties will be mirror image except in reverse as you can see the entry doors are going
be on the opposite sides and the one curb cut for the driveways will be here in the center rather
than on the side as it currently is and let's look at what the plans show suggest as to the layout
so here let me make this a little smaller just to get it all in a single screen all right here we are
and so entering from the first from the first floor and again both sets can we make that just
a little bit bigger you want to go bigger sorry sorry i'll go back i'll go back to the 50. that'll
be work not not that big but maybe a little bit i only have well i have a choice of 25 or 50.
well i think let's try let's see let's tell me tell me how this is uh is this will this work
i can i can make it a little let me see if i can make a little smaller
oh well hold on that's not it's not how how's that
How's that? Is that okay? Thumbs up. All right. So from the first floor, from the street level,
you see there's an entry door that walks into the property here. There's also the curb cut
for the garage, a single car garage entering into the property. There's a common stairway
that will reach all the way to the roof deck. This is really beautifully designed the way it is
because this this stairway will wrap around and go all the way up to the roof deck and so that's
that's right here in the center as you walk in on from the bay on the the ground floor level there's
just mechanicals a closet and then there's flex space and a bathroom here on the first floor
walking out to the back um is there's a patio but on the second floor as you come up the steps the
power rooms greet you at the top of the steps you have to the as you get to the top of the steps
to your right there's the kitchen and the rear deck looking straight out and then on the towards
your left you have living room in the front in the dining room dining room living room area
looking at you there as you go up to the next floor which is the third floor it's split between
bathrooms in the front and the bedrooms in the back with bathrooms sort of in the center for the
top of the steps for bedroom the back bedroom and the first in the front bedroom is sort of a suite
it's got the bathroom already enclosed within is in addition to a you know
closets neither neither have walk-in closets but they have both have double
closets so it's very attractive layout for the first two bedrooms of the
property as you go up to the top floor the third floor I should say and beyond
well fourth floor based on the plans here you have the entire top floor is
like a master suite so you come in and you have the bedroom with a front deck
which is a very attractive feature to have there and then walk-in closet deep
and long walk-in closet with a bathroom in the so the entire top floor is a
single bedroom suite and that suite also allows you to continue up to the
pilot house and you can see here this is where that one refusal for the pilot
house comes into play on the roof deck and that's here is that you have the
pilot house is inclusive of a covered countertop and refrigerator. So as you get into it, you have
this little bit of a space before you go outside. And that's what makes that refusal. And because
the width of the stairs is the same all the way up, it makes it attractive because there's that
visual. If the steps were smaller going on the top floor, it would be just a less attractive
design model. So because you have the wider steps going all the way up and then the wider
And then the wider pilot house to allow for the covered refrigerator and cabinet, that is what you're seeing here.
pilot house to allow for the covered refrigerator and cabinet that
And then you have a couple, just a few walls relating to that.
And that is what the property will look like from a plan standpoint.
And looking at it down from the top, you can see what I'm talking about.
You walk out on either side, walking out from the roof deck, and you'll see that there's the steps open all the way to the bottom.
the stairway that runs all the way down to the middle you can see light coming from the top
going all the way down and then each each part each side will have a separated roof deck which
wraps around to the back and you'll have a little bit of a visual on the front a little on the side
just to walk and then a little space on the back side of the roof deck and that is the design of
the property uh going down to the the mechanics of the um right herman street is a one-way coming
this way coming south really as you move down herman street to get into the driveway you have
you can drive right in going forward or you can come here and you reverse back in if it's safe to
do so so in each way there's a there's a singular um entry or the radiant turn radius is sufficient
to do either way and so that is how the driveway will be constructed and here was the if you look
at it you can't tell as much here but the original curb cut was it was towards the end this little
breezeway area of the of the lot and it's instead now moved to a two center driveway situation
and that's what we've got as far as the driveway and going into let's go back to the regular size
now uh so going back to the regular size for the last bit of our our talk together um on exhibit
8, we did send our, you know, the 14303 notice to all the near neighbors. There were approximately
137 of them in the affected area. Most of those areas or most of these, most of the people in the
affected area are in single family home situations. This is the addresses and our certificates of
mailing to those individuals. At the RCO meeting itself, we were glad to have, we were glad to
have the um oh well this is just pictures of the posting of the zoning poster there but um and um
and the um sorry the just tax certificate here but at the rco meeting was very well intended
um we had everyone on the meeting had wonderful things to say about the property property they
were looking forward to seeing a development happen there that was single family they loved
the fact that our owners were gentlemen who grew up in the neighborhood and were bringing their
talent back to the neighborhood and we're bringing the neighborhood back to a product
that they that it needed and that is you know the single family development in that in offer
herman street and in all the germantown so this is um i'd like to bring my clients on
to adopt my test when you do that for the questions so if jimmy williams can be can
be advanced to a participant we'll have him do that
Well, we were joining as a panel shortly.
Good afternoon, everybody.
Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Mr. Williams, can you hear me?
Yes, I can hear you now.
Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Yes, my name is James Williams, J-A-M-E-S-W-I-L-L-I-A-M-S.
You swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, counsel.
Yes, and Mr. Williams, have you been present during my testimony for you thus far?
Yes, I have.
And is everything I've said accurate and clear as to what you would say if you were testifying on behalf of yourself?
Yes, yes, I have.
is there anything further you think i should add or say to for the board's hearing relating to your
projects no i mean you you've pretty much handled it all would you adopt my testimony as your own if
you were testifying yes i would okay and i didn't want to say one thing and i did mention to the
board that you and your and your co-developer partner grew up in the neighborhood perhaps
you can say just briefly about about that and we can ask questions of the board right afterwards
Yes, my partner, Kerry King, he's on the line as well. We both grew up in a neighborhood. He grew up right around the corner of Pastorius. I grew up on Washington Lane, right around the corner from Herman Street. So this project is very important to us because we've done other projects in the city of Philadelphia, but this is kind of our chance to go back to where we both came from.
And, you know, we have been working with the community because initially we thought about a multifamily home, but we heard them out and we said this is what they asked us for, not to do multifamily, to do single family.
to do single family so this is what we changed our ideas and our plans and have you know come
So this is what we changed our ideas and our plans and have come together to.
together to work with the neighborhood and do single family okay that's great well i appreciate
that adding to that so with that i would like to last any questions from the board
questions or comments from our attorney ryan mcsherry
no chair questions or comments from the audience or the virtual audience
yes chair i have a handout from charles richardson they will be promoted shortly
excuse me they will be promoted shortly
good afternoon again mr chair i could get mr richardson as usual you've been already sworn
just state your name and start your presentation certainly mr chair charles richardson
Office of Councilwoman Cindy Bass Room, 508 City Hall.
The Councilwoman has no opposition to granting this variance.
But one question that we do have is what about trash storage for that location?
And there's two options for that.
I can mention that or Mr. Williams can.
But both garages can have the trash there or it can be placed behind the building in each of the respective sites outside.
and it will be the choice of the owner which is they feel is is best but no trash will be visible
from the front of the street before trash day very good thank you anyone else in the audience
you're not seeing any further hands mr chair amy boy with the planning commission amy boid
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing with the truth
i do please proceed the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the rsa three single
family zoning at this location the minimum lot width for lots one and two and the minimum area
for lots one and two are all within ten percent of the code's requirement under the city planning
commission's internal policy these are considered minor variants and in keeping with the purpose and
spirit of the zoning code the proposed side yard depth is within the range of side yard depth of
existing semi-detached homes on this block base however the appellant has not shown that they
cannot comply with the roof deck access structure, area, or height requirements of the zoning code.
The Planning Commission recommends that the Board deny the proposed dimensional variance for roof deck
access structure, area, and height, but grant all other dimensional variances for a lot with lot area
and side yard gap. Mr. Thompson, as you have spoke with our attorney, we need to get a refusal from
Corrected for you. Refuse. I understand. And what I'm going to try to do is we're going to hold this for next Wednesday on the 4th. Yes. And we'll vote at 2 p.m.
OK, thank you. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Is there anyone who was in the 930 list whose case has not been called? OK, Miss Williams, we're finished.
Thank you. So we're not seeing your hands, Mr. Chair. OK, welcome, everyone. We're going to start our 2 p.m. list.
My name is Bill Bergman, and I will be chairing this meeting.
With me is our Vice Chair, Ismael Shahid.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Our Board Member, Cheryl L. Gaston.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Board Member, Tanetta Graham.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Our Board Member, Michael Johns.
Is Michael here?
Michael might be on a little bit later.
And our Board Member, Taya Wynn.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Also here is our Attorney, Ryan McSherry, our Director of the Zoning Board, Ian Haggerty,
and our board administrator, LaKeisha Dandy.
Recording of this hearing will be posted on the ZBA website.
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the following guidance is for our remote attendees when directed you must raise your
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Please remain here so we can account for you.
So let's look at our schedule for this afternoon.
number two mi20 24 003 404 69 15 north broad street that case is continued to 9 10 25 at 2 p.m
number three mi 2024 004 490 1318 west clearfield street that case is continued
attorney moving party and number four mi 2024 004 7726 6049 market street that case is continued
to 9 10 25 at 2 p.m number nine mi 2025 000 462 28 41 south franklin street that case has continued
to 9 10 25 and number two mi 2025 00610 2216 to 40 north 9th street um uh council do you want to
come forward for this are rick are it's online uh mr boston is the attorney here
Mr. Bosnan has been promoted to panelists. He'll be coming back in shortly.
Sure. Thank you.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair, members of the board.
Good afternoon. Counsel, could you state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Yes, Mr. Chair. My name is Eric Bodzin, E-R-I-C-B-O-D-Z-I-N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Mr. Boseman, we're going to continue this case until June 11th at 2 p.m.
Thank you very much. Please extend our appreciation to the board and your staff.
All right. Thank you very much. So that case, MI 2025-000610-2216-40 North 9th Street, is continued to June 11th at 2 p.m.
Thank you.
We're going to go to our add-on list for a minute.
Number one, MI 2024, 005-526-406-208 Jefferson Street.
I vote yes with proviso.
Revised plans, one page, stamped by ZBA, May 28th, 2025.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes with proviso.
Ayah Wynn, my vote is yes with proviso.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes with proviso.
Thank you.
Number two, MI 2024-004-884, 1806 North 21st Street.
I vote yes with provisos.
Trash stored in rear yard for first floor, trash stored on the balcony for the second floor, no household living in the basement, certificate of occupancy to be obtained.
Senator DeGray, my vote is yes with proviso.
Tyowin, my vote is yes with provisos.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes with proviso.
And number three, MI 2024-004-944-2823-25 West Somerset Street.
The vote in this matter has been rescheduled to Wednesday, June 4th at 2 p.m.
We're going to go to our regular list.
We're going to start with number 12.
MI 2025.
MI-2025-000627, 1911 Wallen Street.
Catherine Misner is the attorney.
We have non-opposition from Center City Residence
and non-opposition from Council Member Squilla.
Young, I'm sorry.
hi could you please state your name and spell for the sonographer
you might want to get a little closer to pull towards you a little bit more better it works
yeah thank you katherine missimer it's m-i-s-s-i-m-e-r 1835 market street suite 1400
one nine one zero three do you swear or firm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but
the truth i do could you identify your client the relationship to this property absolutely
representing 1911 walnut street llc owner of the property located at 1909 walnut commercial unit
number one part of the property formerly known as 1907 to 15 walnut which is part of the unity
of use with 1911 walnut 1904 40 stansom street and 1915 to 17 walnut street our vice chair will
try to reply to that. I did inform board counsel of the complex addressing, but I did want to put
it on the record. Thank you. Absolutely. Good afternoon, counsel. Do you agree to waive the
reading of the refusal or stipulate to its accuracy? I do. Have you emailed in all the
required documents and exhibits that's needed to proceed with this case five days in advance
of this hearing? Yes, sir. I have. Thank you. Please proceed. Great. Thank you. As mentioned,
I'm here today on behalf of 1911 Walnut Street LLC with a proposal for two projecting signs
for its tenant in that location. This is part of the Laurel Building, which I'm sure you're
all familiar with, that stretches along both Walnut and Sansom Streets from roughly 19th to
20th Street. With me today, I have owner's representative Brian Emmons, tenant representative
luba sentatrova as well as our sign contractor jeff carson as you can see this this project
does have a letter of non-opposition from both the coordinating rco ccra as well as councilman
young's office and we also have art commission approval which is required for projecting signs
in this location many of you are probably familiar oh i should mention we also have a petition of
support from many of our residents in this vicinity. This is the art
commission approval. As you know, part of this overlay does require
them to opine on projecting signage in this location. So we did
complete that process in advance. Those of you that are familiar
with the Laurel know that it is a high rise residential condominium.
It has apartment units, it has affordable housing, it has
commercial spaces and restaurants. One of the tenants on floors two to three is Equinox Fitness.
This gym will be the first, will be open to the public, and will be the flagship location for
Equinox here in Philadelphia. This is the first location, and their hope is obviously to expand
here in our region. As new to Philadelphia, they hope to build a following here. As you can see,
I want to show you the elevation just to understand, you know, sort of the depth of
the building here because this is a very large building and I think it really speaks to the size
that we're proposing for this signage. If you look at this elevation, this is the building
and these two tiny red dots at the second floor are the two proposed signs. So the building itself
is massive and the signage is on the podium of the building at the base in green and blue this is
where the equinox space is within that podium you'll note that it's largely the second floor
and the third floor and if you see to the right of your screen that is the proposed signage there
on the second floor in front of the windows of the space there is a small lobby space on the
first floor, but again, the bulk of the space for this tenant is the second and third floor.
Some interior photos of the gym, and this is a good view in a rendering of what the signs would
look like in place. The first is here, and the second is further down the building. You'll note
that there are floor-to-ceiling windows at the second floor. You'll be able to see workout
equipment if you've walked past that you can see the treadmills there and it's really vital to have
important signage in this location because not knowing that this is an equinox space
because not knowing that this is an equinox space you may assume that's an amenity for the residents
you may assume that's an amenity for the rest
in the building rather than a publicly accessible gym that you don't necessarily need to live on
site to join the proposed signage with one projecting sign on sansum and the other flanking
the space on 20th is designed to really highlight equinox presence as well as identify its physical
location again at that second and third floor within the building as a result proposed signage
do create a refusal because in cmx4 signs are not permitted to be above the second floor windowsill
again you can see the positioning is designed right at the actual physical space in the building
you'll note that there are other tenants on that first floor so it would be confusing to put an
equinox sign on the first floor in front of say a restaurant or a retail space that makes up
another part of the building as part of the art commission review process we did
make alterations to our proposed signs originally originally they were much
larger and they were proposed at the third floor we've dropped them to the
second floor and shrunk them in size to really be proportionate with other signs
in the neighborhood and we have a few of those renderings just to highlight what
some of the existing signage looks like you know there are other projecting
signs already in place of similar size and character our sleek and aesthetic view is really
back halo lit it won't be impactful you'll note there are also trees along the first floor that
may block signage that would be at the first floor level so the second floor really does feel
appropriate in this location and again this is the nighttime view you'll see that they are lit
it's this location here um very hard to see in comparison to some of the other signs that are
already there and are lit um both the neighborhood as had been evidenced by their letter of non
opposition and the proper unit agree the proposal is appropriate given the surrounding context that's
already in place here um the proposed signs identify the presence of equinox at the laurel
and its location for in the building for pedestrians and vehicles that are traveling
both up sansa and 20th street the scale size and design are consistent with the aesthetic of the
neighborhood they're tastefully simple and sleek we met with CCRA to review the
proposal you have their letter of non-opposition we do believe this will
not alter the central character of the neighborhood as evidenced by that letter
it will not impair appropriate use or development of adjacent property again
it's consistent with already exists in the space and this section of the city
we do not believe will be detrimental to the public welfare as evidenced by those
letters of non-opposition and that petition of support as a result we would respectfully request
that the board grant this and any other necessary relief for this proposal would you want to bring
your client on yes please uh brian emmons should be in the audience the virtual audience yes okay
apologies
they've been promoted to panelists sir could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
good afternoon my name is brian emmons b-r-i-a-n-e-m-m-o-n-s do you swear we're
referring to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do please proceed counsel
brian have you heard my testimony today i have would you agree that it's true and correct
i do thank you questions for the board
questions or comments from our attorney mr mcsherry uh no chair questions or comments
from the audience or the virtual audience i do not see any hands mr chair any commission
amy boy with the planning commission this proposal completed its art commission review in november
2024 the civic design reviews committee's advisory recommendations are not an expression of the city
planning commission's recommendation or opinion regarding zoning variances or special exceptions
or any other discretion or approvals associated with the proposal the comprehensive plan recommends
no change in zoning from the existing cmx for commercial mixed use the appellant has not
demonstrated that there are unique physical conditions or circumstances of the property
that would prevent it from being used in conformance with the zoning code the planning commission
recommends that the board deny the requested variance for sign height placement. Thank you.
MI 2025, 0006271911, Walnut Street, my vote yes. Michael Johns, my vote is yes.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes. Senator Graham, my vote is yes.
Iowyn, my vote is yes. Ishmael Shahid, my vote is yes. Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate it.
Thank you.
Number 15, MI 2025, 000831, 5600 West Gerard Avenue.
Darwin Bovee is the attorney. Cheryl L. Gaston has recused herself from this case.
Darwin Beauvais is the attorney.
Cheryl L. Gaston has recused herself.
Oh, man. What do you mean, oh, man?
Mr. Chairman, members of the board, it's always good to see you. My name is Darwin Bovee. I'm at
1500 Market Street at the law firm of Obermeyer, and I represent the applicant,
vine memorial church just just for the record could you spell your last name for the court
stenographer that bouvet is spelled b-e-a-u-v-a-i-s do you swear or affirm to tell the truth
the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do our vice chair has a few questions for you sir
have at it good afternoon counsel do you agree to wait to read another refusal or stipulate
to his accuracy i did have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that's needed to
receive in this case five days in advance of this hearing? I have. Thank you. Please proceed
and share your screen. Okay. I am not the most
technical person, so if you can bear with me for a moment.
It shows that I'm on.
Oh, there we go.
well while this is loading up you know um members of the board
let's see i can start showing sharing uh before you is an application on behalf of vine memorial
Church, which is a long-standing institution located at 5600 West Girard Avenue.
The church is seeking zoning relief to modernize signage to include an electronic message board
and a building wall identification sign. The proposed signage will enhance communication
with the community by enabling timely and visible updates about services events
and public information now before you I did submit an exhibit packet 1 through
15 where we include our refusal the deed tax clearance certificate the project
information form, photographs of the church, site plan, renderings of our flat wall and
monument sign, sections of the code, aerial view, support letter, et cetera, et cetera,
petitions of support, and photos of our posting. So with all of that, just to give you some
background, Vine Memorial Church occupies a significant corner at 56 and Girard Avenue.
If you can look at our rendering, which is Exhibit 10, as you can see here, that's Girard
Avenue and the corner is 56th Street. This church has served the community for decades and this
application is part of their broader efforts to maintain its presence and relevance in the
changing neighborhood context. I have with me here today Pastor Blanks. He'll come up later,
make a few comments but i also have in a virtual audience beth pile from casey signs who's also
here to answer questions now with respects to our refusal we did receive three use refusals
two for exceeding the maximum area and one for having an animation illuminating sign now in
support of our application i would like the board to look at the exhibit seven
And this, in essence, covers our application as soon as I can reduce.
Okay, so before the board, here is an exhibit of our wall sign.
we're looking to occupy 35 just a little bit over 35 square feet of a non-illuminated wall sign
of a non-illuminated wall sign it's it's nicely dressed and it does serve as identification to
it's it's nicely dressed
the building here is our monument sign we are just replacing the monument that is there right now we
are still the the where my cursor is shows that we're still in the analog age and what we're
looking to do is to come into the 21st century and create our electronic sign here. It will be
no more than 24 square feet, and it will include only 18 square feet of sign messaging.
Now, our proposed sign is integral to the church's ability to effectively reach its congregation
and the surrounding community, particularly in an area where digital communication is critical.
The existing hardship stems from the unique shape and layout and historic function of the site.
What I showed you is the antiquated monument sign, which is still historically significant to the church
and the surrounding community, but it is antiquated.
And we're hoping that because of this limit, to meet the requirements of today's ways of communicating, where we have to exceed the maximum area.
And we do believe that animated illumination will make sense.
Now, the church's physical conditions, the lot configuration and its location at 56 and Gerard, it does create limitations for the signage, as I mentioned.
But the variance that we're asking for is the least modification necessary to allow the church to maintain its visibility.
The hardship is not self-imposed.
In fact, it's quite the opposite.
Our signage is vital to communication and also to the broader public, right?
By all means, this church has always served the community, and they will in turn use that signage to announce emergencies, announce community gatherings, and the like.
Also in addition, the sign doesn't really create any excessive brightness. It doesn't create any disproportionate scaling. It doesn't create any congestion with traffic or impacts to any utilities.
And with that, I can show you exactly additional photos that we have.
Here's the church at the corner facing the monument sign.
Here's along West Derrard, and here's along 56th Street.
With all of that, we do have great news.
We received the support of our local RCO.
We met with them last week on May 22nd.
It was a packed room and we received overwhelming support.
There was only three people out of 22, out of 25 who abstained, out of 26 who abstained.
Even more so, what I would like to show the board is that the church is very enterprising.
And they know this is one of the rare times that they had to come to the city to make such a request.
They've actually sought out petitions and went door-to-door around the neighborhood and got not one sheet, but I want to say it's about 11 sheets, totaling about...
Only 282?
Yes. I was going to say about 300, but...
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
So, and, but that just goes to show evidence that having the support of the RCO as well
as well as getting the support of the surrounding community does show that our requests will
not have a negative impact at all with, in granting our variants.
at all with with in granting our variant um at this time i would like to bring reverend blanks sure
okay and if you would pull it closer to you too this gets it's a little weak yeah it'll come
right here yep thank you reverend could you please state your name as spelled for the stenographer
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman and members of the board.
My name is Ralph Blanks, R-A-L-P-H, last name B-L-A-N-K-S.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Please proceed, counsel.
Thank you.
Reverend Blanks, have you heard everything I said today?
Yes, I have.
And would you adopt that as if it was your own testimony?
Yes, I would.
Is there anything else that you would like to share with the board in relation to your position as pastor and the history of the church?
Yes, I would. Mr. Chairman and members of the board, I'd like for you to know further that the Vine Memorial Baptist Church has been in the West Philadelphia community now for 93 years.
and I am only the third pastor in those 93 years, which may suggest to many of you that the church
congregation has been very stable and has had a great working relationship within as well as
between the members and the pastors. But more importantly, it has had a great presence in the
community. It was started by about seven families who came together in 1932-33 looking to establish
a place of worship in the West Philadelphia area. Also a place where their children could
be religiously educated as well as a place where they could play safely and be secure.
Over the years, the Vine Memorial Baptist Church has been known not only for its pastors
and their outreach to the community, but also focusing on the physical and holistic needs
of the community.
Boy Scouts community meetings have been held at the church, and in more recent years, especially
starting with the pandemic, we've operated a food pantry.
We started out three days a week, and now we are down to two days a week where non-perishable foods as well as fresh vegetables and fruits are provided to the wider community on a regular basis.
There's also a crocheting class that's run by our seniors, and we also have the Divine Boutique, where members from the community are able to come and get slightly used clothing for all family members, from adults on down to children and youth.
So we are grateful for your hearing us and pray that you would approve the new sign that we feel that would be helpful in our ongoing ministry, not only communicating to our members, but to the wider community on a regular basis, as well as in times of emergencies and urgent needs.
Thank you. Mr. Chairman, if you can indulge me one more time.
members of the congregation if you're in support and if you're here please stand
and that concludes my thank you that concludes my presentation we can open ourselves up for
questions sure questions from the board yep I have a question so the the script sign which
side is that going to be on the gerard side or the 56th street side the gerard side
the question with with uh without getting this new sign how would you how are you normally
getting out the information to the community on all this various activities that you that you
have going on it miss reverend blank by email as well as um the old-fashioned flyers that we post
on the doors of the church okay so so this this would really help
okay so so this this this would really help without a doubt sir without a doubt okay
other questions i have a question um i know you guys have got an overwhelming number of signatures
but do you know if specifically uh one are there tenants above the pizza shop and the funeral home
on the corners across the street and then have you talked to the neighbor at 5603 5605 and
5607 Girard because it looks like those are like the five properties that would be most directly
impacted by anything illuminated just wanted to know if you're aware if they came to their
RCO meeting or one of the things that I didn't mention is that the funeral home we've had a great
working relationship with the funeral home and one of the things that we do on an annual basis
with the funeral home is a co-sponsor, a community love fest,
which we most recently did the Saturday before Mother's Day.
There are no tenants or residents above the funeral home.
The second floor area is the office space,
and I think it's the same with LaBelle Pizza,
which is directly across the street from the church.
Okay, thank you.
Questions or comments from our attorney?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Yes, Chair, I have a Greg Feld with their hand raised.
I have promoted them to panelists.
They should be coming back in shortly.
greg hello hi could you please mr feld could you please state your name and spell for the
stenographer yes name is gregory feld last name is f-e-l-d right do you swear or affirm to tell
the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth i do mr feld are you a neighbor um no i am with
KC Sign Company, and we've been
working in conjunction with Vine Memorial
on this sign.
Obviously, you're in favor of this project.
I overheard some of
the... I've been listening in, and there was
one correction I wanted to make on a statement
about the
script sign.
Go ahead.
I believe it was stated in
the room that the
location of that sign was on the
gerard avenue side it's actually on the 56th street side thank you very much for doing that
we appreciate that that's all i had i stand corrected all right anyone else in the virtual
dance i do not see any further answer mr chair planning commission
amy boy with the planning commission the comprehensive plan recommends no change in
zoning from the existing rm1 residential multifamily the building has a documented
history and current use as a religious institution the proposed sign will be accessory to that use
and will not nurture the use of joining properties moreover the proposed sign area is the same as a
current sign to be replaced the pending commission recommends that the board grant the requested
variance for sign animation and max sign area mi 2025 000 831 5600 west gerard avenue i vote yes
Michael Johns, my vote is yes.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes.
Tywin, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shahid, my vote is yes.
Thank you, counsel.
And thank you for everybody coming out.
I mean, you have a great turner.
Thank you.
Thank you for coming.
So number 13.
MI-2025-000682-1531 Lillie Avenue.
Alan Nockamson is the attorney.
Wow, what a turnout, huh?
alan this alan this is the case you wanted to call earlier right they they told me you needed
a case called earlier i i just work here oh i i oh okay so i i i guess um you said you had
You said you had something where to go or something like that.
something where to go or something like that was that was last week no this was
Oh, no, that was last week.
No, this was.
I thought you were still in Ireland, personally.
I mean, I was.
You know, I said, you know, I saw you doing whatever you were doing in Ireland.
I got some.
I'm taken aback.
But anyway, Mr. Knockamson, could you please state your name and spell it for the stenographer?
Alan Knockamson, A-L-A-N.
I'm looking at the stenographer.
He's not there.
n-o-c-h-u-m-s-o-n do you um do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and
nothing but the truth i do could you identify your client a relationship to the property
uh yes uh my client uh is let me just get the right one uh is uh chrysanda farrakhan uh who
is leasing this property uh from her husband uh adlai farrakhan uh at 1531 lindley avenue okay
and our vice chair has a few questions thank you council do you agree to do you agree to
waive to read another refusal or stipulate to its accuracy uh i actually do object to it i believe
that this should be a referral given that this is an rsa three property and we're seeking a
proposed use of group living personal care home understood have you emailed in all the required
documents and exhibits that's needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing
I have. Thank you, counsel. Please proceed and share your screen.
Thank you.
All right, so I'm here to present 1531 Lindley Avenue. Again, to my left is Krishanda Farrakhan, who is hopefully the operator of this new personal care home at 1531 Lindley Avenue.
During my presentation, you'll see the typical exhibits that we have. There are 12 exhibits.
103 people were notified of the community meeting that took place on May 23rd at 6 p.m.
by way of Oak Lane Worcester Community Coalition. As you saw in our presentation packet,
which is exhibit two, we have a letter of non-opposition from Oak Lane Worcester Coalition,
um and which also references the fact that the uh city council member is also in non-opposition
to this project uh a little bit about home care with serenity um home care uh what their focus
is is elder care in the community um um chrisanda is like well versed in this in this business she's
been working for others for 10 years and she's looking to start her own business i'll she'll
explain her certifications and such and her husband purchased this property hoping to have
a personal care home for elderly people here and i do believe there's a need in the community for
this as well or she believes so it's not uncommon to have personal care facilities of this sort in
the neighborhood you can see 5103 north 15th street which by the way was a referral similar
to ours, which should have been ours, as an RSA-3 property.
That was granted by the board in August of 2024.
And then maps of the area, photographs of the property.
So they purchased this property as a very nicely developed interior layout,
but this is 1531 Lindley Avenue from the front of the property to the rear of the property.
I wanted to point out that there is living in the lower level,
but I also want to point out that there is a set of staircases directly leading out from the side
of the property. Again, these are elderly individuals. We take it very seriously that
we will take care of them, hopefully during the lifespan of this business, and we want to make
sure they have multiple forms of egress. So that's why they purchased the property with that type of
accommodation. This is the zoning hearing notice poster. This is Lindley Avenue to the right of
the property to the left of the property interior photos again they purchased the property this way
I just wanted to let you know but it was well done and that was one of the reasons why they
were focused on purchasing this property it's well laid out nice open floor plan
with you know the kitchen area we'll go over the you know the facts of like you know in terms of
hours of operation and things like that as well but they want to show you pictures this is the
lower level space and then this simple simple floor plans here you come through the front of
the property on the first floor there's a sitting area a living room a dining room a kitchen a
laundry facility um and you know then there's steps leading down to a lower level there's
mechanicals down here there's an open room where you have activities um a little sitting area and
A little sitting area, and these is a set of steps that we saw previously that lead directly out to the side.
And this is a set of steps that we saw previously that lead directly.
Instead of going down the flight of steps, you go up a flight of steps.
There are four bedrooms and multiple bathrooms.
Again, this is a highly regulated business by the state.
So in addition to obviously hopefully getting the ZBA's approval, L&I's approval in terms of getting a certificate of occupancy,
we need there are significant rules and regulations adopted by the state that we have to pass
inspections year after year after year so it's very important to us to make sure that the board
knows that but there are four bedrooms there maximal occupancy under state law would only be
eight individuals so some of the elderly individuals that my client works with some of
them like to have their own room generally some of them like to have someone with them because
they're you know they get lonely and they just want a roommate there so we'll play it by ear
but again just so the board knows maximum eight individuals can live in this property and this is
just the other information we have the rco notice proof of ownership of the property and our tax
clearance certificate with that being said i also want to just give you some data on like the
business itself so the elderly individuals who live there have you know may like leave the
facility from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., but they must return. Visiting hours are from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
My client anticipates having four individuals there during those working hours, and obviously
there'll be a 24-hour facility. I would then now ask that my client be sworn in, and I have a few
questions for her. Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer? My name is
krisandra farrakhan k-r-i-s-a-n-d-r-a-f-a-r-r-a-k-h-a-n right you swear or affirm to tell
the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth i do please proceed counsel uh krishanda you heard
everything i had to state today yes and is it and is it true and correct yes and do you adopt
your own testimony yes specifically um you have had experience working for others over the course
of 10 years in this industry. Yes. Can you explain your certifications that you currently have
in relation to this business? Yes. I have a personal care home administrator certification.
I have a CPR first aid a minute certification. And then I also have a dementia friend certification.
So I'm certified to work with elderly that have dementia or memory loss.
I have no further questions. Questions from the board.
you have a question accessibility um when you're dealing with seniors there are a lot of mobility
issues and you've got a lot of steps so how are you addressing that currently we don't have any
seniors that have mobility issues issues but we do have plans to add a rare ramp and then add a
stair lift to the stairs in the home okay can you show up a picture of the the rear um just
wondering if there's any kind of outdoor space that'll be designated for the tenants so there
is outdoor space um i'll share that but i don't know if there's an intention and you know because
you want to elaborate but while i'm looking for the picture is there intention to kind of build
out that rear part of the property? Yes, we have been getting some quotes about creating
a fence around, so it'll just cut off our property from the next door neighbor, and then we're going
to add seating and, you know, like a deck setting with furniture. Okay, and what about your trash
storage? It's on a rear of the building. Because we are a smaller facility, we only have like a
95 gallon trash can it doesn't require us to have anything larger yeah so I was this is where she's
I'm like kind of lost here let's see oh right here along the side of the building is where she
intends to store the trash is that correct yes so what question yeah sure question so
So this is a 24-hour-a-day facility for these residents.
And what age are we talking about?
55 and up.
55 and up.
And you're going to have a maximum of eight?
You're going to have a maximum of eight people.
The state only allowed, because of the size of the home, a maximum of eight people.
And you have four bedrooms?
Yes, ma'am.
How many baths?
Three bathrooms.
Okay. And then, but the residents can leave, you say, or go out between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m.?
Yes. They're allowed to come and go as they please. They do have to notify us where they're going, but most of our residents do go to day programs throughout the day, so they're typically not home.
Yes, they're allowed to come and go as they please, not like...
Okay. And then where do you get the referrals from?
for your, the referrals will come from like a placement agency or like social workers at a
hospital or social workers at a nursing home. Or we also get some from, they'll be like, there's a
place called Comar. So they help seniors that may have like anxiety or depression. So we'll get
referrals from them as well. Okay. And how many people are going to be there to provide whatever
services or what services are you going to provide we have three people during
the day and then we have one overnight individual are you asking about the
yeah what would they be doing you said would they be providing medication
providing medication meals they serve three daily meals a day plus a snack
medication any activities or programs that we have running on that day they
will also be participating in that as well okay all right thank you any other
questions yes so i think my question was related to the employees like a lot of the house seems
like it's mostly designed for the residents and is there any space that's sort of restricted
for um any of the employees almost like a like an employee lounge or and then what about parking
for the employees parking there is parking in the front of the building also we do have a sitting
area that is restricted for the employees in the front room
of the home. That's it.
What is the actual ratio for employees
versus patients? One employee for
every six residents. Okay, and then
it should be some kind of office that is utilized for
all of the medication and everything else that is administered
to the patients, correct?
So it's state regulated.
We do not need an office for medication.
We just need a locked cabinet.
And all the medication has to be stored
with the resident's name on it.
Thank you.
Any other questions?
Questions or comments from our attorney?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience
or the present audience here?
Mr. Chair, I have Charles Richardson
with the hand up again.
I will promote to the panelists.
They'll be back in shortly.
good afternoon again mr chair mr richardson just for the record state your name and
begin your presentation certainly charles richardson office of councilwoman cindy bass
room 508 city hall uh councilwoman has no opposition uh to granting the variance thank
Thank you very much for taking the time to call us.
Anyone else in the virtual audience?
I do not see any further answers, Mr. Chair.
Planning Commission.
The comprehensive plan, oh, Amy, we're with the Planning Commission.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change in zoning at this location from the existing RSA 3 residential single family.
The proposed use will have minimal impacts on the surrounding properties and will support the life and safety of community members.
The Planning Commission recommends that the board grant their request of variance for personal care home.
So, Hillary, we have no provisos.
Am I correct?
So, I believe that the RCO had indicated a proviso, but I didn't see anything listed on the letter.
Were you aware of any provisos, Mr. Nockamson?
So, we did not handle the community meeting, so I'm not aware.
So, I believe that Mr. Richardson may have been.
So, I'm unaware of any provisos.
There was a note in the letter, but it did not list actually any provisos.
MI-2025-000682-1531 Lindley Avenue.
I vote yes.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes.
Tanada Graham, my vote is yes.
I win, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shahi, my vote is yes.
Thank you.
Helen, I know you have a couple more cases.
I'm going to go and do a couple, then I'll be back to you.
Thank you.
Thanks.
okay here we go number one mi2023006 953-2122 west a stop street
Vern Anastasio is the attorney
they'll be coming back in as a panel
afternoon mr chair members of the board
verne could you please state your name as spelled for the stenographer
sure it's burn anastasio a-n-a-s-t-a-s-i-o this is your first time today no i was here this morning
okay all right um so this is a resumptive hearing i see here where swamp poodle sent in a list of
provisos um where we are today is you're going to give us an update from the applicant including
photos plans for the basement questions from the board public testimony and the recommendation
planning is that correct yes sir okay so why don't you start okay allegheny west however all
also sent over a letter there i believe the uh the corresponding or the coordinating rco
uh letter of support based on certain certain proviso so but i will share
i can i can confirm that we received the letter from allegheny west um previously um and that was
in support of a three three unit proposal that's correct the letter for swamp poodle came since the
last hearing yeah so yeah this is uh this is the allegheny west letter supporting the three unit
proposal. We've been working for well over nine months now with the RCO to get to this place. So
I want to thank them for their support and assistance. And so I have that letter. I'd
like to move into evidence. Also, I have the basement plans. I'll move into evidence. I'll
With the front entrance access to the basement itself, which is separate than the rest of the property,
we're able to put the trash there instead of the shared vestibule area, which was not an ideal space.
So there's the trash storage for the front of the basement.
And then beyond that, no living space at all.
Some tenant storage in the rear.
There is a bathroom down there and some bike storage.
So, and every unit will have access to this space, but there will be no, no part of the basement will be part of the three family dwelling that is now part of our proposal as a result of several meetings with the RCOs to get to a unit number that made sense for the community as well as for the property itself.
So that's that there.
And I'll stop sharing that.
What can I show you?
There's some photos, both exterior and interior.
And with the RCO weighing in, with the photos and revised plans,
I think I've given you everything that I can move into evidence.
It's a 72-page binder, plus the letter of support with provisos from the RCO.
I believe that's all.
My client, a member of BK Partners, either Brahim Murray or Kyle Easley, should be in the virtual audience.
I would ask them to raise their hand for recognition.
Can I see photos of the basement of the property again?
I think most of the photos are of the living space areas, not the basement.
I have an exterior shot of the entrance to the basement where the trash and storage will
I'll be happy to show you that.
I'll be happy to show you that.
as the basement
Has the basement already been rehabbed?
No, the four units were not including the basement.
Four units were all the first floor and above.
So nothing's been done inside the basement at all, except the bathroom?
That's my understanding, yes.
If my client were here, they could probably get online to confirm that, but yes.
And I'll zoom in here. This is the entrance to the basement for all the units, as you can see here.
And in the front will be the trash storage, no living space, some bike racks after that, and then storage.
And that'll be for each of the three tenants to use.
So how big is the basement?
It's the entire length of the property.
i'll take it back i could bring back the plan if you'd like on the drawing i'm gonna go back to
the drawing this is the old one but it's still the same length it didn't it didn't shrink in
the new plan oh they didn't move they're where they were before these are the these are the old
plan hold on i'll make it easier for you if i just take so so real quick the so the separation
of all these rooms in the basement is done by what like is it done now or would they have to
put install walls like how are they separating all of the spaces in the basement you got three
different spaces yeah it would have been great burn i'm sorry pictures pictures would have been
great to hear. I know. I'm so sorry. Am I able to clarify? Who is that? Kyle Easley. Oh, there you
go. Okay. Not before you get sworn in, Kyle. Mr. Easley, please state your name and spell
for the stenographer. Hello, everyone. My name is Kyle Easley. It's spelled K-Y-L-E-E-A-S-L-E-Y.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, sir.
Counsel, please proceed.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I was wondering where my client was.
Mr. Easley, please answer the questions as I present them to you based on the-
Mr. Easley, can you go on the web, put your picture up, your video?
My photo?
Not your photo, you.
Could you go put yourself on a video?
Put myself on a video?
Please take up the invitation to become panelists.
Oh, oh.
one second
join us panelists
yeah he didn't
accept it yet
I'll be back in trouble Mr.
one second
there you go
forgive me I just picked the kids up from school
thank you Mr. Easley
Mr. Easley how deep is the yard
is the basement
it's the full length of the property
Okay, so about 95 feet deep, is that right?
Yes, yes, but the basement was the former unit, the unit that we got rid of, and so there are three units upstairs, the basement was the fourth unit, and we haven't rented that out since we bought it in preparation for this.
And in the course of working with the RCO and presenting today, there will be no kitchen down there.
The only thing that will be left is the bathroom. Is that right?
Yes, that's right.
You're going to put bike racks as well?
That's right.
And the partitions that the board member had asked about that separate the trash space from the bike rack space from the storage space.
Are those interior partitions already up?
Yeah, they're already up.
there's a door and a wall thank you so the space is finished yes sir
but there will be no living space there that's right and there and there hasn't
been any limit living space there since we owned it other questions
Questions or comments from our attorney?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
So, Mr. Chair, I have Charles Richardson with the hand raised again.
I'll promote them once more.
I'll promote him once more.
Good afternoon again.
Mr. Richardson, just state your name for the record.
Charles Richardson, Office of Councilwoman Cindy Bass.
Councilwoman has no opposition to granting the variance.
Thank you.
Anyone else in the virtual audience?
Planning Commission.
Yeah, sorry. There was a hand, but it's lower down. Go ahead. Go ahead.
Planning Commission.
Amy Boyd with the Planning Commission.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change in zoning from the existing RSA 5 residential single-family zoning.
The appellant has not demonstrated that there are unique physical conditions or circumstances that would prevent the property from being used in conformance with the zoning code.
The Planning Commission recommends that the board grant, sorry, deny the request of variance for multifamily.
I appreciate the Planning Commission's input.
If I may, just briefly, my client purchased the property with these multi-units.
So I wanted to get it legalized, got the impact, and worked with the community to remove that basement unit to just legalize the three units that are above from the first floor hub.
Thank you.
So, Hillary, there's two different provisos sets, right?
So the one that we have maximum three dwelling units and household living in the basement, no household living in the basement.
Pardon me one second.
Yes, I believe the no household living in the basement was requested by both RCOs.
Obviously, the number of units that they requested varied a little bit.
And then.
There's no rooftop deck here.
So, no.
Well, and this is a change of use application.
It doesn't involve any construction.
So, and there was a, I believe, a request for interior trash storage, which I believe is already part of the applicant's plan.
Yep. We comply with that.
Right. So, MI 2023-006-953-2122 West Estar Street, I vote yes with proviso.
Maximum three dwelling units, no household living in the basement.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes with proviso.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Caneta Graham, my vote is yes with Proviso.
I would. My vote is yes with Proviso.
Byrne, let's see here. Hold on, Byrne, I have a...
Number five, MI 2024-004738-401203, West Queen Lane.
Thank you.
can we go on with this
we needed amended refusal
so there were two things we needed
one that we did receive
which was the proof of posting
Mr. Anastasio
it appears that you're now proposing
instead of child care center
and two dwelling units
you're proposing four dwelling units
so in order to make that change
we do need to have an updated refusal
So the board can hear this today, but it will need to hold its vote for the updated refusal or amended refusal.
I understand. I learned of that today, that the refusal, because we negotiated it, the child care center to be removed.
We do need an amended refusal. I believe my office has already sent that request via letter.
But thank you for hearing the case. And as soon as that revised refusal gets issued, we'll send it over to you for the vote.
our vice chair has a few questions. Thank you. Counselor, do you agree to waive the read another
refusal or stipulate to its accuracy? I do. Have you emailed in all the required documents and
exhibits as needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing? I have.
Thank you, Counselor. Please proceed. Thank you. Initially, we were proposing a first floor
child care center with the two-family dwelling above. This is a large double property on a
corner, as you'll see in a moment. We met with the community the first time. They asked us to
remove the child care center so that they would be more apt to support multifamily living. And so
that's what we're proposing. Instead of the child care center being in the former commercial space,
which is here where my cursor is, what we're proposing is an apartment on the first floor of
each of the parcels and an apartment on the second floor of each of the parcels.
that's the change.
That's the first floor.
Basement will be for utilities.
Of course, the exterior overhang
and the windows all look like commercial space
And the windows all look like commercial space because of the property's history.
because of the property's history.
The RCO also asked us to renovate that, and we fully plan to do that as well.
Here's the new first floor.
Here's your front door into your living room.
Large eat-in kitchen.
You have closet space, full bath, and two full bedrooms.
On the left-hand side, you've got it.
It's identical.
On the second floor, got the same.
We've got trash closets on the second floor because they have no access to the rear.
As you can see on the left-hand side, there's a trash closet next to the coat closet.
Same thing right by the bathroom.
on the right-hand unit.
Second floor units are two-bedroom as well.
Entrance to these units are through the rear stair,
as you can see here with my cursor.
RCO was supposed to send a letter of non-opposition
based on the change of use, based on their request.
I had not received that as of yesterday, so I'm not quite sure if you did.
Yeah, I believe we did.
You did? Okay, great.
Let them be in opposition, 12th Ward Democratic Committee.
Wonderful.
The vote was two in support, one in opposition, and one in non-opposition.
Am I right, Tony?
but we also have a note the rco request another meeting
am i right a third meeting i'm just so i was not aware of that so there was a note on
on the rco letter i'm sorry let me find it um there's a note on the rco letter that they
requested another meeting because the notices for the third meeting they said were not mailed timely
and then the property wasn't properly posted um proof of posting was provided um but they there
was that note on their letter yeah i have proof of mailing as you can see and proof of posting
proof of mailing april 24th 139 individual households
so we're holding this anyway right we have to hold for an amended refusal
so if the community has further questions they can they can raise them today or
certainly reach out to Mr. Anastasio also if you take a look at the history of the property you'll
see that the use has been a restaurant grocery store with living space above
as previously as the 1980s it's a beauty salon and two apartments a delicatessen and two
apartments so and that was in 88 so it's a long history because of the long history because of
the work that my client did working with the rco changing the use to fit the needs of the neighbors
i'm respectfully requesting the granting of the variance
obviously to purchase this property and turn it into a compliant use would render the property
a white elephant that would never be marketable the neighbors recognize that fully and my client
is willing to work with them and making sure that the use is compatible to their needs with that
I'd like to call Mr. DeShay Brown to the stand if he could raise his virtual hand.
DeShay Brown has been promoted. Thank you.
Mr. Chair, did you want to
Can you hear me?
I can. Thank you. Could you please state your name and spell
for the stenographer? Oh, yes. My name is
DeShay Brown. Spelling is D-A-S-H-A-Y
last name Brown. Do you swear or affirm
to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth? Yes, I do. Please proceed,
Yes, I do. Please proceed, counsel. Thank you. Mr. Brown, did you hear my presentation to the board this afternoon? Yes, I did. True and accurate to the best of your knowledge. Yes, it was. And do you adopt it as your own? Yes, I do. Thank you. I have nothing further, Mr. Chair.
Council. Thank you. Mr. Brown, did you hear my presentation?
Questions from the board. Yes. Can you all elaborate as to what concerns the residents had or the RCO had at the original proposed first floor use?
They don't want kids occupying space.
It's not a safe neighborhood in that particular area.
And they had, in their opinion, and they didn't want children having to come in and out of there and dealing with the safety issues.
They also felt there was an abundance of child care in this particular neighborhood.
And the last thing they wanted was more of that.
Was there ever any concerns?
Go ahead.
I'm sorry. But it was very clear that what they need is affordable housing. So smaller units, several of them, more approachable price points is what they wanted. So we acquiesced, even though we had a very long list of folks who were willing to send their children there. It's not what they wanted.
Understood. Was there ever consideration of a different commercial use?
They want no commercial.
got it so they i should say based on the information i received from those in that meeting
right but there was never a proposal that was presented to consider a different commercial
use that was not a daycare we would have loved to uh we did offer we wanted as much input as we
could we thought because of the long history of commercial it would only make sense to keep it
that way. They wanted that ended.
Other questions?
Questions or comments from our attorney?
No, it's
time, Mr. Chair. Questions or comments
from the virtual audience?
Yes, Chair. I have a hand up from
a Cheryl Smith.
I will promote them. Sure.
They should be back in shortly.
Thank you.
yes sure hi could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
my name is Cheryl Smith C-H-E-R-Y-L-S-M-I-T-H you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole
truth and nothing but the truth I do are you a neighbor I am I am a near neighbor I have a
property but I'm also the person that wrote the 12th word letter oh good thank you please proceed
Okay. I just listened to Mr. Anastasio and some of what he said is not correct. Although the letter, he does have a notice of mailing dated the 24th of April.
The meeting was on the 29th. OK, no one who has had attended the meetings previously were able to got the notice for that meeting in time.
The meeting was held with myself being one of them, but two other near neighbors who've never been on a meeting before.
And then three people who were blocks away, multiple way away from the property.
So they wouldn't be considered near neighbors. It's not that the neighborhood didn't want children in the area.
We have multiple daycares. This is the concern of the neighbors. We have multiple daycare.
That corner is a very busy corner, very active with drugs and, you know, traffic and to allow children to come in and out of there, you know, that time of day, early in the morning or whatever.
It was just very dangerous. And that's what they felt.
um that that side of the block is partially commercial um it's commercial residential
but it's just been a history of problems on that side of the block with that that corner
specifically um we recently had a fire that um because there were people living in there in in
houses that were not um registered they you know they were squatting basically and it was just
um registered they you know they were squatting basically and it was just dangerous for children
dangerous for children.
um we did we would have gone with commercial but there was nothing offered that um for us to
for the neighborhood to decide on so at the third i mean at the second meeting um the owner
and the neighborhood the community agreed on um residential um mr brown said that he was fine
with that he was finally ready to get it over with he just wanted something there they did bring in
on the second meeting they did bring in somebody who was interested in renting the first floor as
a daycare the first meeting and the second meeting both came back with a daycare the neighborhood was
not interested in that it's too dangerous we have daycare half a block away daycare up the street
a block away from that it's just a lot um so it's not quite that we didn't want children there we
have plenty of children but we just didn't want them we wanted their safety their safety was very
important to us um and i did send the letter the same i did send a letter to his office i don't
know why he didn't get it um i sent both letters for two properties that he had today um so i don't
know why he didn't get it but we would like my interest is that hardly anybody who has previously
been at a meeting nobody except for myself um was at that meeting because they didn't get notified
in time i was requesting that they represent the information i've already told people what it was
i've even sent out the the information that i had but um they wanted to see it for themselves
and i personally think it's a pretty good plan but i can't make that decision for the total
neighborhood not by myself when other people had um you know comments about it and even the other
The RCO wasn't even notified that they were supposed to come to this meeting, and that
would be solo.
And they attend all meetings.
Thank you very much.
We appreciate your input.
Do you have any questions?
Ms. Smith actually accurately described how things went at the meetings as far as
that's concerned.
We did get, again, the first meeting, which was well attended, more than the second.
And that's where we were told we want, you know, the folks would like to see residential.
And that's why we came back with the residential plan.
But yes, we did have someone interested in renting it for child care.
Anyone else in the virtual audience?
Yes, Mr. Chair.
Charles Richardson, I have promoted them.
They'll be back in shortly.
good afternoon again um carl's richardson i think i think you should just stay on the phone
personally but i think so stay your name for the record and then proceed carl's richardson
office of councilwoman cindy bass i was a little surprised with the low attendance for that meeting
um and as uh cheryl had mentioned allison comes to everything and uh they did not show up so you
You know, they have no representation here today either.
So I'm kind of wondering whether or not they actually received the notice.
And if you're going to hold this, perhaps we might want to try to see if we can have something else with the community.
Because it really was a very low attendance at this meeting.
I don't object to that, Mr. Chair.
i mean again this is the community's plant that uh that they were busted so i'll be happy to meet
again okay um we have the time okay do we want planning to take a position or you want to wait
okay um maybe you're with the planning commission yes i can speak to the new proposal
um the planning sorry the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the rsa5 residential
single-family zoning at this location this property has a documented history of gone for
commercial and second floor residential the conversion to residential is more in line
with the residential zoning of this property however four units is not the least minimum
the planning commission recommends that the board grant the proposed variance for multi-family with
proviso max two units. Mr. Chair, I appreciate the input from the Planning Commission as always
to ask for two units on the property this large would basically give us two single family homes,
which would not at all be affordable for this community. Okay, thank you. So
at all be affordable for this community. Okay, thank you. So, Hillary, the way I look at this
would be a resumptive hearing, am I correct? I don't think we need to do that because we have
had public testimony today as well as the recommendation of the Planning Commission,
but I think we can leave the record open for any additional feedback from the public based on the
revised proposal as well as the question i'm having really is the date um at least probably
about 30 days before we voted we would vote this um it should take no more than that to get a revised
refusal so yeah yeah um and so in the first week in july we do not have hearings um so july we
could say july 9th at 2 p.m all right we're going to continue this to july 9th at 2 p.m
it's closed other than additional information from the rco am i correct yeah for it then the
information from the public regarding the revised plan and then the revised use proposed use and
then the amended refusal okay okay thank you thank you and um verne i think i have one more here yep
MI 2024-006-537-3740
North 18th Street
There's a letter of unanimous opposition
from the 13th Ward RCO
Vote was 7-0
Why not just state your name
and our vice chair has a few questions
good afternoon counsel do you agree to either read another refusal or stipulate to its accuracy
i do have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that's needed to
proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing i have thank you uh council please
proceed thank you i believe i'm sharing my screen already this property is here's proper posting
This property was initially proposed to be a three-family dwelling.
It's a three-story building on a street with, although a significant number of single-family
homes, also two- and three-family dwellings.
We had a series of meetings.
After the first, it was requested that we reduce the size to a duplex, which we did.
We had a second meeting with the same folks who proposed it.
The idea that they've sent a letter of opposition is inconsistent with the feedback that we've received thus far.
So I'm not. Of course, we did not. I did not get that letter.
But 137 households were, in fact, mailed.
And let me show you the.
The rest of the.
Property.
Mr. Chair, just for some housekeeping, there is a tax certification issue that needs to be
clarified. Attorney Emerson has informed me that the vote would be held until that is sent over to
you. Here's the basement. Basically, it's no living space. That's about, here's your washer
and dryer and it's stairs for the first floor apartment. Up the front of the stairs into the
porch there's an entry. If you make a right after when you get to the entry and up to the hallway
you'll be led upstairs to the second and third floor. If you go straight you'll be led into the
first floor unit, where you'll have a large living room, large eating kitchen, full
bath, and a bedroom. Trash storage in the rear.
we go to the right and go up the stairs
we'll be taken to the second
floor unit
which leads you into the eat-in kitchen
we have a little
study nook
and a living room
the full bath
and a bedroom
in the back of the property.
The top floor
is a little family room area
for TV, for gaming,
For TV, for gaming, and the master bedroom with the master bath at the top.
and the master bedroom.
So these are the revised plans as a result of the first meeting.
And it was my understanding that that was the request of the community.
Vern, can I interrupt for one second?
I have a letter from the 13th Ward and a meeting summary that was received as of the 28th, and it says that seven support, support with provisos, seven individuals supported from the RCO committee.
and uh that was my understanding as well i don't know if mr richardson has to be identified for
the translator for the trend i think our translator knows okay good and i just wanted
to confirm that we did receive that letter just this morning and i was going to mention that in
my comments that wonderful okay that we yeah they changed it was initially opposed okay so then
that's consistent right yes then after yeah then yes we just got that this morning that they are
okay so that makes more sense all right great thank you mr richardson thank you mr richardson
thank you attorney emerson yeah that makes sense then i'm no longer scratching my head internally
so which is great so um that's the property here's some interior
property is renovated uh when my client purchased it he's tearing out one of the kitchens
to make sure that
this is a duplex.
You know, but
can you hear me?
I thought you were sending me something.
Here's the letter that was
mailed. The address is
to which the notice went.
And 137 households met.
Because my client worked tirelessly with the neighbors in this
particular one to reduce the number to a living space that
makes sense for both the community and the owner because my client purchased this as a triplex and
is willing to convert it to a duplex and because we enjoy now overwhelming support of the neighbors
and I'm assuming the support of the community council member's office supporting the RCO's
position I'm requesting respectfully that this board grant the variance with that
Mr. Travis Glover, if he could raise his hand
and be recognized, I would appreciate it.
Thank you.
We should be coming back in as a panel shortly.
Thank you.
sir could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
my name is travis glover that's t-r-a-v-i-s glover g-l-o-v-e-r
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth,
tell the truth, nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, counsel.
Thank you.
Mr. Glover, did you hear what I said
to the zoning board today?
Yes, sir.
Is it true and accurate, to the best of your knowledge?
Yes, sir.
And do you adopt it as your own testimony?
I thank you.
Thank you.
I'm looking further.
Questions for the board?
Yes, I have a few questions.
One, how are the second floor unit going to have access to the trash that's stored at the rear?
Let's take a look at the plants.
They're unable to get to the rear from the outside. I believe that trash will be
held inside based on the community request that there be a closet somewhere built out
on the second floor for the trash okay i didn't see one and you didn't it wasn't pointed out yeah
i usually highlight it if it's there um but that was the request of it and
um but that was the request of it and that's the that is the trash plan for the second floor unit
okay so the three bins that are shown on this on the first floor plan are only for the first
floor unit that was that was originally uh with one for each unit originally we didn't pull out
one but yes generally it's to show where the first floor would put their trash okay then my
second question is what is going on in the basement now that it's been revised to a duplex
because we didn't talk about it in this presentation first floor will have access for washer dryer
and i'm assuming maybe some storage but no living no living space is that mr glover if you could
just confirm what i just said to the board that is correct thank you and then so uh just trying
to recount how much work has been done. It looks like the property was purchased in 2023 and all
of the listings show it being listed as a single family property with six bedrooms and three
bathrooms. So I just want clarity on like what has happened since sale. Well, since purchase,
when he purchased it, it was all built out for the multi. Mr. Glover, would you like to explain
this to the board member as well that's that's exactly as it was when we purchased it everything
was already separated what we're doing is taking out a kitchen to accommodate the community thank
you so all the lni violations had been cleared before purchase
to the best of my knowledge okay so there was like no structural no nothing when
purchase? No. Oh, no, no.
They should say closed out.
They should. They do, but they say that
it was sealed, so I'm trying to wrestle with the fact that
the listings show a property that has not been
renovated, and the photos that were being shown of a renovated property are saying that's what they were
at sale, and that's different than every listing at the time of
it's there on the internet so yeah other questions well the one issue that i bring up every time i
see plans like this is that you've got to go through the bedroom to get to the backyard which
is a horrible living situation to have friends and family having to go through your bedroom to
uh to access trash now your trash is in your backyard you have to bring it through your
bedroom. It's just a horrible layout to have it set up that way. So you clearly have a breezeway.
There's an opportunity to get a doorway out to the side and not have to go to one's bedroom to go
to access the yard. Well, actually, as a correction, if you would, Vern, if you would
show the entrance to the first floor unit.
When you come in and you turn to the left,
I mean, you turn to the right before the entry into the unit,
right to your right between the first and second floor
is space for a vented closet to go for first and second floor.
And it's right next to a window as well.
That would be right in the front there where the first entry door is to the right of it.
Here, Mr. Glover?
A little further over to the right into the corner.
That corner there is enough space for two garbage cans and a vented unit.
I mean, a vented closet.
That is what we discussed with the RCO.
okay i'm just not based on the scale of your plan though that that what you just described won't
work but nonetheless the issue is not having to go through the bedroom to go access the backyard
and perhaps used to that breezeway might be something we can do as well
once we get to the building code the building plan uh building permit uh phase of this
uh questions or comments from our attorney
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I do not see any hands, Mr. Chair.
Planning wants to take a position now.
Am I correct?
The only thing we're going to hold for is taxes.
Am I right?
Amy Boyd with the Planning Commission.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change in zoning at this location from the existing
residential single family.
The appellant has shown that there are unique physical conditions or circumstances that
would prevent the property from being used in conformance of the zoning code.
The Planning Commission recommends the board grant the request variance for two families.
the planning commission recommends the board grant the request of variance for two families
okay um hillary are we going to give a date or they'll notify us when they have the taxes straight
once we receive it then we'll okay good okay thank you ver but mr richardson has his hand raised
mr richardson i'm so sorry no problem uh charles richardson office of the council and cindy bass
room 501 city hall uh the councilwoman has no opposition to granting the variance
thank you very much we appreciate your service um thank you with burn thank you so for the people
on the uh 330 list we're at least an hour away we have four more cases on the the two o'clock list
so if you want go get a coffee may take a drain you can't walk around the block but i'm just if
you want to sit there and listen you can listen but it we've got at least four more cases and i
think alan you have three of them am i correct okay so you know if it gets too late you could
stare at uh alan oh no no we don't want coffee though okay number seven mi 2024 006 751 2648
to 52 north 15th street brandon saverin is the attorney
there's a letter of support from all the family cdc a letter of support with provisos from uptown edc
and a letter of support with provisos from swamp poodle neighbors parcels
hey mr chairman good afternoon hi brandon could you uh you've been already been sworn today could
you just state your name for the record yeah brandon saverin okay um could you identify your
client in relationship to the property my client is g choice funeral chapel inc who is the owner
of the property right so um our vice chair is going to get on in a minute uh and during your
presentation if you would go right to what the refusal is and then start your presentation
sure because everything that's on your list we have so you don't have to go over your list and
and tell us because that's what our vice chair is going to do right now do you understand
i think so yeah well what i'm saying is you don't have to say here's the deed here's this here's
that. Oh, sure. We know all that. So what I want to do is to go to the refusal to start your
presentation. Okay, sure. All right, sure. Okay, here we go. Counsel, do you agree to waive the
reading of the refusal or stipulate to his accuracy? Yes. Have you emailed in all the
required documents and exhibits as needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of
this hearing? Yes, with the exception of the proof of tax clearance, which I sent today.
all right and we will need to see proof of that and i i can show that yep please proceed okay thanks
okay um well just as you said mr chairman here's the refusal so um this is a vacant lot i'm going
to show you some photos of it in a second been a vacant lot for decades um and we are proposing
to build I'll actually just flash the elevation before you and I'll come back to the refusal this
which is a three-story mixed-use building um so um you're making me go a little out of order but
I'll start here so what what refusals did we get um starting in the bottom uh we we had originally
a refusal for uh height so we have proviso plans three pages um and we no longer have the height
refusal or I should say it no longer applies because we are now below 38 feet because in
our proviso plan we eliminated what was the fourth floor. The next three refusals all pertain to the
fact that we're in the RSA 5 district and we're proposing a commercial space on the ground floor
which we think is appropriate because we're on Lehigh Avenue at an intersection with another
commercial use. So those proposed uses are, I'm going to sort of shorten the text here,
grocery store, retail sale of other consumer goods, and prepared food shop. So that would
be something like a cafe or selling, you know, sandwiches within the store. We are not a takeout
restaurant. We are not a sit down restaurant. And then finally, we have a use refusal for the
apartments upstairs, which I'll address in a moment. We also have a refusal because we, at the
best of the community, have seven on-site parking spaces, but given that we are at an intersection
of 15th and Lehigh, we do not have like a rear alley or a shared driveway, and therefore
um we do not have like a rear alley or a shared driveway and therefore um any manner of access
to that parking requires a variance we think we've designed a safe parking access which i'm
going to show you um so moving right along here's an aerial of the subject property it's here where
my cursor is on the left hand side we're on the corner of 15th and lehigh um just want to mention
really quickly. There is some debris and a tree here. This is not our property. There is a slice
here of vacant land that is beyond our boundary. And you'll see in photos in a minute that our
property is very clean and fenced. There's no litter on our property. Didn't want that to get
mixed up. And just for other context, here's the site again. Here's zooming out. So 15th Street
running along the side of our property, Lehigh Avenue in front of our property, and we're one
block away from Broad, where you have the North Broad Regional Rail Station and the North
Philadelphia stop on the Broad Street subway. I showed you the elevation, so let me go ahead to
the zoning map. So as you saw on those aerials, three of the four corners of this intersection
are vacant, and the only corner that's occupied is occupied by a beer store. So this corner could
you some love. And we are in a position to do that. I will note in a, come back to in a second,
the fact that we're also the other, the only corner with a pure residential designation.
The other corners are zoned CMX or industrial, which is going to be relevant to my argument in
a moment. So why is my client a funeral home? A block and a half away on Broad Street, some of
you may recognize this red awning this is the g choice funeral chapel it's a third generation
black owned family business started by eddie and gloria choice eddie was an army veteran and an
architect who built this himself designed it himself and then purchased some properties in
the immediate area the property i'm here about today is the furthest of the other real estate
holdings from the funeral home. It's never been used in connection with the funeral home. So
the current owner and president of the funeral home, Brittany, who's here with me today,
determined that it is time to do something else with this particular property.
And rather than sell it and not know what's going to happen to it, because it was vacant long before
before my client owned it, Brittany has decided to develop it, hold it as an asset that she can
pass to her children and do something that's beneficial for the community rather than just
continuing the vacancy. So the lot is over 8,700 square feet. It is about eight and a half more
or less times the size of a typical property on our side of the street. And I'm bringing that up
just to give you a sense of comparative density. So above our grocery store, we're proposing 12
dwelling units on two floors. That, and I'll show you the floor plans too, that was all designed in
close coordination with the RCOs over three meetings, two open to the public and one not.
And if you look at the red dots here, particularly on our side of the street, what you're going to find is that eight of the nine habitable structures are multifamily.
They're two to six dwelling units inside them.
So we're only aware of one single family home on our side of the street.
Given that these properties are eight times smaller than ours and they have two or more units, they actually have a greater unit density than we are proposing on our site.
Furthermore, if you were to subdivide our property, and it's interesting, the zoning is actually changing.
So Councilman Young has a bill on the floor right now that would allow this to be carved into eight home lots instead of six.
but you know using the number eight we could build in theory eight single family homes here
the problem with that is that they'd all be up to 38 feet tall they would have a greater number
of bedrooms in total than what we're proposing and the products would be unaffordable they also
would probably probably be impossible to build which is part of the hardship i've laid out
in my memo of law because we are here on what is in large part a non-residential corridor
And there's no recent construction of any kind on this block. I think in 15 plus years, there's very little single family home use. The cost of construction of a new single family home here, we don't believe can be recovered through sale without subsidy.
and there's no recent construction of any kind on this block I think
So for all those reasons, and because my client deeply as a, you know, 50, almost 50 year business operator around the corner wants to have another business here, multifamily allows us to solve those issues and to include a retail component, which we're really hoping is a grocery store ultimately.
And last note on this slide, and then I'll move on. If this was a CMX2 site, just like a couple of the other lots on this corner are, we could do 17 units by right and have the store. Again, we're only proposing 12.
So let's see, just skip ahead a little bit to save time.
okay I mentioned to you that we worked with the RCOs on both the overall design and the floor
plan so just want to show you this was the original rendering two of the three RCOs actually
had no problem with this mass or the number of units originally which was 18 but the coordinating
RCO wasn't happy. So we chopped off the top floor, took it down from 18 to 12 units. I don't have a
new 3D rendering, but we will only be three stories now. And that's reflected in our Proviso plan,
which I'm about to show you. Go to page 45. So this is actually similar, but not quite the first
page of the Proviso plan, just because this is the one with the streets approval stamp.
This shows you how the circulation of cars in and out of the site is going to work.
It's a one-way L-shaped drive aisle system with cars coming in off of 15th Street and
leaving onto Lehigh.
If the streets department wants us to do a right turn exit only onto Lehigh, we will
comply with that.
That'll come up in the building permit stage.
But essentially, you have seven parking spaces under an overhang of the second and third floors because the first floor is a little shallower in the rear than the upper two floors.
And that allows for an 18-foot drive aisle behind the property and then a pedestrian alley and then the rear yards of the homes to the rear.
so not only are we only three stories but we're separated by 20 plus feet of separation from any
of the nearest structures to the rear and really this is an opportunity to allow some of the
residents to have parking keep going and I have I'm not going to show them all I have I have
zoning stage approval letters from streets department water department planning commission
on, you know, the fence, all that stuff. And they're all in the exhibits, but I'm just going
to kind of, you know, try and save you some time here. So that was the first page. Here's the
second page of the proviso plan, which is the elevation I already showed you. And then we get
into some floor plans. So you have retail, right? We've, we've simply marked it as retail, but we
have flexibility to do all the different uses I named in this large space in the front of the
first floor with a lot of glass to the street both the residences upstairs who have an elevator
and this store have a trash room with a direct overhead garage door sort of like a sliding metal
gate where dumpsters can be brought out to this driveway so a private commercial hauler will pick
up trash on this drive aisle there will never be trash nor a trash truck in the street in connection
with trash service. There is supplemental space. That's our proviso form, sorry.
There's supplemental space in the basement for stock and storage, in addition to a couple
employee bathrooms for the store. The elevator does go down there for easy access to goods,
in addition to the various staircases. There's other rooms down there. I think at least one
will be used for mechanicals but there could be storage or a tenant amenity down there as well
no residences importantly and then the upper two floors are all are the same as one another
they have the elevator and and two stairwells you're going to have a mix that amounts to
two one bedrooms, eight two-bedroom units, and two three-bedroom units. So mostly two-bedroom
So mostly two bedroom units. This was actually something that the RCOs and my client pretty
units. This was actually something that the RCOs and my client pretty much
much saw eye to eye on. We did tweak a little bit, but the sort of two bedroom concept was
favored rather than packing in more one bedrooms. I do have the architect here. He or I can sort of
go through the details of each unit if you have any questions on that. And there's a residential
roof deck with the required setbacks and an extra large setback from the rear. Again, only three
stories, which is what our neighbors are too on Lehigh. So we're really not hovering above anybody,
but trying to sort of both for safety and privacy have adequate setbacks of the roof deck. And we
think this is important because due to the parking, there's no ground level outdoor space.
These are notices of mailing. We did two of them for the two public meetings. We're going to skip that. I guess the last thing I'll put on the screen here are the RCO letters. So, you know, here's our letter from the coordinating RCO, our letter from one of the other affected RCOs, Uptown.
And this letter wants us to accept Section 8 and other tenant subsidies, which we will do. Also comments on the floor plans, which I think we've already complied with, to my knowledge. And then another letter from Swamp Poodle, which is another affected RCO.
All these letters are of support. And as I mentioned, we had two noticed public meetings, but a really lousy turnout. So, you know, the one sort of saving grace to that is we had great participation by these affected RCOs. So there was always sort of good, healthy discussion of the issues at these meetings.
I will stop it there.
I also have pictures of the block.
You know what?
Let me just put those up for literally 10 seconds.
Street level photo of our lot.
These are the properties next to us on Lehigh.
They're also three stories.
The conditions vary, but I'm really showing you them so you get a sense of their height
and mass and how we're approximately going to match that.
And again, most of these are at least two units inside.
this is across the street where there's some commercial uh okay i'll stop there so brandon
brandon to summarize you went from 18 units to 12 units that's right and you took a whole floor
off the that's right okay so why don't you bring your client one okay uh britney choice are you
there yes they will be coming back in as a panel shortly
good afternoon my name is britney voice hi could you um spell your name please for the
court stenographer absolutely b-r-i-t-n-i accent last name c-h-o-i-c-e do you swear or affirm to
tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth absolutely do please proceed brandon okay
Brittany, are you indeed the president of G-Choice Funeral Chapel, Inc.?
Did you hear the full extent of my testimony in your case this afternoon?
Was it true and accurate to the best of your knowledge, information, and belief?
And would you therefore adopt it as if it were your own testimony?
And lastly, am I correct that you are interested in locating a grocery store to be the tenant of that space?
Thank you.
Questions from the board.
Have you reached out to any grocery outlets or?
Yes, indeed.
More so like natural food stores that would bring that benefit to the community.
We have a lot of generic things.
We don't have any things that can actually help us live.
So we're looking to do more of a natural-based store, like a lower scale of a Whole Foods, Trader Joe's.
What's the square footage of that space?
That's the lot, Brittany.
I think the upper floor, Michael, board member John's, excuse me, would be somewhere in the realm of 2,500 square feet.
And then I think there's another couple thousand in storage downstairs, I think it would be a ballpark.
All right.
And servicing that first floor would be from the rear?
Yeah, that's right.
So the same sort of hatch that, you know, you had the trash sort of opening that I mentioned.
You know, you'd have the trash sort of opening that I mentioned there, and you could, in theory, come through that room and hit the elevator to go down to the stock room.
The advantage of that is it's off the street.
Could you load from the other doors?
Yes, but you'd be on 15th or Lehigh in those cases.
Other questions?
what's the plan if you cannot find a national retailer i know we've had a number of people
try to open grocery stores and what would be considered an adjustment or even including
the same catchment area and had a like really difficult time finding national tenants i think
of the ha building on ridge avenue as well as uh i understand what was said i'm just i understood
I'm just saying, what's the plan? Because there have been a lot of vacant grocery store spaces
that sat in large buildings in North Philadelphia in recent years. And it took many of them a long
time to find a tenant. And many of them found tenants that were very different than what they'd
originally set out to do. Brittany, try and answer. And then I just want to jump in from
from the standpoint of the refusal and what it allows us,
which is a lot of flexibility.
Well, that's actually a great question.
So what we're trying to do is bring natural
and holistic healing to the community.
And sometimes that comes from the idea
of farmers market products coming in.
Of course, we would vet those people
and we would also give them a chance to, of course,
give us some type of explanation of what they're selling.
But the idea is to do something far away
from a local bodega and bring more of a natural product in. So it might not be on the scale of a
Whole Foods, it might be a step below, but there are plenty of companies that can offer those type
of services that we don't have existing in the 19132 area code. So I just want to add on my quick
canned answer. So thankfully, Brittany does have a lot of experience, too much, running a business,
So the family could sort of operate this as like an intermediate landlord of sorts if they can't bring in like one whole store to fill the space in a traditional sense.
The refusal would allow us, and this was another thing that I got encouragement on from one of the RCOs really early on.
The refusal would allow us to have something more approaching a general store that isn't food centric.
I know it's not Brittany's preference, but it's an option.
if we need it. And lastly, we could do more of like a large cafe. I deliberately stayed away
from takeout restaurant because I did not want to give folks the impression that this was going to
be another like a cheesesteak shop so that we can't cook hot food, but sort of anything that
doesn't require kitchen exhaust, we could have like a restaurant along those lines.
Okay. Other questions from the board?
Yeah. Have you, I guess from the model that you're talking about, have you thought about maybe like a sprouts or is that the kind of concept that you're talking about where they have like natural products, they have, you know, produce and, you know, some prepared foods, deli kind of foods, like a small, like supermarketing kind of concept.
is that what you're kind of looking at? Absolutely. Okay. All right. And I guess
the next question is, I mean, do you have any contacts at all with any of these folks or are
you just trying to get a space and then you're going to, you have a concept, you're going to
get the space approved and then you're going to try and find something. Is that? No, I do think
it's a two-step process. I have had multiple conversations with contacts of different people.
There's a couple of what I'm trying to do in the Germantown area, and I did have conversations
with them about renting a space in the inner city to bring the same type of concept down. So yes,
ma'am, I have had and done my research. It's just that sometimes people don't think you're serious
until they see the whole development of the plan. So it hasn't gone untouched, but we definitely
have our foot on the ground okay all right thank you questions from our attorney
not at this time mr chair questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see a hand up from uh 3552 miss fernandez i will allow her to speak
Adrian, you've already been sworn today, so just state your name and start your presentation.
adrian you've already been sworn today so just state your name
Hello?
Hi, Adrian.
You've already been sworn once today.
Just state your name and start your presentation.
You have the letter of support for this variance.
um we still did support the 18 units because of the location and um i think brandon mentioned a
lot of the um provisos but i didn't hear any mention about the proviso for bicycle or scooters
to be installed within the property the um mounting for locking them out to be stored within
the property and also um the landscaping plan and i think everything else he mentioned
sure um so as far as landscaping because um we're in the rsa5 district and we're only adjacent to
other rsa5 properties i don't think there's a legal requirement for on-site landscaping but
we do have um what's indicated as uh like an ornamental wood fence i think that would serve
as a visual buffer um from that pedestrian alley to the rear um that's that's on our zoning plan
so it's actually like officially baked into the cake here um the bikes that's a great question
adrian um i i wanna i wanna see whether bike parking is required but if the board wants to
enter a proviso that if we have bike parking it needs to be within the property lines we're
certainly fine with that okay thank you um anyone else in the virtual audience no further hands mr
chair planning amy boyd with the planning commission the comprehensive plan recommends
no change in zoning at this location with existing rsa 5 residential single family
the appellant has not demonstrated their unique physical conditions or circumstances that would
prevent the property from being used in conformance with the zoning code in fact the property could
be subdivided into six co-compliant single family lots the planning commission recommends that the
board deny the requested variances for multi-family parking commercial uses and height thank you
Mr. Chairman, I just, I did look. So we do have six indoor bike parking spaces on the plan. And I also, if you need to see it, I have the tax clearance.
all right thank you um mi 2024 006 751 2648 to 52 north 15th street i vote yes with proviso
revised plans three pages stamped by zba on may 28 2025 maximum 12 dwelling units
michael johns my vote is yes with proviso cheryl gaston my vote is yes with proviso
Tanada Graham, my vote is yes with Proviso.
I win.
My vote is yes with Proviso.
Yes, Masha, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Thank you.
Thank you, Brandon.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
All right.
Number eight, MI 2024-006816, 1826 North 24th Street.
Al Nackamson is the attorney.
There's a letter of opposition from Strawberry Mansion Community Concern.
Vote was 32 in opposition, one in support.
There's a letter of opposition.
from council member young um just for the record state your name alan knockamson can you identify
who your client is in the relationship to the property uh yes my client is wayne development
group llc the owner and the property uh and in the fiscal audience is michael olex michael come up
who will be giving testimony all right our vice chair has a few questions and at the new council
or do you agree to waive the read another refusal
or stipulate to his accuracy?
Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits
five days in advance of this hearing?
Yes, and actually I do object to the refusal
in the sense of I think there's a typo in it.
It says that in the refusal part indicates
that we're seeking six family dwelling when it's three,
and then yes to the second question.
Got it.
Get us out of here, Alan.
All right, let's do it.
All right.
This is an interesting one. I'll try to keep it short.
All right, so on my screen for 1826 North 24th Street, you're going to see a three-family
You're going to see a three-family structure.
structure, you know, again, architecture.
Again, the architecture is what you would see in that part of Philadelphia with lentils, cornice lines, nice light in there for these window structures, and a brick facade.
During my presentation, I just want to indicate that we have the typical exhibits.
We'll go straight to the notice of refusal here.
This is an RSA 5 property.
It is a decent-sized lot.
and we have two refusals for this three-family dwelling.
First one, RSA 5, so three-family dwelling is not allowed by the code,
and we'll talk about that.
Not out of character.
We have many examples in our presentation packet.
We'll go through that.
The second is a de minimis lock coverage issue that we have.
We want to have nice floor plans, and that's the reason why.
Again, we're not affecting anyone's light and air,
and you'll see that from the pictures where there's really nothing on our side of the block.
i would object to the fact of the introduction of this letter um from strawberry mansion
community concern we weren't invited to the meeting i have no idea who attended we have no
sign-in sheet this was an uncertified meeting i am also going to object uh preemptively that if
miss cummings of allegedly strawberry mansion community concern presents herself as such
we were here about a month ago on april 22nd of 2025 and you can check the tape videotape
at one hour 40 minutes and 53 seconds i cross-examined uh com uh cameron crossley who's
the city council member zoning aid if you remember during my presentation about affordable housing
development by penrose development and during that presentation during the cross-examination
I asked him, your office selected Strawberry Mansion Community Concern as the coordinating RCO in the summer of 2024, is that correct?
Yes, sir.
And is your understanding that Bonita Cummings is the representative of Strawberry Mansion Community Concern, is that correct?
I don't understand the question.
What's your understanding of who is the representative of Strawberry Mansion Community Concern?
Mr. Crosley, my understanding is that she's a member of SMCC, but I don't know that she's in charge.
is it your understanding that she's the point of contact to smcc my point of contact is
traditionally an email address and what email address is that i don't know it off the top of
my head sorry when you are in contact with smcc who you're speaking with an email address so that
office has claimed they have never spoken to someone verbally with strawberry mansion community
concern our office has submitted a right to know request to get more information about strawberry
managing community concern so we want to know who they are when they meet because we have never ever
ever ever seen anyone but miss cummings but no one ever shows up they don't have certified meetings
they did not have a certified meeting here we had a certified meeting with this with on this project
and there was community comment about this project we then our office with mr alex met with the
community in person with the block captain, there was communications, conversations regarding this
project that were very productive. Mr. Alex has actually met with other members of the community
at different community events. We didn't see Ms. Cummings at those community events. Allegedly,
she is a member of the community there. So again, long story short, I object to the introduction
of this letter for Strawberry Mansion Community Concern. While Ms. Cummings may have taxpayer
standing as a citizen of the city of philadelphia i would object that strawberry mansion community
concern has standing here generally if these these proceedings go beyond this level and generally
as a matter of public record i would object that strawberry mansion community concern would have
any standing in any proceedings because they do not follow the procedures of rco in the city of
philadelphia and the fact that council member young continually uh appoints them as a coordinating
rco and they've never verbally talked to them wink wink i think is is is rather disgraceful
thank you um all right so let's go over i mean yeah i'm angry because you know i got it i got
because the thing is like let's be honest here they could be against something but there's a
process here and we follow their process and time and time again we get blasted as an office
that we're we're doing something wrong our office is always above board we always let the community
speak and the fact that they had a meeting with allegedly 29 people that we weren't even invited
to and they passed this off as a letter of a certified meeting what 32 32 people at least
32. 32 people. At least one person was in support of this project, but we don't know who was in
one person was in support of this project but we don't know who was in support of who
support and who was against it. Mr. Doxman, can I just clarify one thing? Because I was just looking
at your exhibit packet. You did send a letter out for a meeting in February, right? That's right.
Okay, and the Strawberry Mansion Community Concern mentions that meeting, but it mentions there were
two other meetings. That's right, and the other meeting was, I believe, an in-person meeting that
was not a certified meeting, but just a meeting with the community to kind of meet with them in
person and this third meeting is the subject of this letter which we weren't invited to got you
thank you all right so so are you saying you never got a chance to present this project to
the community that is correct no i presented in the first one in a certified meeting where we
send a notice to we were asked to meet with them in person which we did and then apparently they
had a third meeting which again is the basis of this letter and the opposition so again what
their their opposition no demonstrated hardship justifying the variance and mr alex will tell
you that he previously submitted and obtained a permit for single-family use honestly can't build
it let me let me ask this you're objecting to it i'm objecting to it what i'm saying but you're
still going to go over i'm going to go over their rationale which still doesn't make sense
and i apologize i know it's a late hour no i'm not saying about the late hour i'm just saying
you're saying this doesn't exist it never happened it doesn't exist but i want to give
them the respect to like address the issues that are in this letter and the first is about the
lack of a hardship and mr alex will testify that you know he did submit for a single family use
he can't build it it's you know it's too expensive to build single family there and you know in terms
of construction materials as well as in terms of interest rates and i'll let him testify as to that
I don't need to say that. The block is predominantly single-family. Well, by implication,
there is some multifamily there, and there is no development and building structures on our side
of the street. We'll see that. The community prefers traditional design. Well, you saw the
design. That's as traditional as you can get in the city of Philadelphia. A single-family home can
be built for less. Again, I don't know the aptitude of who wrote this letter, but the fact
is is mr alex is a developer and you know what he can't build it for any less responsibly and the
community opposition is consistent and clear i don't know if that's the case again um we spoke
to the block captain after getting this letter to find out what was going on so we do confirm that
there was a meeting of some sort we just don't know who's at the meeting but you know you object
to this letter by object to this letter but i'm stating that our office spoke to them to to the
block captain and he said well i'm not really hard and fast against it we would prefer to have
single family there i'd rather be you know we're in office as an officer of the court but i don't
think the opposition is is consistent and clear so um anyway so that's the vote that we did make
some changes there was a discussion about they didn't want to have our balcony on the second
floor on the front because it was a safety hazard they so we you know agreed after the first meeting
to put it in the rear so that's our revised plan um and um yeah we removed the front we put it in
the back we added the cornice line which is not part you know obviously part of this uh you know
introduction if the board does grant this variance we would ask that they would grant it with the
with the revised plans because that's what we're from is the community nearby multi-family you have
1906 North 22nd Street, and then you have 1904 North 22nd Street, you have 1914 North 22nd Street.
The reason why we're giving some of these on this block, on the neighboring block, because there's
not as much development on our block, and you'll see that from the aerial view. This is our side
of the street. You can see there's nothing here. There's nothing here in pockets as well. There's
other multifamily I have in my notes of crossing streets as well, so it's not out of character to
have multifamily here. That's why we ask the boards to consider this as an opportunity to
start the redevelopment of this part of Philadelphia. Maps of the area, we acknowledge
that this is an RSA5 property, but there is a sprinkling of some RM1. There is CMX2. There is
a commercial corridor. Typically, when you're on a block or a block and a half away from a commercial
corridor, from a planning perspective, you do try to increase density to help support that commercial
corridor that's what we're trying to do here photographs of the property the front of the
property this is property based on google street view has been a vacant lot and it goes and goes
as far back as 2009 i'm sure it goes back even further this is what we can see posting proof
of posting north 24th street to the right of the property to the left of the property these were
original plans we'll skip over those but you can see at least here like we did try to introduce
the cornice line and the revised plans we removed the the balcony
cornice line and the revised plans we removed the the balcony in the front we
thought we want to put more eyes on the street in the front they wanted the
eyes in the back so but again we we took the the the comments of the community
seriously where we could we made changes and these are our revised plans again a
pronounced cornice line lentils nice light in there flat brick facades you
You know, floor plans, you know, you walk through a common vestibule area, you make a right.
Very interesting design here, which will provide a lot of light and air for the lower level.
But there's the interior staircases is actually hugging the front.
So that light and air, because of the staircases, you're going to see a lot of light and air go into the lower level.
But you have a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom, a bedroom in the rear.
And then you have lower level living here as well with a window well.
Instead of the first floor unit, which is a bi-level, you go up a second story, and that is a two-bedroom, one-bath, and then you have another two-bedroom, one-bath as well.
We try to focus on the fact that there's much light in there for the people who are living there in terms of the window placement.
And you can see here, even for the bedrooms that are hugging the middle, we use the breezeway with the windows to provide light in there for those bedrooms as well.
so there's enough light in there for everyone who's living there and again this these are just
the renderings you know from a massing point of view front and back this was the meeting notice
i don't think we need to go over the rest of the materials they're just the foreign materials but
like you know we did have a community meeting i would say maybe 10 people were there i mean
they were active this there was an active discussion but i don't know what happened
at that other meeting so with that being said i would ask that mr uh alex uh be sworn in i have
a few questions for him sir is that on the green light one yep okay sir could you please state
your name as bell for the stenographer uh how you doing my name is michael olex m-i-c-h-a-e-l-o-l-i-x
right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth yes i do
please proceed counsel uh yeah michael you heard everything i had to state today about your zoning
matter yes is it true and correct yes and do you adopt as your own testimony yep specifically can
you uh state like how we got here today in terms of your original attention to do single family
and why that cannot happen here um yeah i mean without dragging this on too long basically the
cost of money now is too high interest rates are outrageous it's i mean even at three units it's
going to be tough to be honest with you but you know it's something i've had my eyes on doing for
a while i i looked into doing it for a long time as a single family and it just didn't work it just
didn't pencil there's no i mean in that area it wouldn't have been a viable option to make my
money back on a sale of a single family house all right i have no further questions questions from
the board yeah oh so um i noticed like the rest of the block i know it's a lot of vacancy in a block
but there's a mostly two-story homes and i know like you can go up 38 feet by right so have you
thought about um you know a duplex in this particular space i mean just trying to look
at the concerns of the community right i mean i have and again it's one of the only ways that
it makes sense in a building that size envelope wise is to have more than as many units as
i can in that 38 16 by 50 space because like i said even at three units it's it's going
to be a push but it that's that's the really the only way it makes sense
other questions from the board well i i'll bring up the same issue i bring up anytime i see
you having to go through a bedroom to get
to the backyard. I think it's a
ridiculous layout. It's a horrible
way for somebody to live
to have to go through a bedroom to access
the backyard.
What's your
first floor?
I believe that our
first floor does include
a bedroom out there. I will
say that the focus was to provide
outdoor space for each of the units.
We have a backyard for the first floor unit.
We have a rear
area for the second floor unit and we have a roof deck for the third floor unit
you know again we we really try to work with what we have and we do believe that this is
a responsible use of this property and we hope that the board finds similarly okay i guess for
clarity the third floor is the only unit that has access to the roof deck correct what else is
happening in that pilot house because in the rendering it looked oversized i think the
I think the rendering is just a poor rendering.
rendering is just a poor rendering.
Gotcha.
Gotcha.
Other questions from the board?
Questions from our attorney?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Yes, Chair.
I have a hand up from Strawberry Mansion Community Concerns.
I will promote them at this time.
Please accept the invitation to be promoted.
Ms. Cummings?
Good afternoon.
Can you hear me?
Good afternoon.
Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
My name is Bonita Cummings, B-O-N-I-T-A-C-U-M-M-I-N-G-S.
Could you put your camera on, please, so we can see you?
Okay, one second.
Are you able to see me?
Yeah, thank you.
Do you swear or affirm that tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Ms. Cummings, please proceed.
I wanted to say that the required public meetings were met, more than one was met. The first meeting took place as a Zoom meeting, which because of the opposition from the Zoom meeting of the block captain and the residents of that community,
it was considered to do another meeting, which would be in person. That in-person meeting was
a meeting that Alex Goldberg attended along with the developer, the applicant. That meeting
also attended by a very close block, several blocks. People were very consistent. They were
not interested in what was being proposed and they wanted further communication
with their councilmen as to how to preserve their interests and what they want as
as harmony for their block. So the two meetings that, public meetings that were required to be
held, or at least one public meeting required to be held, was held as a Zoom meeting. The
community extended another meeting that was attended by the attorney and the applicant was
held. And the third meeting, the community wanted to talk to each other. They wanted to talk,
you know, amongst themselves to get clarity, consistency, which is what was meant.
They had the councilmen of that district come to that meeting.
And with that, they hope to be able to preserve their block in the manner in which they are accustomed.
And the designs right now, even with the changes, are not what they are accustomed to.
And it just does not reflect, as I have mentioned, those values that they spoke of that are mentioned in the opposition letter.
So the opposition letter is based on that community saying that they were opposed.
There was no acceptance of even considering less than three units, so the developer has been in that community with the representatives of that community, and their last meeting, they voted to stay consistent with the meeting that the attorney, Alan Nockmson, and Alex Goldberg was well aware was opposed.
It was opposed from the very first public meeting, and there was no change or no correction based on the design.
Roof decks, it started out with six units, things that they were just opposed to, and they want planning.
They want the opportunity to plan for their future and their block.
And it was hoped that the developer would continue to work with them and along with a planning strategy that would be more conducive to helping that block redevelop itself.
would be more conducive to helping that that block redevelop itself so the these accusations
are not accurate because we met the requirement as a registered process with one meeting and that
one meeting was opposed it would they were even further accommodated with a second meeting and
And that community really worked to try and really work out anything that they could to accommodate development moving forward in their block.
And this particular design is not what that is.
It is my hope that the block captain of that community is on.
He's a very consistent young man and was very concerned with this development and worked very hard with the residents of that community to continue to come together over the 30-something number of people over three meetings that did attend.
So they have a right to meet amongst themselves, and particularly since the meetings required were met. And that is what took place for them to have a conversation, to get their own ability to see the objectivity or who's opposed or who's for it, was anything overlooked.
And that was what was done at the April 23rd meeting, and it was done, you know, with their leader, the head of their district, to try and work out for their future, in the harmony of their health, welfare, and safety, what will work best in that block.
So I have done nothing wrong. The committee, RVCO Committee of Strawberry Mansion Community Concern has done nothing wrong. We are not, we are in compliance in this particular 1826 North 24th Street address.
Some of these cases have been reassigned because some of the RCOs are not responding, and there may be some trails of emails that came even to the board asking that they get responses.
And some of those, the 32nd Ward had been suspended for a while or removed itself.
So some of these things are as a result of that.
So I don't, you know, these accusations are just not appropriate and they're not correct. And there were meetings met, and I can't say it enough, based on the rules and regulations, that community made a decision.
And that decision was relayed per the responsibility of the ROCO in a letter of opposition from three meetings.
This is not a doing of the ROCO.
This is a doing of that cohesive block of people in that community.
I think I hear you.
Can I just knock on one and one?
Mr. Knock on one and one.
Yeah, I do.
Ms. Cummings, do you have a copy of the notice that went out to the community for this meeting?
The notice that went out to the community from that meeting was generated by the block captain.
He wanted his community to be more involved.
He generated a notice, and that notice was hand-delivered to households in that community, particularly focusing on the most affected people, which was the residents of the 1800 block of North 24th Street.
So the residents of the 1800 block of North 24th Street are the ones who primarily got that notice?
No, that notice went, to my understanding, around to many blocks.
But the most affected people are the residents of the 1800 block of North 24th Street.
So did the notice go to the residents of the address?
Again, to my knowledge, it went to the...
Can I finish my question?
Thank you.
So did the notice go to those same addresses that the City's Landing Commission believes are effective properties for this project?
To my knowledge, the notices went to the understanding of the block captain to what those addresses were.
So that's what I can speak to.
All right.
But you don't know because you didn't prepare the notice or distribute that notice, correct?
Exactly.
And where did the meeting take place?
At the same place it took place when your Alex Goldberg was in attendance along with Mr. Alex.
So it took place at 1909 North 24th Street.
Did you take a sign-in sheet of the individuals who showed up that day for the meeting?
There was a sign-in of the individuals that attended that meeting, yes.
So where is that?
remember you're under oath
What do you mean, where is that? There is a sign-in sheet that was retained by my person from that meeting. So yes, I did have an accounting to be able to give an accurate summary of the three meetings.
what do you mean where is that
there is a sign
there is a sign in sheet
All right, so I would like a copy of that sign-in sheet.
Will you provide a copy of that?
All right, great.
Now, did you, in terms of the sign-in,
did you check IDs of the individuals
who allegedly signed into this meeting?
IDs are not checked at any RBCO meeting.
So what is that question about?
Where are we checking IDs at any RBCO meetings?
When we have our meetings virtually,
you make sure you go around the horn
and you make sure you talk to,
at least ask, who are you?
Where do you live?
What's your relationship to this project?
Every single meeting.
Well, when you say it like they needed to show me identification, people did demonstrate who they were in that meeting, if that's what you're asking.
And how do they demonstrate who they are?
By going around asking who people were.
Okay, so you went around.
They identified themselves, yes.
Okay, so remember, you're under oath here.
So if we eventually have to go to another, like, proceeding here, and we have witnesses here, you're stating on the record that you went for every full person.
People will be able, yes.
People will be able to say that they said who they were, what their names were, and any capacity in which they were in that community, yes.
Okay, I have no further questions.
All right, thank you.
Anyone else in the virtual audience?
Yes, Chair, I have a Stephen Haskins with their hand raised.
I will promote them.
Do you have any other hands after this?
No, sir.
All right, thank you.
Stephen Haskins please unmute and wait to be sworn in hi mr. Haskins could you please
turn your video on hi mr. Haskins could you please state your name and spell
it for the court stenographer yes Stephen Haskins s-t-e-v-e-n last name is
Haskins h-a-s-k-i-n-s right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole
truth and nothing but the truth yes mr haskins are you a neighbor yes i am please proceed please
proceed your testimony mr haskins what do you have to tell us oh so uh speaking with my block
and definitely the direct neighbor mrs virgie which she couldn't be on but she would like me
to speak for her a lot of the seniors on the block did opposed to having an apartment building that
was sitting there on the block excuse me um miss virgie uh really stressed it that she was opposed
to having that she said it's too much that will be over there by her going down that side of the
street are older people um she could not get on zoom but she said if there's something that she
can call she'll do that um well mr haskins where just don't tell me what somebody else
Are you taking a position on this project?
I'm standing up with my neighbors and going for what they want, because when we break it down, single dollar family homes is what we wanted.
We did speak on that and they were talking on restructuring the game plan that they had for it.
All right. All right. Thank you.
Alan, do you have any questions of this man?
No, I believe that Mr. Haskins is the block captain for that block, and we worked well with him, and he was honest that they had an issue with having anything but single family, but again, there's nothing on that side of the block.
Other questions from the virtual audience?
Mr. Haskins has his hand raised again.
Mr. Haskins.
Mr. Haskins you have something else to say
I'm also here with one of the
block captains from the 1900 block of
24th Street they couldn't get on their own
Zoom because it kept kicking them out so
she's here on
mine. Could you please state your name and spell for
the stenographer. Hi my name is
Lachelle Myers the name
is spelled L-A-S-H
E-I-L-D
last name is Myers M-Y-E-R-S
Do you swear or affirm to tell the
truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
Are you in favor or against this project?
against the project all right thank you very much for taking the time the calls we appreciate it is
Against the project.
All right.
Thank you very much for taking the time to calls.
We appreciate.
there anyone else in the virtual audience i do not see anyone else sir planning commission amy
boyd with the planning commission the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the rsa five
residential single-family zoning at this location the appellant has presented that there are unique
physical conditions or circumstances that would prevent the property from being used in conformance
of the zoning code for multifamily
and that three units is the least minimum
to afford the relief.
The requested maximum occupied area variance
is de minimis.
The Planning Commission recommends
that the Board grant the requested variance
for occupied area and for multifamily
with proviso max three units.
Alan, we're going to take this
under consideration.
We're going to vote on this next Wednesday
at 2 p.m.
Thank you.
Thank you, sir.
Alan, just keep moving here.
Which one?
11. 1247 East Columbia Avenue.
Childcare. You have a letter of support from Fishtown Neighbors Association.
Letter of non-opposition from Council Member Young.
Yes. Good afternoon.
Alan Nockmson.
Mr. Nockmson, could you identify your client and relationship to the property?
uh yeah so to the left of me is jim maransky the owner of the property which is e p d g lp
um in the virtual audience and that's the reason why jim is here uh is the operator of the property
kia mclaughlin i don't know if she's going to be able to be on because she has another daycare
at 1441 germantown avenue but you know i have all of the necessary facts and jim can verify as well
about our vice chair has a few questions good afternoon council do you agree to wait to read
another refusal or stipulate to its accuracy i do have you emailed in all the required documents
and exhibits as needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing we have
thank you council please proceed yes all right so we have 10 exhibits here 216 people were notified
of the community meeting and we have rco support from fishtown neighbors association so our notice
This refusal is simply this, we're an RSA 5 property and we're looking to put a daycare
here this property by way of variance in 2012 was approved for 35 units in a vacant commercial space
so even though it's an rsa5 property it was like thought of when this project was previously
approved or originally approved to have vacant commercial space here the letter support from
fishtown overwhelming support we're at the corner of east columbia avenue and east thompson street
From a both maps perspective, both zoning and Google Maps, photographs of the property.
This is the Ice House condominiums.
Again, 35 residential units.
We're looking to make this vacant commercial space into a daycare.
This is the property from both sides of East Thompson Street and East Columbia.
Proof of posting of the notice posters for today's hearing.
This is East Columbia Avenue to the right of the property, to the left of the property, East Thompson Street to the right of the property, and to the left of the property.
Interior photos, it's a rather large space of almost 2,200 square feet.
It's first floor and lower level.
The lower level has high ceilings of almost 11 feet high.
So even though it's a lower level, it has a nice height to it.
And, again, just like the personal care facility we talked about earlier, in addition to, obviously, hopefully getting your ZBA approval, we have to get permits through L&I, and on top of that, there are many state regulations and inspections over the course of time.
And, again, my client has a successful operation at 1441 Germantown Avenue.
These are simple plans.
I'm trying to look at it on this screen.
But you kind of come in here, there's one play area here generally, there's a childcare
area here, and then there's another lower play area, childcare area here where the kitchen
is in there as well.
Our RCO meeting notice, we met with the community on April 1st, 216 addresses were notified,
216 addresses were notified proof of mailing those addresses again our
proof of mailing those addresses.
application for appeal or deed to property showing that Jim's company owns
the property and our tax clearance certificate so let me give you some data
about you know the hours of operation would be 6 30 a.m. to 6 p.m. again we're
regulated by the state, so the maximum occupancy is 35 children. We plan to have a 0 to 12 room
where there would be requirement of four children per teacher. We have a one-year-old room where
there'd be five children per teacher. We have a two-year-old would be six children per teacher,
3 to 5 would be 10 children per teacher, and 5 and older would be 12 children per teacher.
In addition, my client is required to give background checks for their employees, which they
plan to do. They will provide food for the children there. Obviously, their employees have
first aid training uh they do have another location at 1441 germantown avenue as i stated
and uh that's basically it i mean they're looking to you know they see a need in fishtown for this
and i think the neighbors saw it as well so i would ask that hopefully kia is online so i would
ask her to virtually raise her hand?
We'll be coming back in as a panelist shortly.
There you go.
Perfect.
I'm here.
I'm sorry.
Hi, Kay.
Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
I'm going to step outside.
I just got home and my brother's gone crazy.
I'm sorry.
I mean, it's Kia, K-I-A, McLaughlin, M-C-L-A-U-G-H-L-I-N.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Allen?
Yeah, Kia, you heard everything I had to state today about your zoning matter.
Yes, sir.
And is it true and correct?
Yes, sir.
And do you adopt it as your own testimony?
Do I adopt it as my own testimony?
Yeah, yes.
Do you adopt it?
Yes, sir.
Yes, thank you.
questions from the board real quick so what is your like drop-off procedure like is there a
drop-off zone yeah so they actually a good question they applied for a loading zone on
columbia avenue and i believe uh they're waiting for confirmation from that but kia um is what is
that correct what i stated that there is a loading zone application yes that is correct oh and my
understanding it has been approved from the owner of the property all the questions yeah is this
only on the lower level you said it's both levels it's the upper level and the lower level it's a
bi-level so it's an internal staircase uh for the uh for the facility on the commercial facility
okay and what age children are these uh we have children as as as infants all the ways up to 12
years of age is that right kia yes it is correct okay and and where will these younger children
The younger children will be on the upper level, 0 to 2.
The lower level will be 3 and up.
All right.
Is the building split?
Yes, it is.
I thought the only space the daycare was operating was the first floor.
No, for now.
lower first and lower yeah that that was actually going to be one of my my questions because the
refusal says just first floor and then when i saw your packet it showed the first floor and the
ground floor but it also says space 37 dash c1 and i wasn't sure if that space includes i that's
the first and ground floors that i can't control sometimes how the refusal speaks so i don't know
what that's that's an examiner like what the examiner did so all i can tell you is that there's
only one commercial space as part of this building that was approved by way of variance
and it's indicated we have one vacant commercial space with a first floor and lower level okay
i mean we if the board is inclined to grant this we may want to just specify that it's
it's the the first floor and basement just because they did write that on their refusal that's just
it's the the first floor and basement just because they did write that on the refusal that it's just
the first
the first floor and um okay they usually that usually carries yeah that that was the point of
my question because i was confused as to um what was presented as i know our office did apply for
it and we did apply for both first floor and lower level i can't you know obviously control what the
examiner puts on the refusal so um and i guess i have another question um usually when you have
um i think there's some rules about uh children who are younger where they're not capable of
self-preservation about there being enough um uh uh points of egress uh for um a property so
have we provided that and what other steps are you taking to make sure that if there's some sort
of emergency there's some way for these younger children to be evacuated from the premises yeah
and i can't speak about the state regulations because that's beyond my understanding honestly
but we do have secondary form of egress in the lower level there are steps leading up
uh to to the uh first floor let me uh share my uh oh okay yes well you gotta be sworn in first
can you go back to the plan though so we can see it sure could you and could you spell it please
sorry about that james maransky j-a-m-e-s-m-a-r-a-n-s-k right do you swear for him to
tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth I do please proceed the
building has two means of egress on the main level where the younger children
will be you where they'll be housed so there I believe the intent from Kia is
to have the younger children on the main floor and the older children on the
lower level and on the main floor we can see that there's a main entry and then
there's a secondary means of egress and ABA means egress right there at the
bottom coming out towards that stair okay in terms of the lower level there is a there's a
form of egress here that leads to steps to the to the to the first floor outside the front of your
building is that correct the main stairway that goes up and then there's the egress well there
as well well it's not well it's it's it's it's actually bill bill co doors that open up right
Okay. Other questions?
Questions or comments from our attorney?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Yes, Chair. I have a hand up from Robert Everett.
I will promote them at once.
Hi, Mr. Everett.
sorry it took me a while that's okay mr everett i haven't i haven't heard from you in a while so
could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer had a couple weeks off i guess
uh yes first name is robert last name everett e v e r e double t do you swear or affirm to tell
the truth told you nothing but the truth i do please proceed sir i'm just here to represent
that fna did have our meeting and we did support them thank you very much we appreciate you taking
the time is there anyone else in the virtual audience yes chair sloan folks has their hand
they had their hand raised but now it's down you can proceed okay thank you um planning commission
amy board with the planning commission the comprehensive plan recommends no change in
zoning at this location from the existing rsa 5 residential single family to propose uses
consistent with the previous variance for commercial space and will not injure the use
of adjoining properties the planning commission recommends the board grant their requested variance
for child care center so thank you mi 2025 000 624 1247 east columbia avenue i vote yes with
proviso first floor and basement first floor and basement level yes use use approved for first
floor and basement use approved for first floor and basement level michael johns my vote is yes
with Proviso.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes
with Proviso.
My vote is yes with Proviso.
My vote is yes with Proviso.
Thank you, sir, for coming in. We appreciate you staying around.
Thank you. He's here for the next
one, too. He's here for this
one, too? Yeah.
The Artesian Studios? Yeah.
Wow. Okay.
So, MI2025, maybe that's why you stayed all day, right? MI2025, 000815, 2034 North 2nd Street. Mr. Nockamson, just for the record, state your name.
So MI 2025
is your movie. That's why you stayed all day, right?
MI 20...
Alan Nockamson.
And our vice chair has a few questions for you. You've already been sworn.
Good evening, counsel. Do you agree to wait to read another refusal or stipulate to his equity?
Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits as needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
Yes, I have.
thank you please proceed share your screen and i would say also that there's a norris square has
letter of support 15 and support one in opposition and then uh council member uh lazada yes we did
receive a letter and not off from councilmember look maybe you want to i heard him yeah so i'm
going to keep this brief but this is one of these projects that we should be proud of as the city of
philadelphia and i really do mean it like jim did a great job here this is a renowned project and
i'm going to have him speak more so but let me just go through the technical aspects of this
this building is the gotham where it has many many different accolades but we have three refusals
here um this is an adaptive reuse project this is basically phase two of it where you know we
started building the building structure here, which has 40 units, and we're just trying to
swap out some of those artisan units on the second floor to make them residential. So we have three
refusals. First, because we lack the amount of industrial space that is required under the code,
we're getting a refusal. I will note that if you look at that refusal, this property is a mix
between IRMX as well as CMX 2.5, so it's not completely IRMX.
The second refusal, again, this is an existing, what's it called, building structure here.
So swapping out the artisan studios for residential studios, this is a non-conforming structure to begin with.
And then the third refusal has to do with the parking, where because we're increasing the residential use,
now because of three to ten ratio uh we are now required to provide one additional parking spot
that we didn't have to before um i would say that's the minimus in nature and you know a lot
of times with the artisan studios there's living there anyway so it's form over substance so we did
get support from you know relevant parties um i'm just going to go right to the floor plans and then
jim is going and here are the pictures this is again this is the main building which was adaptive
reuse jim mimicked the that building by creating this new building here which is phase two of the
gotham different viewpoints you know proof of posting you know again north second street to
the right of the property to the left of the property north phillip street to the right of
the property and left of property we go street to street and then interior photos this is the type of
what he has in other parts of the gotham so you're seeing the quality of work and materials here
and then the plans and drawings again this is just a rendering of this would be phase two
we're looking to put four units that are artisan and switch them over to residential on the second
floor and then one of jim's um businesses is e-built that focuses on green roofs so obviously
has a green roof on there um in terms of this of of the floor plans here this is just again just a
snapshot of what we're swapping out so you have four units that are currently artisan and then
he's going to tell the background story behind it uh but you know if you unit 201 which is 667
square feet uh these are all studios unit two is 464 unit uh 205 is 612 unit uh 207 746
even though a lot of these are studios by placement of walls he did try to create separation
between the living area and the sleeping areas where possible um i know it's been a long day
so i'm going to keep i kept that brief we have the rest of the exhibits which are necessary but i
jim's already been sworn in jim why don't you just tell the background story of the gotham and just
state your name again jim james marines okay sure all right why don't you just state the background
story between the gotham and why and what you're doing here right so originally we purchased the
gotham all the way back in it was a it was a wicker warehouse that's a large 10-story wicker
warehouse on north second street we got it added to the historic register uh and did a historic
rehab on the building completed it in 2020 and it was originally for commercial on the first floor
and all residential units above and then we went forward and we had at the time this was pre-covid
we had uh we leased out the commercial spaces on the first floor had further demand
We leased out the commercial spaces on the first floor, had further demand for commercial space at that time.
So we built a larger commercial space on the second floor, and we had three other units there,
which we went back and got a change to be able to allow those to be commercial space as well.
We had this approved around the same time by right because of the way it was,
and it's a half-podium structure to fit the 12 parking spaces in.
that took the that moved these commercial spaces up to the second floor to meet the code okay so
what happened is post covid we really saw a huge decrease in the the desire for office space we you
know our our vacancy went through the roof so currently even now on the second floor of the
other building of the main building we still have three out of the four units on the second floor
are vacant and commercial so now we had this building came up that was previously approved
and those units we couldn't convert back to residential by right but we went and said okay
these that building has 13 foot ceilings this building has nine foot ceilings that building
has large like artist type expanses of glass it's much more conducive to commercial use than this
building is so instead of doing that we just we requested that was the need for the variance
to convert these units to residential instead to clarify on the parking it says that we have
need 13 spaces but we really have 12 all toll across the project we have 75 parking spaces so
but on the south side of the building there's a podium structure with units above there's there's
56 units in that parking spaces in that area and then there's another 22 on this north side of the
building uh 12 that we just constructed and 10 that were previously approved but not built
because the ongoing construction here so now really although we're we're required to have 12
we're really building 20 we built 22 additional spaces and so we can more than meet the demand
for parking thank you okay questions for the board
questions or comments from our attorney
not at this time mr. chair questions or comments from the virtual audience
i do not see any hands mr. chair any commission amy board with the planning commission
the comprehensive plan recommends no change in zoning from the existing
ir max residential industrial mixed use the plan has demonstrated that the property cannot be used
in conformance with the zoning code for industrial spaces the resulting requested variance for
occupied area and accessory parking are existing physical conditions of the property citywide
vision recommendation 2.2.2 is to reposition former industrial sites for new users the planning
commission recommends that the board grant their requested variance for removal of industrial spaces
occupied area and accessory parking thank you mi 2025 000 815 2034 north second street i vote yes
michael johns my vote is yes cheryl gaston my vote is yes tanetta graham my vote is yes
i win my vote is yes i hate my vote is yes alan the lawyers in the back are cheering that you're
done thank you um it's for anyone in the uh virtual audience whose case has not been called
from the two o'clock list.
I swear to you.
That's in your hand, sir.
Thank you.
I swear we're going to take a five-minute break
and then we will be right back.
Right back.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Yeah, I noticed that, I don't see that.
It doesn't have anything to do.
Yes, there's a time.
Yes, let's go in, let's go in there.
It's just a big, big problem.
Yeah, and it's a little...
good afternoon everyone my name is bill bergman and i will be chairing this afternoon's meeting
With me is our Vice Chair, Ismael Shahid.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Our Board Member, Cheryl L. Gaston.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Our Board Member, Tanetta Graham.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Board Member, Michael Johns.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Board Member, Ty O'Wynn.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Also, here is our Attorney, Hillary Emerson,
our Executive Director, Ian Haggerty,
and our Board Administrator, Lakeisha Dandy.
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Let's look at our schedule for this afternoon.
Number five, MI 2025-000-398-1325-South 23rd Street.
This case is a continued attorney moving party.
Are there any other requests for continuances?
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair, or rather good evening.
This is Jason Hand.
I will be your co-host for the session.
I did not see any hands.
Thank you.
So we're going to go first.
MI 2025, 000397, 1935-37 South Bancroft Street.
Dawn Tangrady is the attorney.
Also, Leonard Reuter on behalf of the city is here.
I don't, could you please state your name and spell it for the court stenographer?
Hi, I'll question it.
good afternoon don tancredi d-a-w-n my last name is t-a-n-c-r-e-d-i do you swear or firm to tell
Good afternoon.
Don Tan...
the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth yes mr reuter uh good afternoon may please the
board leonard f reuter r-e-u-t-e-r senior attorney city of philadelphia do you swear or firm to tell
the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do okay and um could you identify your
client relationship to the property yes good afternoon i'm here today on behalf of the property
owner jmp investments pa llc with me here today is robert pandino on behalf of the llc
and also the architect agata reister is available virtually our vice chair has a few questions
Good evening, counsel. Do you agree to wait to read another refusal or stipulate to exact
proceed?
Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that are needed to proceed with
this case five days in advance of this hearing?
Thank you, counsel. Please proceed and share your screen.
May I share my screen?
could be where i promote it now
We see a refusal.
So today I did submit materials, as you mentioned, Vice Chair, and I would ask that they be incorporated into the record.
They are.
The property is zoned CMX2, as noted on the refusal before you.
The refusal is due to the fact that short-term rentals, visitor accommodations is not permitted
in CMX2.
Here's a photo of the property before you.
the property is a two-story structure zoned for two artist studios on the first floor
and two dwelling units above and we are seeking a variance to allow visitor accommodations in
the existing structure in the two units on the second floor the change here is that people would
be able to rent the two units for less than 30 days there are no other changes here
my client acquired this property back in 2023 it was in a state of disrepair which you can see on
the photos of the building prior to acquisition before you he did make some
changes and renovations he's added new windows and repaired the facade and is
currently updating the interior of the building if you take a look at the
zoning map before you you'll see that the property is situated on Bancroft
Street which is between Mifflin and McKean streets and 16th and 17th
streets in South Philadelphia it's surrounded by commercial and industrial
uses to the right is a brewery to the left is Eagle industrial electric
company there's also jojo's detailing company and photos of the surrounding area are also included
in the packet and i'll scroll through some of them right now there are garages across the street
in total there's approximately 15 garages on this block at the corner at mckean street there's two
more additional auto body shops there's car care auto body and there's also
Liberty auto body at the corner of Bancroft and Mifflin there's a church
that has recently been converted for use as 33 visitor accommodation units
units and this is for two am i correct excuse me two yes we're seeking two um so in evaluating
hardship uh the use of adjacent property is unquestionably relevant here the surrounding
uses, extensive commercial and industrial uses, along with the visitor accommodations
on the corner, render the property practically unusable and of little value for traditional
residential purposes.
My client does have a petition of support.
That's also included in the packet on page 3.
and you can tell that the addresses and the support are from nearby neighbors
i would like to point out that also within the materials there is a memo preserving and
addressing challenges to the zoning code as it relates to short-term rentals the arbitrary
treatment of short-term rentals based on whether they are owner occupied or not is arbitrary
the city is aware that we've made these arguments and preserved them and we are
not addressing them today if I could jump in at that point which is kind of
why I'm here if the city just just so it's clear in the record the city
recognizes that they're making a facial challenge to the constitutionality of
the city's treatment of short-term rentals short-term visitor accommodations
uh so we will acknowledge that they preserve the argument i think there's an agreement
uh or an understanding that the zoning board itself doesn't have authority to make a ruling
on the validity uh what's called a validity challenge to an ordinance but it's been preserved
to the extent uh to the extent it's necessary for the city to preserve its argument that they're
wrong um and that it we do believe you know we do believe that the ordinance is constitutional
will also preserve that defense um and as far as whether the city has any position on the variance
uh other than whatever city planning's recommendation uh might turn out to be we
don't have a position on whether the variance is granted this the challenge is is uh isn't
being made in the alternative to the to the variance request okay if you have any questions
I can stick around, but otherwise, please proceed.
At this point, I would like to ask my client to...
Can I have photos of the inside?
See what it looks like.
Interior photos.
I'll scroll through them now.
Thank you, Leonard.
You can see the photos showing the construction that's going on inside.
So it's two units up there, am I correct?
Two units up there.
Yes, there's two units.
And do you have a plan of how it's separated?
I have a copy of that plan.
For me?
I have a copy of that plan, and I'll show that to you right now.
one of the units is 645 square feet and the other unit is about 1,231 square feet okay
um could you state your name and spell for the court stenographer sure my name is Robert
pendino r-o-b-e-r-t pendino p-e-n-d-i-n-o do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole
truth nothing but the truth yes please proceed counsel thank you robert did you hear my testimony
today yes i did is it accurate yes and you adopt it as your own yes okay and just a couple more
questions for him robert will you be managing this property i will yes how often are you
at the property i'm at the property every day okay and do your neighbors know how to contact you if
needed yes i've been in that area for the past 45 years i started my business there in 1979 about a
block from the present location so i kind of know everybody in the neighborhood do you use the
garages on the first floor i do okay i'm there every day okay anything else i have no further
questions from the board. Yeah, I do have a question. I'm trying to understand the rationale
that you're using to claim that this is the only viable use for this location?
that you're using to claim that.
The basis of the argument is based on case law from our Supreme Court,
which is the Valley View case, which discusses that a hardship can be shown
when you take a look at the surrounding properties.
So, the surrounding properties consist of some short-term rentals and some homeownership units and some other types of uses, correct?
Could you repeat that?
It's a neighborhood of a variety of uses, correct?
There's a variety of uses in the block.
Yeah. That's why I don't, that's why I'm not sort of understanding why this is the only use that.
There's a variety on the block there.
I defer to my lawyer, the lawyer that's on the boards, maybe that, I don't understand. Cheryl, can you? Maybe, I don't know.
I think the argument that's being made is based on this Valley View case that if a property is surrounded by disharmonious types of uses, like if this was a regular residential kind of area, well, then that's one thing.
But here you've got mainly commercial uses, from what I'm seeing, and these short-term rentals.
So it's hard to use it for a traditional residential kind of use because that's not really what is in this surrounding area.
It's almost a block full of garages, right?
It's all garages.
Garages and other uses which are not really traditional residential types of uses.
so that's that's the um that's the argument as to the argument yes correct that they're
not the traditional long-term residential uses on this block
any other questions none of the upper floors are long-term renters or owners on the first floor
Second floor.
It's under construction right now.
The block she's saying.
On the block.
I could ask my client about that.
I mean, there may be some.
I mean, it appears that there would be some if you look in Google.
There is an owner.
The car detailing place has the garage downstairs, and he lives upstairs, him and his wife.
I mean, it looks like the general use down the street is residential upstairs and business below.
There's some up and down with the business, too.
Some people have garages down there.
It's a dreary block.
It's a dreary-looking block.
We're hoping to change it around the last minute.
Any other questions?
Questions from our attorney?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Yes, Mr. Chair, I have a Bree Neff with a hand raised.
I will promote them at this time.
Please accept the invitation for promotion.
Hello.
Hi, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Yes, my name is Bree Neff, B-R-I-E. Last name is Neff, N as in Nancy, E-double-F as in Frank.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Are you a neighbor?
Yes, I am.
Okay, please proceed.
I live right around the corner on McCain Street with my partner, and our building actually butts right up against the property in question.
So our rooftops kind of adjoin right there.
What they're presenting is not exactly accurate.
it um we went over this with the zoning committee um like a month ago or so and
they're stating that the neighborhood and particularly that street is primarily
commercial and that is just not true um
we for example are
We, for example, are residential. Our building is residential. Many of the properties on that
exact street are residential on the second floor. And the end of the street is residential throughout
the entire building, first floor and second floor. Around the corner, it's residential
on Mifflin. On McKean Street, it's residential. And even more so, and more importantly,
is that the back of the building runs right up against 16th Street, and 16th Street is entirely
residential. This property, it is beautiful. They're doing such a good job. So we are not
contesting anything about what he's doing with the building. It's just the short-term accommodation
use that we are opposed to. The properties on 16th Street have backyards, very, very small
backyards. It's a very, very small area right there. And that property on, on Bancroft Street,
it butts right up against them. They want to put a huge deck on the rooftop. And we are,
we are highly concerned that there's going to be late night parties and people throwing beer cans
into people's backyards. And it's, it's, it's avoidable. You know, we, we already told them
that, you know, we love that they're converting the building. We don't think there's going to be
any, any trouble with finding long-term rentals in there. There are plenty of long-term rentals
in the neighborhood and we expect that they will have no trouble but they haven't even tried yet
so miss neff we're not looking at a deck on the roof i mean we're not that's that's not in front
of us it's actually in the plans and um and it's beautiful we're not opposed to a deck on the roof
we're not opposed to any of the renovations to the building we are simply opposed to turning this
It's using this property as a short-term occupancy.
I mean, we're not approving a deck, are we?
There is a deck on the plan.
There is a deck on the plan.
Yeah, I see it, but what I'm saying is...
Yeah, this is a change of use application only.
There was no plans review as part of the application.
I assume these plans are either from the prior approval to build or renovate,
um or they're illustrative um but that's these are not plans that are that if this application
was approved are being approved by l and i because there's no plan requirement the only thing we're
approving here is the only thing we're looking at is is the use and i and just to piggyback on that
the refusal i think is a little bit confusing because it says visitor accommodations and then
it says the ground floor uses to remain but it's really like a first floor second floor
um what's being proposed so if the board does um grant in this case i would suggest clarifying that
the visitor accommodations is for the second floor thank you do you have anything else
is she finished okay um i'm not really finished because the second floor you know again
the second floor has access to the roof deck. The second floor would be the short term
occupancy. And that's exactly what we're opposed to. And again, they haven't even tried for long
term occupancy. And we, the neighborhood believe that will not be an issue. It's actually, I mean,
they called it a dreary street and that is largely untrue it's really turning into a quite a
beautiful neighborhood and we want to make sure it stays that way yeah I I'm not I'm not going to
I do agree it's a beautiful neighborhood but that's I've always thought of it as a back street
but nothing but there's a lot of garages on that street maybe I'm wrong I I mean even the photos
she shows show nothing but garages yeah and I don't think that the photos were accurate either
because some of those photographs
were taken quite a long time ago.
I mean, we are in the process of transforming it
and it's working, it's looking good.
And just because there's garages and businesses
on the first floor doesn't equal dreary.
It's a viable neighborhood.
Okay, any other questions for,
Thank you very much for your input. We appreciate it.
Thank you.
No question.
Anyone else?
But I do have some comments for the board to consider, Mr. Chair.
First, the photos were taken by me within the last couple months.
The photos were taken by me within the last couple months, so they are an accurate depiction of what's currently on this block.
I even drove by the block earlier today, and it's in the same condition.
The photos that I presented are evidence of what is on this block, along with the photos of the church on the corner that has been approved for same use, visitor accommodations,
the same use that we're asking for here today. As far as any comments about roof decks, first,
I do have photos even. There are other roof decks on the block. So it's not just my client that has
a roof deck. And we're not here today for the roof deck. As far as parties or any of the other
activities that have been raised they're not illegal activities first and secondly these
activities could be used by um a long-term tenant so the activities are not exclusive to
a short-term rental that would be a deciding factor here i mean my client by right could
have four units here, he could rent the apartments out to college students, and they could be
partying all the time. So I think the fact that there's a roof deck here is should not be any
factor to be considered. Okay. Anyone else in the virtual audience?
Yes, I have a DVS with their hand raised. I'm promoting the panelists right now. They'll be
back in short. Sorry, I'm not very good with technology. No, that's okay. Could you please
state your name and spell for the stenographer? Yep. So the first name is Divya, D-I-B as in
Victor, Y-A. My last name is Sud, S as in Sam, O-O-D as in David. All right. Do you swear or
firm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth yes are you a neighbor yes i live
on that 1900 block sure please proceed yes so i just kind of i think three actually who i've never
met explain summarize this much better than i could i'm not very good at these things but
But I definitely disagree with the way this block has been presented as dreary or non-residential.
I live and own one of those single family homes that are on the block, and that weren't included in any of these photographs.
Are you in favor of this or against?
I am against this.
Okay. All right. Thank you very much. We do appreciate you waiting around so long at the call.
Thank you. Is there anyone else in the virtual audience?
I do not see any further hands, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Chair, one more comment I would like to make is that the comments we heard today in
opposition were general comments to short-term rentals and they were not specific to this
particular property. There were no issues raised with this particular property as to noise or
anything else okay planning commission amy boyd with the planning commission the comprehensive
plan recommends no change in zoning from the existing cmx to commercial mixed use
the appellant has not demonstrated that there are unique physical conditions or circumstances
of the property that would prevent it from being used in conformance with the zoning code
the city planning commission recommends that board deny the proposed variance for visitor
accommodation so we're going to i'm going to hold this till next wednesday at two o'clock we'll vote
I'm going to take it to executive session and just see where will the board members stand on this, okay?
Thank you very much, and we're sorry you had to wait around all day long.
I noticed you came kind of early, too.
You didn't come at 3.30.
You were here about 2 o'clock, and Porter Leonard's been here with you the whole time, but we appreciate it.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
So MI 2025, 000395, 831 North 2nd Street.
Kevin Valentine is the attorney.
I hate, they got a quote.
Oh, he's on the, okay, all right.
Sir, could you please state your name?
It's spelled for the court stenographer.
Yes, my name is Kevin, K-E-V-I-N, Valentine, V-A-L-E-N-T-I-N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
um could you identify your client the relationship to the property my client is um 831
my client is um 831 property llc they are the owners of 831 north second as well as 833
north second and i see that you have a letter of support from northern liberties
with some provisos yes our vice chair has a few questions for you sir good evening council do you
agree to weigh the reading of the refusal or stipulate to his accuracy i do have you emailed
in all the required documents and exhibits as needed to proceed with this case five days in
advance of this hearing. With the exception of the deed and the tax certificate, yes, my client
was on vacation. I just got those in yesterday. Okay, I believe we received everything, so we're
good to go. Okay, thank you. Please proceed and share your screen. Might need to get you promoted.
Yes, I did.
I am promoted.
Share.
If you excuse me, I'm trying to share the referral notice.
It is not sharing.
Did we have it on your computer before?
I'm sorry?
Was it up before?
Yes, yes.
I'm just trying to let's say okay say again
Here we go. Got it.
Here you go.
I think I am there. Yes, yes, yes, yes.
Now, I am.
Are you able to? No.
I just did. Yeah.
If you could stop sharing, like, that's the thing, but stop sharing.
Okay, alright.
Got you. Okay, here we go.
I just did it.
It's still not.
All right.
Here comes our experts coming up to help.
Our experts coming up right now.
All right.
Normally, I just have my kid do this for me.
So this is what I'm trying to share.
The URL.
Open it.
share right here no that's okay all right
yes okay
It's right here. This is the screen I need left for this. It's just a document. Right. I got you. Okay.
Okay. Documents.
Can we see it?
If you open up the file, I'll just go.
Thank you.
yes there we are the um department of thank you so much yeah um l and i issued a referral
for um this property because under section 14 503 um eating establishments in the north
Delaware Avenue overlay district are, um, require a special exception, um, for restaurants, eating
establishment, drinking establishments. My client is trying to, um, open a Japanese noodle, um,
establishment. Yeah. On eight 31 North second, um, on the third of, uh, March, 2025, he met with
the um northern liberties um neighbors association and that is where the um
the um support letter with the provisos um came up let me see if i can locate that
he's trying to get back to my screen
this is going to take a couple minutes
we should maybe do O'Brien
because he's on the line
we get him on
how are we doing
is it moving
I think this just opened the press.
After the dreary comments, I'm not saying it.
I think this place opened.
I think they just opened one of these
from the time.
Is this our last case?
all right i'm um presenting now the um the support letter with the provisos um as you can see um
nlna supported the project but wanted to ensure a few things they
okay so i think we got to move on to the next case and we'll come back at the end all right
is there a way you go in the back and maybe somebody can take a look at that for you okay
All right, so let's – we know O'Brien's out there.
MI-2025-000-396-6228 Ridge Avenue.
William O'Brien is the attorney.
There's a letter of support from Central Roxborough.
The vote was 20 in support, 13 in non-opposition, and 4 in opposition.
there should be coming back in shortly mr chair
Hi, Mr. O'Brien. I guess you got tired of enjoying our company down here.
hi mr o'brien i guess she got tired of uh enjoying our company then
No, I had a civic meeting at 5 o'clock.
Just if you would, state your name and spell for the court stenographer.
William O'Brien, W-I-L-L-I-A-M, O'Brien, O-B-R-I-E-N, from the Maniunk Law Office on behalf of Angela Sposato and her brother Franco Sposato, owners of 6228 Ridge Avenue.
Okay. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, told truth, nothing but the truth?
Our vice chair has just a few questions, sir.
Good evening, counsel. Do you agree to wait to read another refusal or stipulate to his accuracy?
Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits as needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
Yes, I did.
Thank you, counsel. Please proceed and share your screen.
Thank you.
so this is a one use refusal the application is to allow the building on the screen 6228 Ridge
Avenue to be used as a visitor accommodations which allows short-term rentals it is being
used for rentals but not less than 30 days as the code allows the property is a single family home
it was built as a single family home and it is continuing it's never been reconfigured it is a
single family home it's also contributing to the central to the ridge avenue thematic historic
district. It was constructed in 1886. And as I said, it is today configured the same way it was
originally in 1886. I have some photographs of both. Well, this is the exterior I've already
shown you. Let me go through a series of photographs that show the existing interior
conditions. This is the entrance from Ridge Avenue from the inside. This is
one of three photographs of the living room, the second, the third, the dining
room, the kitchen, another view of the kitchen, exiting the kitchen to the rear
yard, the first of three bedrooms, the second and third, and the bathrooms. As depicted in these
photographs, the interior finishes are extraordinary, and it's a very welcoming
venue for some transient visitors to the Roxborough neighborhood. Manionk does have a bed and
breakfast on Gay Street. Roxborough, however, does not. So this use would allow members of the
community to receive guests for different events and have them stay conveniently
in the neighborhood. The civic group we met on April 3rd at St. Timothy's Church.
the civic group supports it with three requests which the owner agrees to one that their minimum
stay would be four days two that the building would not be reconfigured in a multi-family use
so long as it's being used for this visitor accommodations it'll stay configured as a
single family home and that the advertising will not include food or entertainment it'll be
a bare bow charter. No entertainment and no food and beverage will be provided
by the owner. The rest of the materials include the required deed, zoning notice, and UPS
certification, revenue clearance, a copy of the application for appeal, as well as the photographs
of the zoning posters. Franco Sposato is in the audience if he would wave his hand.
Okay, they have been promoted to panelists, they should be coming back in shortly.
Mr. Sposato?
Can you unmute yourself, Mr. Sposato?
There we go.
Hello, can you hear me?
I can.
Sir, could you please state your name and spell for the sonographer?
yes franco f-r-a-n-c-o sposato s-p-o-s-a-t-o could you turn your video on too please so we can see you
give me a moment here let's see in the uh share screen um oh start video here we go
hi do you swear or affirm to tell the truth told truth nothing but the truth
i do please proceed counsel thank you uh mr suzato were you in the virtual audience while
i was testifying about your property on ridge avenue yes uh did you hear my statements and
are they true yes they are and do you adopt them as your own i do okay um questions from the board
is this going to be occupied pardon me this is going to be owner occupied
No, this is not owner-occupied.
Where will the trash be stored?
It's in the rear yard. It's not visible from the street.
It's brought up through this alley and put in front on collection day.
What's the justification for having it be visitor accommodations or short-term rental and not just renting it as a difficult apartment?
it? Well, it's been used for shorter term rentals of a month in duration, but there is demand for
shorter term rentals in the community. As I said, there are no hotels in Roxborough.
And if you have a family event, an anniversary, a birthday, a graduation, and you're having family
coming in from out of town, they have to stay distant. This allows some transient use for the
neighborhood for those events. As you can see from the photographs, the single-family home is
as incredible finishes. This is a first-class venue for visitors.
okay so other questions yes so who is managing this like usually with these you have to have
some kind of um uh connection to uh the airbnb or rebo or who who is going to be managing well
Well, Franco Sposato, who's testified, and his sister Angela live in Roxborough, work in Roxborough, and this is, they would be personally managing it.
Franco, where do you have, where would you have this listed for rental?
This would be listed through Airbnb, as well as through Furnished Finders and a VRBO, another possibility.
Okay. And then I don't understand one of these provisos, and I'm not sure whether it's enforceable about, what is it, advertising about food and beverages?
I'm sorry, I didn't hear you.
What is this about the proviso about not advertising about food and beverages? I don't understand.
Well, the neighborhood feels that if it's advertised with food and beverage and nobody wants it to be a party house, including Mr. Sposato.
This is basically for families visiting friends and neighbors or visiting family in the neighborhood.
This is not a party house.
Mr. Sposato doesn't want that.
So he was very quick to agree to the neighborhood, the civics request that the advertising would exclude it being leased with food and beverage in place.
Yeah, but, okay, well, that's something that you would have to work out with the Airbnb folks and that kind of thing, and I don't know that there's advertising about food and beverages.
is now what some of the managers of these places
and the owners of these may do
is they may leave for the tenants some of the local.
for the tenants some of the local restaurants and places of interest in the area i'm sorry i'm not
able to hear okay i said that what um some of the uh managers or the owners of these airbnbs do
is they'll leave for their tenants some information about you know different
things in the area like restaurants or places to visit and that kind of thing
they may do that but they wouldn't be advertising this like to just any old
to just come in be there I mean it's not so I I I'm not sure what you're trying
to agree to is something that you can really we're not going on or any of the
right am I correct so we're not involved in anything but I'm just saying I mean
mr. mr. Sposato has has reviewed and approved an agreement that the civic
group is now reviewing that will be an agreement between he and his sister and the civic group
that's what i was going to say i don't think any of the provisos or things that we could
that we could add if the board decided to approve this so that's good that they have
a separate agreement because i know their support was contingent on these these provisos so that
will i think that will satisfy their concerns okay any other questions yes do the owners have
any other experience doing um short-term rentals of this typology no they do not own other airbnbs
this is their only one and they have no interest in having more this is uh the spisados have a few
business interests on ridge avenue a restaurant and a car repair facility on umbria street
they're very involved in the computer community for a couple generations um and this is the only
airbnb that they would intend to operate okay and and how did they so so what is what is this
house here i mean they don't live there right they do it's not owner occupied no right so
so what is this is this like some house that's maybe been in the family and they're trying to
use the airbnb money to do upkeep and maintenance or how how well franco and his sister would be
responsible for doing that and they have been doing that on the current rental which is month
to month okay but this is like how how do they own this property or how are they
connected brother as brother and sister is tenants in common okay all right so
this is like a inherited safe from the parents or something is no Franklin and
his sister Angela purchased this about three years ago I think it was okay so
they purchased it and they've been using it for month-to-month rental well they
aren't allowed to do rentals less than a month without being approved for visitor accommodations
but they haven't been did they ever do a like a yearly lease or anything or is this just no
they've always had it the shorter term rental uh people coming in and needing somebody's being
transferred they're looking for a home they need a place to stay for a week two weeks three weeks
this is an opportunity that's that's that's been the market up to now but there's a there's a
demand for having shorter term rentals visiting roxford all right thank you any other questions
questions from our attorney
if you could please mute your microphone
Any questions or comments from the virtual audience?
You're not seeing any hands, Mr. Chair.
Planning Commission.
Amy Boyd with the Planning Commission.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change in zoning from the existing CMX2 commercial mixed use.
The plan has not demonstrated that there are unique physical conditions or circumstances of the property
that would prevent it from being used in conformance with the zoning code.
the planning commission recommends the board deny the proposed variance for visitor accommodation
so mi 2025 000 396 6228 ridge avenue i vote yes for a temporary variance that expires 6128
i vote yes for a temporary variance that expires 6-1-28 michael johns my boot is yes with proviso
cheryl gaston my boot is yes with proviso tenetta graham my vote is yes with proviso
ayewen my vote is yes with proviso ishmael shaheed my vote is yes with proviso thank you counsel
thank you thanks for hanging around all day we appreciate it okay thank you
Oh, is Kevin ready?
Oh, here you go.
We still got to get back to the...
This doesn't work.
We'll go with her.
We're going to share the screen.
There you go.
Okay, so you've already been sworn in, right?
And you just started to say that you have a client wants to open this.
Is that what we're talking about?
Okay, so go ahead.
There were certain provisos that the Northern Liberty's Neighborhood Association requested
in um in um for their approval letter and let's see how can i get to the approval letter now
well yeah they they had trash stored in the basement and hours of operation 11 a to 12 a day
right right um trash will be stored in the basement it will be picked up between 6 a.m and 11 a.m
The operation of the facility will be between 11 a.m. and 12 a.m.
You can see in the plans, if I could actually move through the plans, that there will be dropped ceiling audio panels in the ceiling as one of the concerns for not only the neighborhood association, but my client, was any noise that the upstairs tenants would experience.
Is this already built?
No, no, it's not.
This is something you're going to build proposed.
Yeah, these are proposed plans, yeah.
In addition, my client has a ventilation system
that will run from the kitchen through the second floor up to the roof
so that any odors and things like that
that might affect the neighborhood would be up into the air.
And they have...
This is the exhaust you're saying?
Yes, an exhaust duct system.
Along the side of the property or the front of the property?
Along the side of the property, running from the kitchen up through and then out into the roof.
Say again?
Your question again?
It is in the, you mean where you can see it?
Where you can see it in the plans?
It's in the mechanical plans.
These are the, not the mechanical plans.
I also have the mechanical plans.
yeah there it is that's it
you know what can't hear you
oh sorry Mike I asked if the exhaust was going through the notch
and it is
we need exhaust for sushi
well it's noodles
noodles well it depends on if you like the smell of sushi but no they will be um you know some
japanese noodle um um dishes so some things will be cooked but it's mainly a sushi restaurant
and the basement is for storage at the basement is for storage um and as i said because of um
the concerns of the neighborhood association garbage will be stored there but it will be
moved between 6 a.m. and 11 a.m.
This is using commercial trash pickup?
Say again?
Using commercial trash pickup?
This is a vacant lot now?
No, no.
It is currently a residential building.
The first floor is a garage.
My client owns...
That whole building will be the restaurant or you'll have...
No, just the first floor, just the first floor.
And in fact, that's why the audio panels were put in.
Yeah, you can see it.
I guess two questions I have.
One, it does look like you're doing some changes to the facade.
The facade will be glass.
Is that happening just where the garage door is,
or is it going to be sort of a reconstruction?
As I understand it, it will be kind of a reconstruction of that eighth of the first
As I understand it, it will be kind of a reconstruction of that eight of the first floor of that 831 will be full glass so that the patrons can look out and folks walking by can look in.
But there will be no outdoor dining in this facility will be all enclosed.
And then what's the plan? Just having spent a lot of my 20s eating over here, the it gets very crowded over here and most of the restaurants are very small and there's often a lot of people crowded out.
side and it started to cause a lot of issues with the neighboring businesses what's their plan
to sort of like manage crowd control well i think that um one of the things they will be doing is
using the um online um reservation planning so that they can actually control the amount of
people that they expect to be in there at any specific time because obviously crowd control
is a concern. What about signage?
Signage will go, I think in one of the plans you can
actually see the signage. Signage will go directly above the
glass enclosure. I think it's called igaro or ishiro
but it will go directly above that glass enclosure. Can you see the
There it is.
And how many seats are we talking about?
in this space um i think it will be approximately between 35 and 40.
okay and then what's the construction plan for this because you guys are like what's being
proposed is actually a very different facade and it looks like these are existing rental units above
yes they are they are the rental units of 831 um yeah my client rents those out to um
so renters yes what's the plan for like egress and access during the construction of the
new front space for the restaurant the the um egress ingress and egress um would be
conducted during weekends when they can work um they've notified the tenants that this would be
going on with the intention to impede their progress as little as possible, but they've
been notified that this is going to occur.
So assuming right now the tenants are entering through the existing 831 door that we can
see, and it looks like a lot of the reconstruction is relocating where the tenants are going
to get upstairs.
I think that, again, giving them the notice and constricting the work to certain hours, they're just going to work with the tenants to allow this to happen, but they would restrict the hours.
It would not be something that would impede, say, someone from going to work, coming back from work, that kind of thing.
They would restrict those hours.
and then are there any other do your clients own any other restaurants in the city um not that i
know of i know that they own um 833 which is not a restaurant but um no and then are they they're
not the owner operator right the owner operator of the restaurant is a different entity and they're
just renting the space or are they no they are they are going to yes yes yes yes so my only i'm
not telling you this it what ty talked about people back and getting backed up with trying
to get in there i found that we've had one not far from there about maybe a year and a half ago
where they when they sell things to go some people start dropping a car running over picking things
up in fact it wasn't far from here and it really did create a lot of problems with the neighbors
about understood and even if you're saying well i'm going to you know use they still got to park
their car somewhere where do you how do you get into these places i'm just got you okay all right
any other comments our attorney uh just briefly i just want to note the refusal doesn't specify
that it's just the first floor and that there's other uses there so that may be something if the
board is inclined to grant they may want to specify um also in terms of the other provisos
that are requested um the ones that appear to be enforceable are the trash stored in the basement
yes um which actually then they used to be in the first floor and the basement um and then
there there was a proviso for hours of operation 11 11 a.m to 12 a.m is that daily it didn't
specify on the proviso the it would be 11 a.m. to 12 a.m. I think Tuesday through Sunday
Okay, and close them Monday.
okay and close them Monday okay okay because it's right yeah it provides it in say
Okay, okay.
Because the provider didn't say.
And I assume your client's agreeable to those.
Yes, absolutely.
Thank you.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I do not see any hands, Mr. Chair.
Planning Commission.
Amy Boyd with the Planning Commission.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change in zoning at this location
from the existing CMX2 commercial mixed use.
The appellant has demonstrated that the proposed use
will not cause detrimental impacts beyond what would reasonably be expected.
The Planning Commission recommends that the board
grant their requested special exception for takeout.
MI 2025-000395-831 North 2nd Street.
I vote yes with proviso.
Trash stored in basement.
hours of operation 11a to 12a tuesday to sunday and coverage for first and first floor and
basement am i correct this will apply to first floor and basement yes use approved for first
floor and basement yes use approved for first floor and basement michael johns my vote is yes
with proviso cheryl gaston my vote is yes with provisos tennetta graham my vote is yes with
provisos i am win my vote is yes with provisos ishmael shaheed my vote is yes with proviso thank
you and thank you for being here the whole day thank you i appreciate it thank you for your
patience so mi 2024 005 780 5717 malvern darlene treat is the attorney um
there's a letter of opposition from winfield residents association
VOTE WAS 16 IN OPPOSITION, FIVE IN NON OPPOSITION, ONE IN SUPPORT.
They're coming back in as the panelists, Mr. Chair.
We had her earlier today, didn't we?
Didn't we have her earlier today, right?
Good afternoon, Commissioner Starlingfield, on behalf of the applicants.
Commissioner?
Can you hear me?
I can hear you, but very low.
Darlene?
Yes, I'm here.
Can you hear me?
Could you take your volume up?
Yeah, let me find it.
is that better it is we can hear you now right right so i i think i already swore you in once
they just state your name for the record uh darlene three uh d-a-r-l-e-n-e three t-s and thomas h-r-e-a-t-t
And could you identify your client in a relationship to the property?
My client is Carolyn Davis, a member of Davis & Davis LLC.
Our vice chair has a few questions.
Good evening, counsel. Do you agree to either read another refusal or stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits as needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
i did email the required documents the zoning board sent me an email yesterday and indicated
they didn't have a picture of a posting and i uploaded one thank you and we received that
please proceed and share share your screen
a good afternoon uh commissioners i represent davis and davis llc the owners of 5717 malvern
avenue i submitted a package of information to the board uh last week which contains the
The refusal, the appeal, the property information form, the tax information form, excuse me, a deed, a prior rental license, plans, pictures, proof of mail-in, community letter, and the RCO letter of non-support.
Commissioners, my clients apply to the Zoning Board adjustment, not necessarily for the
proposed use of a two-family dwelling.
I'm indicating to you we're applying to legalize an existing two-family dwelling that has been
existing at least since documented by L&I 2004.
We received a refusal indicating that two family dwellings
Uh, we received a refusal indicating that, uh, two family dwellings are not permitted
in this, uh, zoning district.
Uh, I submitted a copy of the appeal, uh, the property information form, uh, Philadelphia
your information form i'm going to get back to this but i also submitted a copy of a prior
rental license which is dated may 11 20 2004 i would submit to you that is before my clients
became davis and davis became the legal owners of the property this property has been an existing
duplex. I could only find documentation of it on L&I back to 2004. I do have some other
documentation that I'll show you at a later date whereby this property was involved with the
Philadelphia voucher programs and I did find some payments from the voucher program to my client
for the first and second floor apartment. Here is the tax information. We have a zero balance.
the taxes are up to date uh here is the deed for the property and i would just like you to note
here that this property was originally owned by mrs davis father nathaniel davis
uh he passed away and uh that she and her brother inherited this um property in 2010
10, they took ownership of the property.
When my client came back to town because both her father and her brother was deceased to
handle the property, she did get a vacant property license since the property was vacant
at that time and this is one of the outstanding violations that she could clear before we came to
zoning so here we have the plans i'm just going to reduce it a little bit so i can show you the
whole thing and then i'll show you the individual floors
So here is just a site plan of the property. It shows you the dimensions and where it sits on a block. It shows you the front entrance and that's it. I'm just going to scale down a little and here's the property, the plan for the whole property.
Basically, Commissioner, this property is an existing duplex.
It has been existing for some time.
The basement is empty.
We store utilities in the basement.
The first floor apartment has access to the basement from the first floor.
I'm going to scroll it up a little bit and just show you how you would enter the property.
You would enter the property from Malvern Street.
i'm just going to enlarge it i can't really read the writing there
there you go
you can enter the property from malvern street you see you can enter the property here there's
a bedroom in the front of the property there's a bathroom off to the side there's a nice size
kitchen area there's a living room area and then there's another bedroom
in the rear there's also a bathroom in the rear bedroom
and you can access into the basement the second floor pretty much has the same exact layout
you will come up the stairs here there's a bedroom in the front
there's a bathroom here there's another bathroom
you have a kitchen dining area you have a living area and then you also have a bedroom in the rear
and that's pretty much the layout of the property i took some photographs of the property
this is the existing property it's a two-story dwelling that's just another
uh that's just another general uh picture of the block that's a long shot of the block to show you
general picture of the block
how the properties look uh basically when we received this violation uh mr maceo davis who
used to manage and own and manage this property in philadelphia was in the process of upgrading this
property when he received a violation indicating that he did not have a current rental license for
a two-family dwelling. These are just some other pictures of the interior renovation that he was
trying to do when he was stopped. This is a picture of the back of the property. There's one parking
spot in back of the garage. There is no parking spot here, but I would like to show you that these
boxes here are existing and they're existing. There are three boxes. There's a house box
and there's a box for each apartment the apartments are electric
that's a long shot of the alley of the behind the 5717 Malvern residence park in the alley
and some of them enter their houses through the back there that's a picture of another
the houses in the back, where they have doors and access to the basement.
That's a picture of my proof of mailing, and this is the letter of non-support that we
received from the community.
And I would like to address the letter of non-support.
Uh, commissioners, this letter, uh, indicates that, um, there's a need for a single family housing,
um, in the Winfield area. Um, and I just disagree with that. Uh, commissioners, I live in the, uh,
Winfield area. I've been living here for about 30 years and I probably live three blocks,
uh, from this location. There's a shortage of affordable single family housing in Winfield,
not a shortage of single-family housing. There are quite a few empty, very large houses presently
in Winfield because the neighborhood doesn't allow for any type of a different development.
What happens is individuals are not buying the single families in this
residential neighborhood because they're too high-priced and they all need total renovations.
Uh, once you do that, you can't make a profit off it. Or if you wanted a single family and you were going to pay that much money for it, you will buy one out in the county. Uh, I have some additional, um, information that I just had my client locate that she just sent it to me. Um, this just goes towards proving that this was a legal, uh, single family, I mean, duplex at one time.
I do have, I'm just going to show you, I have an invoice here from the voucher program in Philadelphia that shows they paid rent for the first floor and the second floor.
That was as far back as 2008.
I have one, again, that shows they paid rent for the first floor and the second floor as far back as 2010.
I also have the assignment from Nathan Davis to Davis and Davis LLC, the contract with HAP.
And we all know that you can't get payments or a contract if you don't have legal zoning.
uh commissioners i also have my client miss carolyn davis um on the line uh that i would
like to ask a couple questions if i'm allowed sure miss davis
counselor could you tell me what happened when you went to the rco meeting well we went to the
rco meeting uh miss davis and myself and basically uh commissioner i thought that the whole position
of the RCO and mainly one individual was they don't want duplexes in Winfield. And they wanted
me to prove that this wasn't a new duplex. It was an existing duplex. The only records I had at that
time were the 2004 rental license from license and inspections. After the meeting, my client was
able to find a rental agreement, some payments from the housing authority, document and payments
for the first and second floor miss davis are you on the line
down and davis correct
they're in the audience but they're not raising their hand let me allow them to speak
They're in the audience, but they're not raising their hand.
Let me allow them to speak real quick.
Counsel, you're an officer of the court.
We can gladly accept your testimony.
I think she has very pertinent testimony.
And if I can, if we could just give her 30 seconds,
I would really like to put her on.
Ms. Davis, if you're still in the virtual audience,
please unmute.
she's not raising her hand so so counsel if you obviously if you've interviewed her what
what pertinent testimony you think is important if i could miss davis was going to testify that
she was born and raised in winfield she went to school in winfield she still owns a house in
Winfield, that her parents were very, very active in Winfield. Her mother was the block captain
and they participated in community events. She would testify that when her father passed,
he left that property to her and her brother, that her brother became ill and he was managing
the property. When he decided to renovate it, he found out that his rental license had expired.
Before he could correct the violations, he passed away.
Ms. Davis then took over the property,
and she is continuing to try to renovate this property
and realize her inheritance and maintain her father's legacy.
And that's all she would testify to.
Questions from the board?
Yeah, I think the one question I have is it does look like there's a number of violations
going back to the early 2000s at this property.
both before it was transferred to you all
and before when it was still in, I guess,
or in the previous owner's name.
And I guess my question is,
what's going to ensure that this doesn't happen again to this property?
I mean, it looks like this family's owned it for almost three decades,
and I'm seeing 17 L&I violations,
many of them which started to deal with deferred maintenance issues
and lack of repair that led to their initial license sort of expiring.
So what's the plan to ensure that this go-round,
it doesn't happen with this next generation of the family?
Well, this is the plan.
Ms. Davis, who is an attorney herself, she was located in Washington, D.C.
She has now moved back to Winfield.
She maintains two locations.
She actually lives three blocks on Drexel Road from this property, so she will be an active manager of the property, and she's hired a property manager, I don't have his name, who will manage this property.
she'll be in the area and she'll be able to be contacted if there's a problem with the property
and she will be able to go around and look at the property and maintain a connection with those
she plans to rent it to. So she would testify that she plans to maintain this property. She's back in
the area now and she's taking over the handling of the Davis and Davis properties and that her
brother Maceo died within the last I believe within the last year he was managing it previously
okay and then I think my just second point would be to just make sure that we're getting all the
necessary permits and things that we need to sort of paper this accurately going forward because it
does look there was a tremendous amount of work that got started without permits both electrical
and structural and so just you know um miss davis it is her intention uh once we get the zoning we
can get the other uh permits uh to cure the uh violation uh for the work which was done which
was not permitted but at this state now we can't continue the only license we could really get
which is what she got uh was the property was the vacant property license we couldn't really
proceed with any of the others without the zoning. And then my last question is to the best of your
knowledge, do you know if the like most pressing L&I violations have been cleared or if those are
still outstanding? Because it does look like there's a few for like major roof and water
penetration issues. It's my understanding that there are only really two outstanding violations.
One is a mechanical violation, and one is a mechanical violation, and I forget what the other one was, but I don't think currently that roof violation is outstanding.
Okay. All right. Those are all of my questions. Thank you.
All right. Those are all of my questions. Thank you.
Any other questions?
Questions from our attorney?
Not at this time, Mr. Chairman.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Here, I have a hand up from Craig Melodosian.
I will promote him.
well he must have put his hand down sir yeah i don't think he's winfield
no he put his hand down it must have been a mistake you can continue susan okay um
planning commission amy boyd with the planning commission the comprehensive plan recommends no
change in zoning at this location from the existing rsa5 residential single family while
this property has a document history of two dwelling units the use has since been abandoned
and the appellant has not demonstrated that there are unique physical conditions
or circumstances that would prevent it from being used with conformance with the zoning code.
The Planning Commission recommends that the Board deny the proposed variance for two units.
Thank you.
MI 2024-005-780-5717 Mount Vernon Avenue, I vote yes.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes.
Iowyn, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shahid, my vote is yes.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, counsel.
Is there anyone in the virtual audience whose case has not been called on the 630 list?
I do not see any hands, Mr. Chair.
Jason, thank you, Jason, as usual.
Amy, thanks.
You work double duty now.
I mean, I thought you used to have relief in the afternoon.
Thanks, everybody. Thank you.
Thank you.