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.