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