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.