about this the right way. I'm always a fan of trying to make sure we get as much input as
possible so that, you know, people who live there can appreciate the projects. But we really would
like, you know, to get this voted on the record today and do believe that this is a good project
that will add to the need for affordable housing and help the redevelopment of this neighborhood.
I would like to just have Ron, who's the owner, just put his name and address on the record if
board has any questions for him he'd be happy to answer any of them but i don't have any other
questions besides just putting him on the record it's spell your name for a record name and address
please uh it's ron dibiase jr d as in david e as in edward capital b as in boy i a s s e
201 south 18th street philadelphia 19103 from the swear to the firm to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing but the truth yes thank you ron have you heard my
statements on the record and do you adopt them
as your own yes i do is there anything that you
want to add or you can let the board ask any questions that they may have and i
know that uh sloan from the council office is here as
well uh as far as i'm concerned you covered it
thank you
uh questions from the board
I have a question. Rachel, do you just give me the break. Give me the breakout of the number of units that you when you started your presentation. How many one bedrooms, two bedrooms, whatever.
It's still three units. I think that we have two two bedroom units and one three bedroom unit.
That's correct.
Okay. All right. Is there anyone else who wishes to testify? Please raise your hand at this time.
Long folks, you can unmute yourself and testify.
Good afternoon again, Chairman DiChico, ZBA board.
Salome folks, Office of Councilman Maria Quinones Sanchez, room 508, City Hall.
You have already been sworn in, so please proceed.
Thank you, sir.
The Councilman wants this written to the record.
The applicant has met with the RCO and has garnered a letter of opposition.
In light of this letter, we have asked the developer to continue the hearing in hopes that the RCO would re-engage and a resolution could be found.
We have asked the developer to resubmit changes to North Square Civic Association, which is the RCO, and they have not gotten a response.
In the last few months, North Square Civic Association has had a leadership change and is revamping their process to include more education and information.
Our office is encouraged by these actions.
In a post-COVID world, given the nature of the ZBA, we would like the case to be heard and a decision to be held for two weeks to see if NSCA Norris Square replies to their changes.
We continue to encourage the developer to engage the RCO and appreciate their due diligence. Thank you.
Thank you. That's pretty much where I was going to land on this one. Anyone else who wishes to testify?
no more hands at this time so rachel uh listening to what i heard and i know there was some back
and forth about the the meetings with the rco your your client obviously made a lot it seems
like a number of attempts to to address their issues the councilwoman's office is obviously
uh reaching out i think to see if we can come to some further adjustments what they are i don't
know. I know you want to get this over with, but I would recommend, suggest rather that maybe we
hold this for two more weeks, have further conversation with the councilwoman's office
have further conversation with the councilwoman's office and see if there
and see if there were any other adjustments.
are any other adjustments that are amenable to the project
um we'll do whatever the board thinks is best in order to move forward we were
just happy to be able to put our case on the record
um i i do want to note um to sloan's point we did submit changes that were
requested to the rco and did not hear back
besides them saying they wanted to maybe have another meeting
and they appreciated those changes so if it's just two weeks and they can um you know try and be
productive and helpful with a meeting then we're you know all in favor of doing doing that yeah i
think that at the end we'll have some uh more better direction the board will have a better
direction as to how they may want to vote okay so we'll hold this calendar number 3965 i'm sorry
may i interrupt for one moment and if we could announce that the record will remain open for two
weeks we will come reconvene in two weeks for the limited purpose of hearing of any progress that
has been made okay rachel yep okay yep okay thank you all thank you calendar numbers three nine
39404, 39405, and 39443, 5113, 5122, and 5138 Randstead Street. The attorney is Leo Mulvihill.
Leo, you have been promoted to a panelist. You can speak and share your screen as necessary.
Mr. Mulvihill, can you put your name and address on the record, please?
Certainly.
Leo Mulvihill, that's M-U-L-V-I-H-I-L-L.
Address is 2424 East York Street, Suite 111, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19125.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth and nothing but the truth?
And do you also agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
That was very quick what you did.
Thank you.
Certainly. Good afternoon, members of the board. Again, Leo Mulvihill on behalf of the applicant for 5113, 5122, and 5138 Randstead Street. On the line with us today is our architect, Logan Dry, that's D-R-Y, as well as the principal of the companies that own these properties, LaVar Clark. For the record, that's L-E-V as in Victor, A-R-C-L-A-R-K.
What everybody should be seeing on the screens right now are my zoning material packets which
I previously submitted. I won't go through all of them this very second but I will run through them
for purposes of the record. We have the refusals appeals and project information forms in the
packet at page one. Area zoning map at page 19. For the record members of the board this is a CMX4
district. Deeds are at page 20. My client's commercial activity licenses are at page 37.
tax clearance at 38. Our zoning notification letters of the near neighbors went out
at page 42. A letter of support from the RCO, Walnut Hill Civic Association, is at page 45.
I have photos of the property at page 47. And towards the end of the packet, I have the floor
plans, which I'll go immediately to, because I think those are the most important things that
we should get to. So let me just page through everything members of the board, and we'll get
there. So in any case, what we have today are three vacant lots on an otherwise residential block.
I'm showing you just for purposes of the record page 19 of my packet off to the left-hand side
of the screen. You can see the area indicated to the upper left. This is Randstead Street. It runs
in between 51st and 52nd Street, just north of Chestnut, and the lots are all located on this
block CMX4. Why the block is zone CMX4? It's mainly a residential block. I don't recall seeing
any commercial businesses on Randstad itself. Let's see. Pardon me for one moment, members of
the board, so you don't have to watch me page through everything here. I'll scroll to the end
where we can see the photographs of the lots so members of the board right now
I'm showing you paid 47 and 52 this is a lot of 5113 Randstad as you can see
This is a lot at 5113 Randstead. As you can see, these are the residences on either side.
these are the residences on either side
The purpose of the record, page 48. This is 5138 Randstead and 5122 Randstead. As I mentioned,
these are all empty lots. These photos that I just previously mentioned were all taken from
Google Maps. I have now up on the monitors beginning at page 50, the purpose of the record.
pictures of the lots as they exist today with the zoning notices posted upon them.
Paging through to page 51, again with the zoning notices, and page 52 with additional notices.
Because this was a COVID project, we did also post notice of the community meeting on the
properties themselves to ensure that everybody was able to attend remotely. And in addition to
letters that were sent out we did provide uh several hundred copies of the zoning meeting
notice to the rco at their request who i believe then went around and delivered to near neighbors
as well just going to change my viewing so we only see one page up at a time members of the board
so we're having all these three heard together only because they're all basically the same floor
plan. What I'm showing you on the screen right now is the first page showing the rendering for
the properties, three stories, brick, and the proposal for each of these properties is to be
two units. They're going to be 32 feet, nine inches tall. Each of them has a 10 foot rear yard.
Moving to the next page showing the zoning plan that was submitted. We can see the elevation of
the building, which I'm zooming in on right now. Again, here's the height indicated by my cursor.
brick front, balcony on back, and the overhead site plan view as well. These are existing lots.
We're not touching lot lines or anything like that. Zooming out now and moving to the next
page, members of the board. And what I did is I just included each of the zoning plans for each
of the properties, even though they're essentially the same. What should be loading now is the
proposed duplex interior plans for the properties. Each of them are exactly the same.
Starting on the left-hand side of the screen, we have the cellar.
We have a rec room, mechanical, half bath, and a living space in the basement for the first floor unit.
The first floor unit is about 1,200 square feet, one bed, two bath.
The first floor itself does have the bedroom right to the front, bath in the middle, kitchen area to the rear, and then dining area all the way in the back.
We then have the actual rear yard presented here.
To get into the second story unit, you'd simply go up the stairs and here we are
in the second story unit B, 1,250 square feet, three bedroom, two baths. On the
second story, we have living space in the front, kitchen in the middle, bathroom
behind that, bedroom to the rear. Third story, we have two beds, two baths. We are
intending to rent these units out. The approximate rental price for the two
bedroom units. It's going to be around $1,600, $1,700 new construction. For the one bedroom unit,
we're looking for around $1,100, $1,200. My client specifically looked to the AMI for this district
and targeted these rents at 80% AMI, which to the best of my understanding is about similar to what
the city would ask for if this was a workforce housing project. My client's committed to
maintaining housing that people can actually afford even with new construction. That's
essentially what we're looking for here. The refusals are simply because this is a CMX4
district and we're looking to put residential with no commercial. Logan, if you're on the line,
would like to raise your hand if you have anything to add about the plans.
Just wait to make sure that you are sworn in before doing so.
no i mean uh i don't have anything to add logan dry uh kca design
sir sir sir excuse me please identify yourself for the record name and address
Logan Dry, 6525 Tulip Street, KCA Design Associates,
for the architect of record.
Do you swear to the firm to tell the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth?
Thank you.
Please proceed.
I don't have anything else to add to what Leo said.
He pretty much hit the nail on the head.
And on the line as well should be my client, LeVar Clark.
LeVar, if you're there, please raise your hand so we can unmute you,
and I can ask you a question or two.
Hello, can you hear me?
Yes. Let's get you sworn in.
Name is LeVar Clark.
Address is 1112 South 27th Street,
Address is 1112 South 27th Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19146.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 101.
We're in a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Thank you. Please proceed.
All right, LaVar, you've heard everything I've testified to today?
Do you have anything you'd like to add at this point for the zoning board to hear?
And my testimony, as you heard it, is true and accurate, to the best of your knowledge?
Yes, it is.
And you adopt my testimony as your own for purposes of this hearing?
Yes, I do.
All right. Thank you, LeVar. I don't have any other questions for you.
Zoning board, we're happy to answer any questions at this time.
Thank you. Any questions from the board?
Anyone else who wishes to testify in this matter, please raise your hand at this time.
no hands chair thank you very much planning commission
good afternoon board
peter just identify yourself that's uh for the planning commission
you've already been sworn in correct
The property is indicated for single family residential use
on the comprehensive plan,
but has not yet been remapped from CMX-4.
The adjacent properties were built
and have been maintained as single family properties.
The proposal is more appropriate than the allowed density
and does not propose any negative impacts
on the surrounding area.
Accordingly, we have no objection
to the granting of the variance.
Thank you.
I also believe if it hasn't already been mentioned
at the Walnut Hill Community Association
sent a letter of non-opposition.
Calendar numbers 39404, 39405, 39443,
for 5113, 5122, and 5138 Randstead Street.
My vote is yes on all three.
My vote is yes on all three.
yes to all three yes to all three yes to all three
thank you calendar number 39409 and 39410
5143 and 5154 irving street the attorney is leo mulvihill
and good afternoon again members of the board leo movahill 2424 east york street suite 111
philadelphia 19125 i'm here today you've already been sworn in do you agree to wave
the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy i do okay great start and in these
i didn't mean that gosh i apologize so now with the board's permission i'll start
So members of the board, it's the same owner, LeVar Clark, same architect.
They've been previously sworn.