Let me know when they're in time.
Yes, chair.
Okay, Chair, we have about 39 people available, and we can start as you wish.
Thank you. Good morning. My name is Bill Bergman, and I will be chairing this morning at DBA Hearings.
With me is Ismael Shahid, our board secretary.
Hello, Mr. Chair.
Thomas Holliman, our board member.
Good morning, Mr. Chairman.
And James Snell, our board member.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Also, here is our executive director, Tanya Sunkit, and our attorney, Hillary Emerson.
Before we begin, here's our virtual format. Be advised the proceedings are being recorded.
By participating, you acknowledge your agreement to be recorded.
The video will be available by contacting tonyasunkett at phila .gov.
For the benefit of our court stenographers, we ask attorneys and witnesses to identify themselves before testifying.
If you are participating by phone, if you wish to testify, press star 9 to raise your hand and star 6 to unmute.
To enter an appearance statement, call 267 -270 -5548.
Leave your email and the address of the property in question.
And lastly, please note the question answer box on the screen is not for testimony or comments.
Any comments have to be directed to our executive director, Tanya Sunkett.
So let's look at continuances for the morning's hearings.
Here we go.
So number one, MI 2021 -005 -162 -1007 Brandywine Street.
And number 14, MI 2021 -003 -189 -813 South 17th Street.
Both of these cases are continued.
Are there any comments or statements relative to those cases?
Mr. Chair, I have Mr. David Orfanides' hand raised.
Thank you.
Good morning, Mr. T. Good morning.
Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
David Orfanides, first name D -A -V -I -D, last name O -R -P -H -A -N -I -D -E -S.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Case 14?
Yeah, 813 South 17th Street, NY -2100318.
I just wanted to have the record reflect that I appeared this morning
and that we agree, concur, or join in the community group's request
for continuance on this matter.
Thank you very much.
The case will be continued.
Thank you.
May I be excused?
Any other continuances?
Mr. Chair, I have Mr. Roderick Foxworth with his hand raise.
I will now speak at this time.
Good morning. Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter?
It's R -O -D -E -R -I -C -K, Foxworth, F -O -X -W -O -R -T -H.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do, Mr. Chairman.
What case?
Okay, I'm calling in reference to 3424 North 22nd Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19140.
that's number nine Mr. Chair
this is Hillary Emerson
proceed sir
okay I'm actually requesting a continuance
I just entered my appearance as well this morning
Mr. Chairman so I'm requesting a 60 to 90 day
continuance
thank you
MI 2021 -005 -130
3424 North
20th Street
cases continued
Cases continue.
Thank you.
thank you
any other continuance
Any other continuances?
Thank you.
I'm sorry.
This is Tanya.
22nd Street, the person that continued.
I didn't get who he was in relation to the case.
He's an attorney.
He's the attorney.
Thank you so much.
Any other continuances?
All right, Mr. Chair, I have Ms. Jessica Diaz with her hand raised.
So I will now to speak at this time.
Hi, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
My name is Jessica Diaz, D -I -A -Z.
I am the owner and applicant of 1007 Brandywine Street.
Application number ZP.
I have it.
That case is continued.
Yes, sir.
I just wanted to let the board know that I was prepared to proceed today.
I got, I received a call yesterday.
So, so, so we're fine with that.
I don't, I don't have to swear to you, but we're okay.
Ma 'am, you can, I'm sorry, Chair, this is Tanya.
Ma 'am, you can wait for your new continuance information to come to you via email, and
then you can go forward at that time.
as long as the required documents are submitted. Thank you.
Any other continuances?
Mr. Chair, I have Ms. Kiana Sedrick with her hand raised. I'll have allowed her to speak.
Ms. Sedrick.
Hi, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
My name is Kiana, Q -I -A -N -A, last name Shedrick, S -H -E -D -R -I -C -K.
Right. Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
What case do you want to speak about, ma 'am?
In regards to North 22nd Street, I represent the RCO, Upper North Neighbors Association.
We sent our letter of opposition in, and we held a meeting that was well attended.
so i was just requesting clarification on the reason behind the continuance for this case
because yeah so so a new lawyer a new lawyer was retained and he's requested a continuance
however the lawyer was present for the case the meeting was conducted and there was no there was
no issue other than the community in in mass as opposed to this boarding i understand okay but
but we're only going to continue that it'll be continued and you'll,
you'll be notified.
This is Hillary.
I just,
I just wanted to clarify,
for Ms.
Shedrick,
the reason we continued the case,
is what we have,
we got a request for continuance from the attorney.
but we also did not receive the exhibits that are required in order for the
case to move forward.
So we could not hear the case today.
any other requests for a continuance
um miss tina marie russell with her hand raised i can allow her to speak at this time
good morning mrs russell state your name and spell for the court reporter
tina marie russell t -i -n -a -m -a -r -i -e -r -u -s -s -e -l -l north central
Philadelphia CDC, RCL.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed. What case?
I'm looking forward to the continuance for 2246 North 21st Street.
I'm not sure if I have the right time, so I just wanted to see.
I believe it was 930.
Anybody see it?
all right case number nine uh i think that's that's number we just can keep that case is
continued i think tina um did you did you say sorry 2246 north 21st street yes oh okay that's
number seven on the 2 p .m. list. Okay, great. Okay, because I was supposed to be continued.
Yes, we received a request for continuance, but we won't address that to the 2 p .m. list.
Wonderful. Thank you so much. Okay, any other continuances?
Anyone who has questions related to these cases, please put it in the Q &A. Chair, it appears as
chair it appears as though that's all you could move forward so we have two withdrawals
So that's all.
You can move forward.
So we have two withdrawals.
number three mi 2021 005 137 13 18 south warnock street and number 12
mi 2021 005 161 50 18 germantown avenue both these cases are withdrawn
does anyone have any comments or statements relative to them
sir miss allison weiss has her hand raised i can allow her to speak at this time
hi could you state your name and spell for the court reporter please
yes allison weiss a double l i s o n y s w e i s s and my question was
wait a minute do you swear for him to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
yes what what what what case uh i was calling about 5018 germantown avenue and i just heard
that it was withdrawn it's withdrawn yes thank you very much all right thank you any other withdrawals
no mr chair that's on my hands okay so we're going to go to the add -on list
MI 2022, 001 -584 -1600 Burke Street.
Mr. Chair, this is, sorry, Mr. Chair, this is Hillary.
I'll be recusing myself from a few cases on the add -on list, including number one here,
1600 Burke's.
Thank you.
1600 Burke's.
This is going to be continued for further discussion.
We're requesting legal memoranda from all attorneys. Memoranda should be in by Friday, the 13th of May, and the case will be voted on within 30 days.
mi number two and add -on list mi 2021 -004 -991 -2600 north 11th street
i vote yes
thomas holliman my vote is yes
james snell my vote is yes ishmael shaheed my vote is yes
number three mi 2021 -005 -073 -4651 -53 lancaster avenue i vote yes thomas holloman my vote is yes
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
MI 2021 -005 -071 -7102, Caster Avenue, my vote is yes.
Mr. Chair, this is also a recusal for me.
Thank you.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
number five mi 2021 005079 7205 to 15 rising sun avenue i vote yes mr chair sorry this is also
a recusal for me hillary emerson thank you okay all right i vote yes with proviso temporary
special exception which will expire july 1 2024 thomas halliman my vote is yes with proviso
James Snell, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Number six, 2020 -001 -579 -201 West Johnson Street.
I vote yes with Proviso, one page, stamped April 27, 2022.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes with Proviso.
James Snell, yes with Proviso.
We're going to go to the main list now.
I'm going to take number 13 first.
Drew Altinger will be filling in for
MI 2021
005122
7511 to 19 Stanton Avenue.
Okay, Ms. Lynn Nichols has her hand raised, I will promote it to panelists.
And I also have a Ms. Kiyasha Tyson, do I promote her as well?
Kiyosha Tyson, do I promote her as well?
Let's stay with her.
Let's stay with the attorney first.
Okay, you got it.
Good morning.
Could you state your name and spell for the court report?
Good morning.
Lynn Nichols, L -Y -N -N, last name N -I -C -H -O -L -S.
You swear firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Would you identify your client in relationship to the property they have?
Yes. The client that we have today is Gilbert Ovidi.
He is the owner rep for the property at 7511 to 19 Stinton Avenue, which is owned by Rock Shield LLC.
Thank you. Mr. Holman has a few questions for you.
Good morning, Counselor. Do you agree to wait the reading of the refusal?
and stipulate to its accuracy?
Did you email all of the exhibits as required?
Proof of ownership, tax clearance,
copy of refusal or referral,
pictures or drawings of the property?
Five days in advance of this hearing,
did you meet with the RCO
and do you have a RCO letter?
Thank you.
We emailed the packet.
It does not include the tax clearance.
I did indicate in an email that the applicant is working on getting the tax clearance, so other than that, we have emailed all the other documents.
Thank you. Please proceed. Show your screen.
Thank you.
Is everyone able to see my screen now?
May I proceed?
Proceed.
thank you this project is a request for the applicant to legalize two wall animated signs
that were approved without a permit we have the zoning use application the application
for appeal the project information form the deed indicating that the property is owned by roxford
LLC. Here we have a photograph of the property looking to the left on Stenton Avenue.
Another photograph of the property. This is the rear of 7511 Stenton Avenue.
This is a photograph looking across the street at a near neighbor on Stenton Avenue.
here we have a photograph looking to the right of the property
this is a photograph from across the street looking directly towards the property
this is a list of the affected neighbors
purchase of the proof of mailing this is the rco letter we met with the 10th ward
this is the posted note notice of zoning the notice of refusal these are the renderings that
would show how the signs would look as they are posted on the building this is another rendering
of the sign on the rear side of the building this is a site plan of the drawings the size and
location where they would be on the building the rco the 10th ward met with the community as well
as members from our organization and they support the project however there are some stipulations
that the applicant does agree to and we submitted a proviso that there will be no blinking lighting
no flashing colors lightning or letters and the sign will only operate during the hours of the
medical center's operation from 9 to 5 p .m. Monday through Friday and Saturday from 8
to 1 p .m. The applicant has agreed to these stipulations.
In addition, the applicant will work on getting the tax clearance as stated, and with that,
I would like to call a witness, Gilbert Ovidi, O -V -I -D -E.
is he in the audience he should be in the audience yes yes mr orvidi please raise your
virtual hand could you state your name and spell for the court reporter please
he still hasn't raised his hand sir mr orvidi
if he's not able he i know he signed in would you like me to just continue to proceed
what what you're an officer of the court why don't you just proceed well
you're an officer of the corp why don't you just proceed well the the purpose of the signs is for
the medical center to be able to allow their clients to accurately identify them on one side
of stinton avenue the addresses don't run uh consecutively one side is 6400 6500 so they just
want to be able to make sure that their clients are able to know where they are accurately located
with that I would close my testimony and offer it to the board as well as the packet that was
submitted with the proviso and ask that you grant the variance for the permits questions from the
board no Mr. Chairman no Mr. Chairman questions or comments from the virtual audience
chair I have a Ms. Kiyosha Tyson with her hand raised I can allow her to speak
Ms. Tyson, please wait to be sworn in.
Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Yes, Kiyasha Tyson, K -Y -A -S -H -A.
Last name is Tyson, T -Y -S -O -N.
I'm the Director of Economic and Community Development for Councilwoman Sherelle Parker.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed.
I just wanted to report the councilwoman's position. We are not opposed to this request
as long as the provisos are implemented. Thank you. Thank you. Any other comments from the virtual
audience? Planning Commission? Thank you, Chair Bergman. Ian Hegarty for the Philadelphia City
Planning Commission. Last name is spelled H -E -G -A -R -T -Y. Right. Do you swear for him to
tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes sir thank you proceed good morning
everyone uh ian hegarty for the planning commission the comprehensive plan recommends a zoning map
change here from rsa3 to cmx2 these signs are proposed to be legalized and i would just note
that this is a legal non -conforming commercial building in this residence district however the
zoning code does prohibit animated signs near intersections and across from residential
districts we don't believe an animated sign is necessary to accurately identify the building
so we believe the variance as originally applied for exceeds the minimum variance necessary in this
case however we would recommend that the board grant with proviso for non -illuminated sign of
the same size as the existing non -conforming sign and so i think our recommendation concurs with the
proviso stipulated by the community. Thank you, Ian. Ms. Nichols, we will hold the vote on this
until we have the tax cert, the tax information is cleared up. Thank you. Thank you. May I be excused?
yes thank you okay here we go down
number one number two mi 2022 005 121 1228 east palmer street
alexis miraz pro se letter of support from the fishtown neighbors association
five letters of support from Fishtown residents as well also a letter of support from council
Ms. Mraz if you are present please raise your virtual hand and wait okay
I will promote her to panelists at this time sir thank you
welcome
hi could could you state your name and spell for the court reporter please
alexis mraz a -l -e -x -i -s my last name is m -r -a -z and he's my husband david it's d -a -v -a -z
you swear okay so you're going to alexis you'll do the testimony right yeah okay do you swear
firm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do okay um we have a few questions
from thomas holliman our board member and good morning madam did you email all of the exhibits
as required such as proof of ownership tax clearance copy of refusal or referral pictures
or drawings of the property five days in advance of this hearing did you meet with the rco and do
have rco letter yes we did please proceed and show your screen
the green button on the bottom sorry i was trying to
what kind of device are you using ma 'am
um computer i'm sorry i think i a regular computer yeah yeah i'm sorry i think i have it now here it
is you're you're up you're up thank you um can you still see it if i go into presentation mode
we should okay um so we are presenting for 1228 east palmer street we're asking for the addition
of two accessory parking spots. This is a calendar meeting MI 2021 -005 -121, zoning permit 2021 -01 -0949.
And we're Alexis and David Mraz, we're the owners of the property. To give you an idea of
what we're trying to do while you're looking at our property, this is our home,
we are trying to make this side lot into the accessory parking spots which would require
moving this fire hydrant to in front of our home we are working with the water department on that
moving the hydrant is won't be won't be an issue with them or with the fire department we've had
the measurings from the fire department as well this side of the street is no parking so we are
not affecting any of our neighbor's parkings but we'll get our two cars off the road so we're
proposing the curb cut here where you can see that raised curb is give you a brief history on the
property our home was obviously a duplex or twin at one point in time that structure on what was
1230 east palmer street was torn down in the mid 80s after that moyer street was widened so what
was 1230 was is now a 10 foot wide lot the owner stopped paying taxes on that in the 90s
as you can see it kind of became an overgrown mess we purchased our home in october of 2014 we've
been living in it um since we plan to live on it until uh we can't anymore um we
We purchased 1230 East Palmer Street in July 2019. In May of 2020, we combined the properties into 1228 East Palmer Street. So that side lot is now part of 1228 where our home is.
our proposed plan the left is the existing conditions the right is the proposed change
so the proposed change is the curb cut and moving the fire hydrant you can zoom in on
that proposed change the curb cut would be directly in front of 12 30. we have the turning
plan so we have enough radius to turn in or ideally to back into the property
And then we have the same plans with the utilities, which it makes it a little more challenging to see, but this is just what it looks like with the utilities.
We the community meeting had some concern about visibility.
These are the pictures. If you were to be backing out of the driveway, this is the height and distance from the driver's seat.
As you can see in the first picture, you can see all the way up Palmer Street.
In the last picture, you can see all the way down Palmer Street.
The middle picture is Moyer Street.
So you can see all the way down Moyer Street in case a pedestrian was jogging around a scooter moving quickly.
We have clear visibility, but backing into the drive by and pulling out would be ideal.
We have very similar projects on our block.
the first two pictures are on our side of the street very similar almost exactly the same to
what we proposed the other one is on the right side of the street so it does affect parking
but these are fairly commonplace around us and have not presented issues
we are asking for this variance because of the uptick in carjackings in philadelphia my husband
When Dave works for DOD and travels, I work nights, so when he is traveling, I have to pick up our son from the babysitter and am walking him home at night.
Because of the lack of parking, I'm typically parked about a half mile away.
um when I'm walking back with him I am very concerned for our safety um our some of these
When I'm walking back with him, I am very concerned for our safety.
carjackings have involved children um and I'm I'm just I'm very concerned about coming back
at that distance with him at night um our community liaison suggested calling neighbors to let them
know that we're walking home at night which I do it's just hard if you're a half mile away I don't
have someone, you know, throughout that course going back. I also asked her, our community
liaison is the police officer in our community, what to do if we get carjacked with my son
in the backseat, and she told me to fight, which I'm worried if that happens, I won't
win. In addition to the lack of parking, and because of the lack of parking, we consistently
We definitely have cars and trucks parked on our sidewalk. As you can tell, our sidewalk is double wide, so trucks and cars pull up quite easily on it.
This presents an issue for pedestrians, particularly those of us with strollers or people in wheelchairs.
um we the project we are presenting would move the fire hydrant down the block a little bit we
are also going to put in a bullard which would prevent cars and trucks from parking on our
section of the sidewalk we have been told by again our community liaison that police officers are not
enforcing this type of sidewalk parking because of the lack of parking in the neighborhood
so while our project would not solve this problem completely it would get two cars off the road
which would be slightly beneficial and it would prevent parking on the sidewalk in this area of
the neighborhood which is near the school and near the recreation center so our neighbors are
in strong support of that we do have overwhelming support from the community our community meeting
had a 94 % vote in our favor. Our zoning board, our neighborhood zoning board, our committee
voted in our favor. We have letters of support from our neighborhood committee zoning, as
well as councilperson Clark, six of our neighbors, including two unsolicited letters. And we
did a petition of our nearby neighbors that we had over 80 signatures for. So we, we,
HAVE THE SUPPORT OF OUR DIRECT NEIGHBORHOOD. AND THAT IS OUR PRESENTATION.
THOUGH I'D BE HAPPY TO. QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD.
YES, MR. CHAIRMAN. MADAM, DID YOU TAKE YOUR DRAWINGS TO THE STREET DEPARTMENT FOR A REVIEW?
YES, SIR. AND WHAT DID THEY SAY?
THEY APPROVED IT IN OCTOBER AND THEN WE HAD A HOLD AND WE 'VE BEEN TALKING TO THEM
through that we have a special exemption from granted from mr kasam ali and i believe it's
still on hold in the eclipse system but he has granted a special exemption for this curb cut
i have that in an email and we're just waiting for the approval through eclipse
mr chairman my concern is the curb cut so near close to the corner corner property
it's difficult for people to see someone backing out so i just have a concern mr chairman okay
do you want to comment could alexis you want to respond to that yes please um we address that
concern with the streets department um because it is a one -way street approaching a one -way street
we are not downstream of any intersection. So we do not have the issue of a car turning
towards where our car would be coming out of the driveway. We also agree that we would want to be
pulling backing into the driveway. So you're pulling out straight forward. But the streets
department has granted the exception for it being that near to the corner based on the one -way street
going onto a one -way street and it being a T -intersection,
Mr. Ali felt that the curb was appropriate in that location.
Thank you.
More questions from the board?
Yes, Mr. Chair, if we were to move forward with this,
I would recommend to add a proviso with the mirror walkers,
which would sit on the side of the driveway
for the walk -in traffic as well.
because it's so close to the corner lexus do you hear that yes we would be happy to provide that okay
Yes, we would be happy to provide that.
Okay. Thank you, Ish.
thank you
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Do you know how to wait?
Mr. Chair, I got a hand raised from Mr. Michael McCluskey.
I have allowed him to speak at this time, sir.
Mr. McCluskey, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter?
Sure. Michael McCluskey, M -I -C -H -A -E -L.
mccloskey do you swear a firm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
yes sir proceed uh so i'm uh alexis and dave's closest neighbor um the proprietor of interstate
draft house which is directly across the street um from their property and probably one that's
partially to blame for when some people block their sidewalk in terms of people delivering
to our establishment uh we are uh 100 uh in support of uh of their um zoning variants uh
you know we don't want delivered drivers to park on that sidewalk we we've made you know numerous
times told them not to do that um as far as the risk of the the drive being close to the corner
um you know you have to weigh risks and the risk of people blocking that sidewalk is far greater
than I think the proximity to the street.
You know, in addition, it takes two cars off the street,
parking is always an issue
and something's gonna happen to that lot no matter what.
Alexis and Dave kept it out of developer's hands
and we, you know, it's really not big enough for a house
but someone would probably try to do it.
And that property needs to be used for something
and as their closest neighbor,
this is what we would prefer
that that property would be used for.
and we're strongly in support of our neighbors across the street. Thank you, Mr. McCluskey,
and thank you for calling in. Any other comments from the virtual audience?
I have a Mr. John Scott with his hand raised. I have allowed him to speak.
Sure. Morning, Mr. Scott. Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter?
Yes. Good morning. John Scott, J -O -H -N -S -C -O -G -T.
Right. Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
I do. Proceed, Mr. Scott. Thank you. So, I am the ward leader for Fishtown, South Kensington,
North Square, but at this time, I am actually the adjoining neighbor. I live at 456 Moyer Street,
and then my yard includes 1222 to 1226 East Palmer, which directly adjoins both 1228 and
1230, and I guess now it's all 1228. I am in full support. I'm not aware of any neighbors that
object to this project. I've been there since 99, and the house was actually there when I first
got there. It was still there in the late 90s, but it was torn down shortly after. And it did
encroach onto the sidewalk by several feet. Once it was torn down, the yard was not buildable
anymore, and then all the fill from the house was left underneath the yard. And I've kind of
watched it for about 18 years as different owners have tried to use the lot it's too narrow to build
on and it doesn't really grow anything except weeds and it's you know for many many years it
was six foot tall with weeds so Dave and Alexis have tried very hard to keep the yard clean and
I really appreciate them as neighbors they've been really good with that but really it's just
not suited for gardening it's not suited for building and there's just too much concrete and
stone buried in there for any kind of um any kind of gardening uh use um i also heard the visibility
concerns at the community meeting but but my familiarity with the intersection is that that
that isn't really an issue there's plenty of visibility because of the way the house is set
back um and i just don't see that as a risk so i would just ask that the board approves this um
the mirror sounds like a an excellent uh addition to it but i am in full support
thank you mr scott for calling in any other comments from the virtual audience
thomas do you have a statement yeah yeah a question mr chairman i like that i like to ask
did your site plan get stamped by street department for the review we have um the initial
Approval from October 5th, and then the secondary approval through row, I believe is what Mr. Ali has approved and we're just waiting for that.
But, but no, but no stamp on the site plan.
Uh, no, I don't believe so. Thank you.
Any other comments, virtual audience.
planning commission sir sir sorry i have miss kathleen pickles with her hand raised sure
could you state your name and spell for the court reporter please
yes my name is kathleen michaels k -a -t -h -l -e -e -n my last name is michaels m -i -c -k -e -l -l -s
you swear affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
yes proceed um i am also a neighbor but i am down the street i'm actually the house that's adjoining
that one of the driveways that Alexis presented in her presentation. And I would very much like
to be put my stamp of yes, in approval for this project. Because in particular, it takes the cars
off the street. And there is no, and I'll state this four times, five times over, I walk my dogs
around there all the time the problem is not visibility from the two streets of that that
they're going to have just as it isn't from the other driveways that were shown in the presentation
and the bigger problem is people who park there so i think that they're doing a real service to
the community to do what they're planning to do thank you thank you for calling in any other
comments from the virtual audience i see no further answer mr chair planning commission
All right. Thank you, Chair Bergman, Ian Hegarty for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. Members of the board, the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the RSA 5 single -family zoning at this location. We appreciate the community support and the support of the near neighbors. We agree that the lot is likely too narrow for a structure.
However, in cases like this, when we're looking at hardship, we have to see evidence that the proposed variance is necessary to enable viable economic use of the property, and we don't see that in this case.
We further believe that the proposed curb cut is too close to the corner and will degrade rather than enhance pedestrian safety.
we heard a lot of testimony about motor vehicle and motorist safety but the pedestrian environment is
really the reason for the zoning code provision that prevents this type of driveway access and so
we have to recommend that the board deny the variance thank you um may i'm sorry may i speak
to the hardship sure um i you know i didn't want to harp on it too much um during the presentation
but for us where we are now being able to park near our home may mean the difference of being
able to stay in this city I know everyone is dealing with hardships with parking but when
I'm walking back on a regular basis with my child and hearing these stories about carjackings I do
I do feel consistently that I am making a choice between living in a neighborhood I love and a city I love and the safety of my child.
And when we have land that we are we're taking care of we're paying taxes on and using it for this purpose may allow us to live in this house with our growing family, where we really might not be able to without that.
thank you thank you for your comments uh council um is that an appropriate proviso what ishmael
mentioned about a mirror i wouldn't think that um l and i would enforce something like that okay
good thank you okay mi 2021 005 121 1228 east palmer street i vote yes thomas holliman my vote
is no. James Snell, my vote is yes. Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes. Thank you. Thank you very
much, Chairman. Thank you, Counselor. Right. Here we go here. MI 2021 -003 -882 -2021 Germantown Avenue,
Mr. Nockamson is the attorney, letter of non -opposition from Councilwoman Sanchez,
and letter of support from Westrod Progress RCO.
Okay, Mr. Nockamson has been promoted to panelist there.
Very good.
Morning, Mr. Nockamson.
Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter?
Good morning, Mr. Chair, members of the board, Allen, A -L -A -N.
Last name, Nochumson, N -O -C -H -U -M -S -O -N, 123 South Broad Street, Suite 1600, Philadelphia
PA, 19109.
You swear a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Could you identify your client and the relationship to the property, please?
Could you identify your client and the relationship to the property, please?
And this is 2020.
And this is 2021 Germantown, right, Mr. Chair?
The owner of 2021 Germantown is H &M Developments, LLC, and I have the owner's representative, Ghazi Adesav.
Thank you.
Mr. Holloman has a few questions for you.
Good morning, counsel.
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to his accuracy?
did you email all the exhibits as required proof of ownership tax clearance copy refusal
referral pictures or drawings of the property five days in advance of this hearing did you
meet with the rco and do you have rco letter yes i do i have a letter of support from the coordinating
rco west george progress and a letter of non -opposition from the district council
please proceed and share your screen thank you
hi so we're here to present 2021 germantown avenue uh in my presentation we'll review the notice of
refusal the correspondence from west gerard progress which is a letter of support i do not
have in my possession the letter of non -opposition from the district council member but i heard the
chair state that such a letter has been issued directly to the zoning board of adjustment
we'll go over some recently granted cmx multi -family variances which have granted the
relief that we're seeking we'll review the maps of the area photographs of the property and the
surrounding area our architectural plans and drawings our community meeting notice which
shows that it was sent out with the proof of mailing our deed to the property showing that
H &M Developments LLC is the owner of the property. We also included in our presentation packet
our application for appeal for this zoning matter that we filed with the zoning board of adjustment,
as well as a certificate of tax clearance showing that H &M Developments LLC, the owner of the
property, owes no taxes, real estate taxes to the city of Philadelphia. Again, at the conclusion of
my presentation, I'll ask that Ghazi Ades -Evan, the owner's representative, virtually raised his
hand and about my testimony and we will then be more than happy to take any questions from the
board from there all right the notice of refusal so this is a cmx two property this property is
approximately 1300 square feet as of right we are allowed to have a commercial unit on the ground
floor and two units above because of where we are in the neighborhood if we feel that it's
inappropriate and it's a hardship for us to be required to have a commercial unit
for this property thus we're asking that the zoning board excuse us from having a
just simply a commercial unit on this property and simply have two well -sized uh residential units
so again we're just trying to eliminate the commercial component we're not trying to
increase density and we're actually trying to help support uh the portions of the commercial
corridor that do exist today and that are nearby rather than being forced to have a commercial
unit that would not be viable and would compete against other current empty spaces
on that commercial corridor which we are mid -block where the others are not mid -block
plus others that are nearby as well uh we did meet with uh west gerard progress at a well -attended
meeting and they support our project as you can see from this letter and then recently granted
variances under similar circumstances 2036 germantown avenue this board recently granted
similar circumstances but in those circumstances the it looks like the applicant asked to merely
swap out the commercial unit with the residential we're not asking for that we're just asking to
eliminate the commercial unit here they asked for three units we're only asking for two
and then 620 diamond street which we intersect with on diamond street they also receive similar
relief from the zoning board maps in the area we are on germantown avenue as you can see there's
a rather large shopping center which has present supermarket which we're trying to enhance the
the viability of that shopping center by including this density of residential units and to help
out the commercial quarters that does exist on the edges of Germantown Avenue.
And then you can see that there really is not any commercial use on this on this block
commercial use on this on this block all intents purpose there's a chinese restaurant here looks
On its purpose, there's a
like stuff on the corners but nothing on the actual block itself and mid -block and then
photographs of the property this is a vacant lot this is a current photo of the property
but here's a photo of the property that we received on we obtained from google earth in 2007
As you can see, this was a vacant lot over 15 years ago.
And as you can see, there's actually a for sale sign here as well.
So this property has not been developed for almost a generation due to the zoning of CMX.
CMX 2 is not viable.
That's why we're asking to simply have it as a duplex where we are surrounded by RM1, which is behind us.
and then this is germantown to the right of the property as you can see there's an inkling of some
commercial use but uh not you know well used and then here's germantown to the left of the property
again at the end of the block our strip of properties on our side of the block is completely
and we're hoping that our use as a as a residential duplex will spur others to develop
in this neighborhood
and to help the significant shopping center,
which is located nearby.
And then plans of the property.
We're not seeking any dimensional variances here.
We're just merely a used variance.
As you can see, our property
actually doesn't even go as deep as the properties.
I mean, excuse me, well, they're vacants.
But like, you know,
you can see that we have a significant rear yard.
You know, we tried to do a brick facade that's flat, that the neighborhood appreciated, that we're trying to keep within the historic character of Philadelphia railhomes.
And again, just to, you know, quickly go over this, we have two units.
Unit number one is a three -bedroom, three -bath.
Unit number two is also a three -bedroom, three -bath.
this was an opportunity to help the housing stock that's there for properties that don't
have the amount of bedrooms needed to for families and that was very attractive to the community as
well and then our meeting notice again we had a well -attended meeting April 19th at 6 pm 105
properties were notified of this community meeting for the addresses of those properties
and then here's our proof of mailing that we mailed out those notices and our deeds of
property showing that h m developments llc is the owner of the property
and our application to the zoning board of adjustment along with our notice of refusal
and our project information form and our tax clearance certificate showing that we are
compliant in that respect. With that being said, I'm going to unshare my screen. I'm going to ask
that Mr. Ades -Evin virtually raise his hand. And just to note, Mr. Ades -Evin, in addition to the
owner's representative, is a licensed realtor in the city of Philadelphia, and he can testify
on the viability or lack thereof of a commercial space on that property if the board so is inclined
to ask Mr. Adeshaven questions about that. Mr. Adeshaven, can you virtually raise your hands
if you haven't already? He has. Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Good morning, Mr. Chairman and all the vote members. My name is Gazi, G -A -Z -I. The last
name is A -T -A -S -E -V -E -N. Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but
the truth? Yes, I do. Proceed. Mr. Adeshaven, you heard everything I stated. Yes, I heard that.
and is it true and correct yes including the lack of viability for commercial units on the property
yes as a like i mean licensed real estate agent i have been doing this almost seven years
so there is a commercial big shopping center there i think it will meet the community criteria
and then community needs so there is no active commercial corridor especially 20 block and 21st
block and the 22nd block i know the entire block because i had a lot of transaction there
um all the way up to 23 24 block of the german town there is not too much active corridor there
so and do you adopt my testimony as your own yes thank you questions from the board no mr chairman
no mr chairman questions or comments from the virtual audience
sir i have mr sloan folk with his hand raised i have allowed him to speak sir
good morning mr folks could you state your name and spell it for the court reporter good morning
Good morning, Mr. Folks. Could you state your name and spell it for the court reporter?
Good morning, Chairman Bergman, ZBA Board. My name is Sloan Folks, S -L -O -A -N -E, F -S -A -F -I -R -O -L -K -S,
representing the Office of Councilwoman Maria Canina Sanchez from 508 City Hall.
Do you swear a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
I do, sir. Thank you, sir. The applicant, having met with the coordinating RCO and receiving letters
of support, our office supports this various requests. Thank you. Thank you. Any other comments
from the virtual audience? Ms. Tiffany Chavoux with her hand raised. Hi, could you state your
name and spell for the court reporter, please? Yes, Tiffany, T -I -F -F -A -N -Y, Chavoux, C -H -A -V -O -U -S,
v as in victor o -u -s i am here on behalf of the west gerard progress uh rco and we too
do you swear do you swear a firm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
yes proceed um we are here in support of the variants thank you for calling in we appreciate
that thank you any other comments from the virtual audience i see no further hints mr
Planning Commission. Thank you, Chair Bergman. Ian Hegarty for the Philadelphia City Planning
Commission. The comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing CMX2 commercial mixed use
zoning here. However, given the absence of commercial activity on this block, we acknowledge
that the site conditions make commercial ground floor impractical. We recommend that the board
grant this variance. Thank you very much. MI 2021 -003 -882 -2021 Germantown Avenue. I vote yes.
Thomas Holliman. My vote is yes. James Snell. My vote is yes. Ishmael Shahid. My vote is yes.
All right. Mr. Nakam Singh, could you stay one, please? Yes.
mi 2021 -005 -190 2036 waterloo street letter of non -opposition from councilwoman sanchez
letter of support from the north square civic association
thank you uh again my name is alan a -l -a -n last name notkinson n -o -c -h -u -n -s -o -n
123 South Broad Street, Suite 1600, Philadelphia PA, 19109.
You've already been sworn.
Could you identify your client and their relationship to the property?
I represent the homeowners, Gage and Kristen Brown, and they are, my understanding is they're present in the virtual audience.
And to conclude my presentation, they'll adopt my testimony.
Thank you.
Mr. Holloman has a few questions.
Good morning again, Counselor.
do you agree to weigh the reading of the refusal and stipulate to his accuracy i do did you email
all of the exhibits as required proof of ownership tax clearance copy of refusal referral pictures
of drawings of the property five days in advance of this hearing did you meet with the rco do you
have an rco letter yes we have a letter in our presentation packet from norris square community
alliance in support of this project um i did not receive the letter of non -opposition from the
district council member uh but my understanding is that mr folks is also in the audience and i'm
starting to confirm uh the council members uh support as well can i share please proceed
please proceed and share the screen
all right so this is actually a very straightforward project i'm not representing
developers here i'm actually representing homeowners uh who are looking uh to expand
their home so they can remain in the neighborhood uh gaj and kristen brown have been homeowners
in the north square community for some time and you know they're very familiar with their neighbors
have great relationship with their neighbors and that is why they receive significant support for
this project uh 2036 moral history um in my presentation packet will review the notice of
refusal the correspondence we received from norway square community alliance uh in addition to the
letter of overwhelming support for this project my client made the concerted effort to reach out
so we also have a petition from many of the nearby neighbors that would be most
directly impacted by this project, including 2038, 33, 30, 31 Waterloo, amongst others.
We directly also address the variances that we're requesting. So you'll see nearby similarly situated rear yards, nearby three -story structures. Then we'll review the maps of the area, photographs of the property in the surrounding area, then our plans and drawings.
We directly also addressed the variances that were requested.
Then we have proof of our community notice that we sent out, along with the proof of mailing, our deed to the property, showing that Gage and Kristen Brown are the owners of the property, our application for appeal that we filed with the ZBA, and our certificate of tax clearance.
At the conclusion of my presentation, again, the Browns will virtually raise their hand, adopt my testimony, and then we'll be more than happy to take any questions for the board.
All right, notice the refusal. This is an RSA 5 property. We're just doing an addition on top and in the rear of this property. We're keeping its single family nature. There are three refusals. The first refusal deals with the rear yard depth because it's just a small lot and narrow because it's only 12 feet wide.
In order to make it functional, we need it to expand not just up but back, but that's an out of character, and you'll see from photographs of surrounding properties, and you'll see that, you know, nearby neighbors that are directly impacted have no projections to this request.
Secondarily, or second, the occupied area, which kind of goes hand in hand with the proposed rear yard, we're asking for a variance in terms of our obligations.
Because of the width of the property, in order to have a functional floor plan, we need it to not only go up, but go back, and we're requesting that as well.
Just for your information, this lot is only 550 square feet, so it's rather small.
It's only 12 feet wide, so it's very, very narrow, but we want to put a functional property
or building structure there. The third refusal has to do with the rear yard setback because
we're between two -story structures. We're technically required under the code to have
an eight -foot setback. If we did that, we wouldn't even need a third story because we wouldn't have
a functional floor plan, and that's why we're asking to go straight up. Again, you'll see
photographs of similar situated properties in the neighborhood, where it has been allowed as well.
All right, our letter of support from the North Square Community Alliance, as you can see,
they overwhelmingly favored our project by well over 90 % of the people that voted.
And then our petition, we had people who were within the affected area.
City Planning Commission gives us addresses of those individuals, and we specifically ask those individuals to support the project, which includes 2033, 2030, 2038, 2031, Waterloo.
And then you can see, like, literally, they printed out the spreadsheet that we gave them of those addresses, and they got many more individuals as well on top of that.
As you can see, 20, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 36, 38, and more air low.
Some individuals, you know, they weren't able to reach.
Some are vacant lots.
Similarly situated rear yard.
So, again, we're asking for a rear yard variance.
As you can see with 20, 31, Masher is a rather small rear yard right here.
which is non -common even this one would not comply with nine foot rear yard setback and then here
2032 another photo of it showing how small the rear yard is and then 157 Palmer Street is also
a rather small rear yard and then nearby three -story structures right so we kind of did an
inventory this is our house and we took an inventory which is basically here the couple
outliers but you can see uh just as an example just on this block 2036 um is a is a three -story
structure uh 2225 waterloo which is next block up uh or a couple blocks up is a three -story
structure which actually the reason why we took this photo is showing exactly what we would be
doing uh with our property taking a two -story structure going straight up and then adding in
the rear as well. And then you can see Pellthorpe, which is close by to us, also has that similar
type of approval. And then Masher Street, another on Masher, another on Masher. Then some on West
Norris as well, three -story structures. North Howard, three -story structures. And more on North
Howard, more on North Howard. 2035 Waterloo, which is actually across the street from us,
is a three -story structure as well.
is a three -story structure as well. And then maps of the area, again, we're yellow, we're single
And then maps of the area, again, we're yellow.
We're...
family, and, you know, we're not looking to change the character of this portion of the neighborhood.
We're just, my clients just want to have more room for themselves as, you know, residents of
the Norris Square community. And then here's our property from just, you know, so you can see the
physical building structures as well. And then from a Google map perspective. Then photographs
of our property this is the front of our property again one between two two story structures
here's the rear of the property uh showing uh the rear yard and then waterloo to the right of
the property waterloo to the left of the property and then our plans and drawings
i apologize i'm having uh all right so first floor plan again open concept here living room
kitchen you know basically we're expanding around nine feet in the rear so just to have a functional
open floor plan. Because it's such a narrow property, we need that in order to have that
functionality. Then the second floor, as you can see, essentially another bedroom with an open
floor plan, and then a third floor with another bedroom. If we knocked out that eight feet right
here, we would essentially have not much of a third story. And then our roof plan.
Again, we met with the community on April 6th at 5 .30 p .m.
94 addresses were notified of our community meeting for a list of our addresses, proof
of mailing, our DTIP property showing that Kristen Barrett -Brown and Gage is his informal
He actually, his legal name is Gary Brown.
And there are applications for appeal to the ZBA.
Okay, originally my clients filed this on their own,
kind of got lost in the process.
We assisted them in redirecting them
and getting them to this point.
And they're very excited about starting
or completing this renovation project.
And here's our certificate of tax credits,
showing that my clients owe no taxes,
real estate taxes to the city.
With that being said,
I would ask that the Browns virtually raise their hands
and get sworn in.
Hi, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter?
Kristen Barrett Brown, K -R -I -S -T -I -N -T -I -B -A -R -R -E -T -T -B -R -O -W -N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed.
Mrs. Brown, you heard everything I stated today.
And is it true and correct?
And do you adopt it as your own testimony?
All right, thank you.
questions from the board no mr chairman that's great no mr chairman
questions or comments from the virtual audience
i have a mr john scott with his hand raised i have allowed him to speak sir
mr scott you've been already been sworn to state your name and you can start your testimony
john john scott j -o -h -n -s -e -o -t -t thank you uh i'm the ward leader for fish town south kensington
and Norris Square. I actually visited this area on April 9th. I discussed the project with a
number of the nearby neighbors and the homeowner. The neighbors spoke very highly of the project and
the homeowners, and I would just respectfully ask that you approve it. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you for calling in. Any other comments from the virtual audience?
I see no further hands, Mr. Chair. Planning Commission.
Thank you, Chair Bergman. Ian Hegarty for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. In 2021, the zoning map was amended here from RM1 to RSA 5 in accord with recommendations from the comprehensive plan and with community support. The proposed dimensional variances here we feel are commensurate with the small lot sizes, and so the City Planning Commission recommends that the board grant the variances.
Thank you. MI 2021 -005 -190 -2036 Waterloo Street. I vote yes.
Thomas Solomon, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
That's three.
All right.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I knew it wasn't working, but I'm a yes.
Thank you.
Thank you.
number six mi 2021 005 187 2116 gillingham street
005 -187 -2116 Gillingham Street.
No exhibits first listing.
Applicant is Shanaz Dabedin.
Shanaz Dabedin, if you're in the virtual audience,
please raise your hands so that you may be sworn in.
Wait, Mr. Chair, I don't think I see them
in the audience this morning.
Okay, thank you.
MI 2021 -005 -187.
This case is continued.
Mark must be tried.
Number seven.
MI 2021 -005 -159 -2148 Webster Street.
Kelly Bloom and Keith Fowler.
Letter of support from SOSNA.
i'm promoting miss kelly bloom to panelists sir yep
hi could you state your name and spell for the court reporter please
hi sorry can you hear me you made me rejoin we can could you spell your name and
spell for the court reporter. Yes, Kelly Bloom, K -E -L -L -Y -B -L -O -O -M. And are you also able to
add Beth Johnson? She's the architect we're working with. I'm going to present this.
Here's what we'll do. You have to do the testimony. Okay. And then if we have any
questions, she could help with it, but you're the one who will do the testimony. Okay.
You swear for her to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Yes. Mr. Holloman has a few questions for you.
I'm sorry, Mr. Chairman, did you email all of the exhibits as required, such as proof
of ownership, tax clearance, copy of the refusal, referral pictures and drawings of the property
five days in advance of this hearing? Did you meet with the RCO? Do you have RCO letter?
so i have everything except for the tax clearance i've been requesting it for about a month now and
i haven't gotten a response so i don't have that yet please proceed and share your screen okay
thank you sorry mr chair this is hillary emerson um i checked the city's website and found a zero
balance um on the on the taxes for the property so the tax clearance requirement has been met
thank you great thank you all right can you see my screen yes okay i'm going to just walk through
the packet of documents here so first off um i'm the whole number of the property my husband and
i we just bought the house in 2021 uh so we actually closed on april 30th last year so we've
been here for about a year uh we're looking to make this our long -term home so um this application
for the variance has to do with just making this more accommodating for what we're looking for
long term um we really love this neighborhood uh so we'd really love if we can kind of make this
home our own and then play here long term and as i mentioned we're working with beth johnson so
she's an architect with brighton architecture so she's one who prepared these plans for us today
as well all right so just high level um we're proposing to build a deck in the existing rear
setback of our house. So the property has only a six -foot rear yard as opposed to the usual nine -foot
setback. There was a variance when the house was built in 2004, so we have only that six -foot space
behind our house. So this is our original refusal. So the zoning, the denial was because we want to
build a second floor deck. So this will go to the property line and then also it will be within the
rear yard setback. So those are the two kind of reasons for the refusal. And something that came
up on our first meeting, this is not an issue of lot coverage. So in the ARC meeting, they mentioned
this. So just a clarification, this is just for the rear setback. The deck doesn't actually
contribute to the lot coverage. So it's not an issue there. This is just for the building into
the rear setback at the second floor. So high level of reason why we would like to build this
deck is our house has the main living area on our second story. So we have our kitchen and our
living room on the second floor of our home. So this would really give us some outdoor space that
is usable. The existing outdoor space, we're working with a very small six foot space to begin
with. So this would make the most of the space that we have and just be kind of a better outdoor
area for us to utilize. Just going to click through some documents here. So this is our
I'm just going to click through some documents here.
This is our application for appeal with the same information that I kind of just went through here.
application for appeal.
Our project information.
This is the deed.
This is just the tax information email, so I think we cleared that up, so we'll skip over that.
Okay, so this is where we're starting.
This is a high -level view of what we're looking for.
um so you can see some uh clouding here so this was some feedback that we got from our first
couple calls that our uh call specifically they were requesting that we add um a gate in the back
so what we're going to do here is there is a existing first floor deck that we are going to
demo um and instead replace it with stairs out from the back door to grade and then we're going
to put a six foot fence around um the property line so this kind of aligns with a lot of our
neighbors have as well um and then like i said there's just some clouding here for some changes
that were made based on feedback this was just a clarification of um exactly where the door and
this new staircase we're going to be in the bottom right here
okay and this is the proviso plan so again this just kind of highlights the changes that we made
based on the feedback we got from the previous meeting um this is our posting to our neighbors
for this all right and then just to kind of orient everybody as to what we're looking at so we are on
webster street so in this top left photo you can see this is our street here um it's a pretty small
one -way road um and it backs up to christian street so christian street is this road here
from this view in the top right you can kind of see um our webster street block is very close to
the property line you can kind of see all of our properties are pretty far back versus um on
christian street which is what we back up to they tend to be a little shorter and they have some
bigger um open space back here so this kind of plays to our advantage because in building this
deck we're not approaching on anybody's home really close by there's no other balconies that
are right up close to where we're going to be building or anything like that. And there's also
a three -foot alleyway in addition to our six -foot setback. So that kind of like in an informal way,
even though this is not our property, that extra three feet of space kind of gives us the
extra setback that we need so we won't be building directly up to somebody's property line.
All right. And again, here's just some photos to give you an idea. This is where our house is,
and this is the existing alleyway so this right here is our existing first floor deck that we
will be demoing and replacing with um just stairs down to grade and a six foot fence
so all the properties down the line right here and the ones across on christian street
have that same six foot fence so this will align with what it looks like back there already will
will kind of be in the same sort of design. And here's again, just some orienting. So this is a
little, this bottom right photo is on our block on Webster a little further down. So you can see
there's a row of probably three or four homes that have basically the exact deck that we are
proposing here, right up to the property line. And then this is what we kind of look back on.
This isn't the property directly behind us. It's one to the east from our property on Christian Street.
But you can see that would be the closest that we get to anything existing as far as somebody's house or anybody's deck.
And that is pretty far back from where we would be. So this is looking out from our second floor.
This is the note from the neighborhood meeting. So we received eight votes of support.
um two of those were our near neighbors so um we did review the plans with all the neighbors that
are kind of near us um that would be the most impacted the neighbors directly to our west um
they were on the call and voted in support um the neighbors to our east were not able to attend the
meeting they would probably be the most impacted but since they could not attend i have a letter
included in this packet that i'll i'll show you later um they're fully in support we showed them
the plans. And then two neighbors down from us on the east side, they attended the call and voted in
favor as well. All right, so getting into the details a little bit more, this would be a six
foot deep deck 14 feet wide at the rear yard at the second floor of our home. So we'll zoom in a
little bit here. This I think gives you the best picture. The proposed fence is removed here just
so you can see what's going on, but you can imagine there'll also be a six -foot fence here.
So this is what we are proposing in terms of the second floor deck off the kitchen of our home,
and then this down here would replace the existing deck just to stare down to green.
So another important thing I think to emphasize is that this deck is going to meet, other than the variance we're asking for, it's going to meet all their requirements.
So another important thing I think to emphasize is that
So the post will be more than 18 feet from property lines. We won't have stairs from the second floor to grade. We'll have all the appropriate railings and framing.
We'll also be making this out of composite wood and vinyl or aluminum railings. So it'll be long lasting. It'll look really nice. It'll be low maintenance. So it won't be like an eyesore back there in any way.
So another thing that you can see a little better here, I think if we look at it from this view, so this is our neighbor's property line at the bottom here.
So this is what I was referring to earlier. There is an existing three -foot alleyway here.
So while this isn't our property, this does kind of give us a little bit of breathing room.
So that three foot required setback that we're asking for the variance from, we do still have
something there that gives a little space between our neighbors. So that helps that we're not
building directly up to somebody else's property. I also want to point out just some of the
surrounding alley. Here's some more details on the deck as well just to give you some different views.
okay so some of these photos uh will give you an idea of what our alley currently looks like
so many of the rear yards on Webster Street have this deck as I referenced so they have them on
the second floor the third floor so this is actually Christian Street um this property here
is Webster this one is Webster on our block um this is actually a deck right here on the second
floor at the end of our block. So you can see this isn't abnormal. We're not going to be adding
something that looks very different from what our neighbors already have. This isn't necessarily
challenging. Like if these people are compliant with the system at all, it's just the zoning
regulation is kind of lost back here. I remember there was a comment in our neighborhood review
that it kind of looks like the wild west back here. So we're trying to do this like the right
way and make sure that we're going to make it look appropriate and get done permanently correctly. So
Here's some more photos. This is all our block on Webster Street, so you can see a lot of these existing deck structures.
Okay, and as I referenced, this is our letter from our neighbors who are directly to our east.
So I think because of the way their yard is, they would probably be the most impacted.
They'll have kind of the closest visual of the deck, and they reviewed it and had no issues.
They weren't able to vote in the previous meeting, so they just gave us this letter in support.
Great, and I'll go back to this just to wrap it up. So I think that that is all I have. So thank you for allowing us to present. We hope you'll be in support of this project. I think this would give us a really good outdoor space to make the most of the rear yard that we kind of inherited here with this house.
our first floor deck as it is now is through a bedroom it's not very usable and I think that
this will be the best use of the space and we'll make this a lot more accommodating a lot more
livable and we'll just kind of provide a good benefit to us as homeowners and make the best
use of the property that we have here so thank you for listening questions from the board no Mr.
chairman no mr chairman no mr chairman questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no answer mr chair planning commission thank you chair bergman ian hegarty for the
philadelphia city planning commission board members the comprehensive plan recommends no
change to the rsa 5 a single family zoning at this location the dimensional requirements
of the code related to elevated decks do not impose a financial burden on the applicant.
So we believe that the applicant has not presented a valid hardship claim here. Furthermore, while
the rear yards of the adjoining buildings are not currently built with high lot coverage,
this variance would substantially and permanently injure the appropriate use of adjacent conforming
rear yards by creating a canyon effect for adjacent properties. We recommend that the
board deny the variance. Thank you. MI 2021 -005 -159 -2148 Webster Street. I vote yes.
Revised plans, one page, stamped April 27, 2022. Thomas Holliman, my vote is yes,
James Snell yes with proviso Ishmael Shaheed yes with proviso
thank you thank you
MI MI 2021 005 188 2842 rue street
Letter of non -opposition from Councilwoman Sanchez,
letter of non -opposition from councilwoman Sanchez
letter of support from Impact Services Corporation,
Javier Mercado.
Mr. Mercado has been promoted to panelist, sir.
Good morning, Mr. Mercado.
Could you unmute yourself?
Could you state your name and spell it for the court reporter?
Mr. Mercado?
Mr. Mercado, if you're still in the audience, please unmute and wait to be sworn in.
Mr. Mercado.
Excuse me.
you may be having trouble uh maybe having trouble with his um audio so i've also got
miss uh with her um hand raised okay can you hear me now i can hear you yep okay i'm sorry
about that um no no no no no state your name and spell it for the court reporter
Mercado
J -A -V -I -E -R
M -E -R -C -A -D -O
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Mr. Mercado
Mr. Mercado
I can't
do you swear for him to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth yes yes i do okay um
mr hallman has a few questions for you good morning sir did you email all of the exhibits
as required such as proof of ownership tax clearance copy of refusal referral pictures
or drawings of the property five days in advance of this hearing did you meet with the rco and do
you have an RCO letter?
Mr. Mercado, I'm mute.
I'm sorry.
This is Tanya.
Tanya.
Are you, is he speaking to you, Bodice?
He's trying to speak, but I think he can.
I have the package to share.
He's ready to give his testimony,
but I think he's having a problem in speaking.
Are you guys in the same place?
Uh, no, we are not. He's on his location and I'm in my office.
Okay. You can mute and then we'll, um, promote you to panelists for you not to speak, but for you to share the screen. Okay.
Thank you. And maybe if you can't hear him, maybe you could give us an alternative to come back and maybe he could make it to my office so he could be here in a couple minutes.
Okay. Chair, this is Tanya. Um, evidently he's having technical problems.
No, I heard him.
Let's move on.
We'll see if we can get back to him, okay?
Great.
Continue.
We're going to go to Mr. Mercado.
We're going to get back to you later.
Okay, thank you.
Number 10, MI 2021 -003 -025 -3344 -Tilton Street.
Mr. Urban.
okay mr urban more to two panelists sir thank you mr urban could you state your name and spell
for the court reporter
mr urban
there he is one second chair he's just coming i see him i see him on the bottom
zoom is a little slow today so it's taking a minute
hi mr urban could you want to use yes hi do you hear me now i can could you stay your name is
bell for the court before we proceed sir do you have on two devices yes i have two devices
Yes, I have two devices.
you have to mute one because we can hear
You have to mute one because we can hear feedback, okay?
Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Crowley.
So could you state your name and spell it for the court reporter?
Yes, my name is Greg Urban.
Could you spell it, please?
yes uh first name g -r -z -e -g -o -r -z last name urban u -r -b -a -n all right do you swear or affirm to
tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes mr halliman has a few questions for you
good morning sir did you email all other exhibits as required such as proof of ownership tax clearance
copy of refusal or referral pictures or drawings of the property five days in advance of this
hearing did you meet with the rco and do you have rco letter yes i i believe i sent everything
besides um the tax clearance because i have a hard time to reach anyone from the city i i send them
i send them like two emails i can provide the emails they never send it they never get back to
me i try to call them it's like uh it looks like nobody works there i don't know okay please please
proceed and share your screen uh this is hillary emerson i just wanted to note um for the record
that i've i verified on the city website that there is no outstanding property tax balance for
this case so proceed okay thank you i'm sorry mr urban i've asked you three times please turn on
your video thank you okay hello yeah all right um let's start with um all right you got to turn
the video on it we don't see it yet so go to the bottom of your screen and look for the green button
okay you're you're cut you're
okay so you're gonna have to open them up right yes do you see that it's not open yet but yes we
Okay, so, yeah, I'm just going to provide whatever I sent to those emails.
So this is application for appeal.
I'm so sorry, but I need you to turn your video for verification that you are Mr. Urban, okay?
Can you please turn on your video camera at the bottom near your cell, your audio?
and you can proceed after doing so.
There we go.
Thank you very kindly, sir.
Can you open the start opening now?
I'm trying to.
Hi, this is Tanya again.
So what you need to do is open your file first
before you hit the green button so unshare again hit the green button to go out
open your file that you wish to share and then hit the green button
hit the green button okay open your documents that you want us to see
there we go thank you very kindly oh okay you still have the file up just your files are up
So, you need to open your file first. What do you want us to look at?
Go back out again.
Hit the green button.
Hit the green button.
Okay. Now, open your file before you hit the green button.
open your file and have it visible on your screen.
You're using a regular computer, right? Yes. Okay.
So now your files are open. Do we see what you want to show us
on your screen? I mean,
do you see it? No, not yet.
So Greg, Greg, is your
file open? And you have the, okay.
no okay all right so tanya could we have somebody talk to him on the phone
So, Tanya, could we have somebody talk to him on the phone and let us move on and go back to him?
Not really, Tia.
Try one more time.
That's what I'm doing.
Open the file.
So, sir, when you unshare, hit the green button, okay?
So you're not supposed to click on this for us to view.
You're going to click on your pictures, your tech cert, whatever information you want us to see.
That's what you're going to click on.
So unshare.
Hit the green.
There we go.
There you go.
Thank you, Chair.
All right.
Start your presentation.
So this is the application for appeal.
Mr. Hammond, have you spoken to him?
I did speak, yes.
Okay, thank you.
All right.
All right.
I'm not sure if you see whatever I'm trying to post here.
We saw the application.
Just the application?
That's all we saw.
Chair, if allowed, can I ask the staff, could you please pull up this information and email it to me, please?
Yes, all the information, all the exhibits?
No, no, I'm talking to my staff.
because we're trying to help you
so that you don't have to be continued.
Do you have the other documents?
Here you go.
Keep going.
Yes, I do have all the documents.
This is the pictures of the post -it.
okay this is um this is the front of the house
this is this is the alley which is um which is going to the back of the house
um okay this is the this is the back of the house so what i'm trying to do i'm trying to
to build an addition on the second story, on the existing first one, and the refus -
the refuse that
or is it
what not is a refusal okay um the the not this is notice of a refusal so the problem was because
the depth and minimum minimum depth is uh nine feet which the cedar requires and the existing
one the first floor the existing one which i have is only six six ten so um instead of like keeping
uh two feet roof on the on the on the on the second floor i want i want to do the addition
aligning with the first with the first floor um so i um
okay this is this is um proof of uh that i'm that i'm owner of 3344 tilton this is deed um also uh
Okay, so this is the plan. As you can see, as you can see the distance between, where
is the site plan? This is not this one, I'm sorry. Site plan right here. Okay. It's on
The existing first floor has only 610 to the back of the lot.
to the back of the lot.
And like I said, the city requires nine feet.
So I'm trying to build the addition even,
I mean, align with the first floor.
What else?
you wanted it to the rco right the civic group yes this is the proof of the
of the meeting with the neighborhood uh it was approved
this is the project information form which i sent
so basically the problem was the debt that's the only reason that the the the project was
refused because the debt the city the city requires nine feet and i i i just i just want
to build the addition aligned with the first floor uh that that's the that's the only thing
so let me ask this you have no revised plans right you just had one set of plans yes okay
all right questions from the board no mr chairman no mr chairman no mr chairman
uh questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no hands mr chair planning commission thank you chair bergerman ian hegarty for the
Philadelphia City Planning Commission the comprehensive plan recommends no
change to the existing RSA 5 single -family zoning at this location we
find these proposed dimensional variances to be minimal and find that
they do not conflict with the purpose and spirit of the zoning code we
recommend that the board grant the variance thank you MI 2021 -003 -025 -3344
Tilton Street I vote yes Thomas Hallman my vote is yes
James Snell my vote is yes
it's Mel Shaheed my vote is yes
thank you Mr. Urban
Mr. Urban are you still here
let's get off okay
all right thank you so much yeah thank you thank you have a good day
Let's see here. Number 11, MI. Okay. MI 2021 -005 -129 -4215 Boone Street.
Letter of support from Councilman Jones. Letter of support from Central Roxburgh Civic Association.
Rachel Pritzker.
She's been promoted.
Good morning.
Sorry, I was on mute.
Say good morning.
Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Rachel, R -A -C -H -A -E -L, Pritzker, P -R -I -T -Z -K -E -R.
Do you swear a phone?
I'm sorry.
right 1521 locust street 2605 philadelphia 19102 you swear for him to tell the truth the whole
truth and nothing but the truth yes could you identify your client the relationship the client
has with the property yes my client is uh colin coppola who is the owner of the property thank you
mr holliman has a few questions good morning counselor do you agree to waive the reading
of the refusal and stipulate to his accuracy yes did you email all of the exhibits as required
proof of ownership tax clearance copy of refusal referral pictures or drawings of the property
five days in advance of this hearing did you meet with the rco and do you have an rco letter
yes and we have a letter of support from the rco thank you please proceed and share your screen
thank you i apologize for my uh casual dressing today i am sick with closing
i did not want to miss an opportunity to move this case forward um this is 4215 boone street
um this is basically for the installation of three accessory parking spaces in a of a
semi -detached structure where a duplex was previously approved the only refusal that we
have is because rsa 5 does not allow for parking access by a front street if it can't be accessed
from a shared driveway alleyway or rear street i'm just going to show the board
I'm just going to show the board on Atlas, the property, just so you can get a feel.
Boone Street is this kind of long winding street that kind of stops in the middle of some random land slash privately owned land.
And it kind of dead ends, as you can see on the bottom of the screen.
Where we are looking to get this parking proposed is right here where you see this car.
This was taken before the client realized that we had to go through the variance process,
but he basically owns this duplex here.
Then there is a space where he owns this sort of rear, sorry, side driveway essentially
at the end of this street.
And as you can see from Atlas, you know, there's no parking on this side of the street.
I'm not even sure there's legal parking on this side of the street, but as we've heard almost all day today, given the amount of congestion with parking, the goal here would be to take three parking spaces off the street, not inhibit anybody's ability to have parking on that side of the street as it's not permitted, and to help alleviate bringing three cars off the street.
I want to also provide the plans. I know that Mr. Holloman had asked the former, another applicant regarding their plans. So as you can see from this project, essentially, we have Boone Street, which is here, the proposed driveway, and then three parking spaces that we are proposed to legalize today.
i also want to bring up the streets approval document um i guess uh the way that they're
doing it now is submitting a streets approval letter as opposed to stamping the plans in eclipse
so i just wanted to bring it to your attention that we do have approval as you can see here
from the streets department obviously pending the approval from the zoning board of adjustment
i'll go through thank you council for updating me yeah no i was updated as well i didn't know that's
how they were doing it either. So my pleasure. Here is our packet. Here is our appeal, essentially
basically stating in the appeal that there's plenty of room on the side of this property
to have off -street parking. As you can see from the plan, it's going to be a 22 -foot curb cut
and three parking spaces. So plenty of room to maneuver in and out. We're not disrupting open
area or open space. And we're not infringing on the existing duplex that has been there for quite
some time. Project information form, tax clearance, the deed for the property. As I said, as I
mentioned, I represent the owner. Property zone RSA 5. As you can see, there's really no way to
access this property from a rear alleyway or rear street or shared driveway. So the only way is to
go through the front. And as you can see from the aerial, there's plenty of room on the side to
allow for this parking as well. Here is the zoning posters that we have posted on the property.
Again, a good shot of that where that curb cut is being proposed and where the parking would be.
So you can see there's plenty of room to maneuver in and out.
this was our RCO letter. We had a meeting back in February with the Central Roxborough Civic
Association. They provided a letter of support, as you can see from the screen.
More details, but essentially just stating that, you know, they believe that this has been a
longstanding kind of useless side yard. It's kind of been informally used for these purposes without
out any objection from the neighbors. Pedestrian traffic at the site's very limited, so they
believe that the proposed use would not present any detrimental impact to the neighborhood,
and everybody who was at the meeting who voted did vote in support of our application.
We also have a letter of support from Councilman Jones's office as well, basically stating we met
with the RCO and they have no opposition. These were our letters, and we also have had the client
get letters signed of support from the near neighbors. So those are evidenced in the packet
as well from the directly adjacent near neighbors on the 4200 block of Boone Street. I'm happy to
go into any more detail or answer any questions that the board may have. My client is out of town,
but I did submit a letter from him, a notarized letter authorizing me to represent him in this
matter and to adopt his testimony as a member of the court if the board will allow. That's fine.
questions from the board no Mr. Chairman no Mr. Chairman questions or comments from the virtual
audience Ms. Petita Cazillo has her hand raised okay no she's for the other case
Okay. No, she's for the other case. Okay. Okay. Thank you.
Questions are caught out. Planning commission. I'm sorry.
Thank you, chair Bergman. Ian Hegarty for the city planning commission.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change to the RSA five zoning at this location. However,
given the location of the property at the end of the improved section of Boone street,
The City Planning Commission has no objection and recommends that the Board grant the variance.
Thank you. MI 2021 -005 -129 -4215 Boone Street, I vote yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Okay. So, Chair, this is Tanya. It appears as though the applicant for the previous case we put on hold is available and ready under Baditsa Kodilu, as you wish, sir.
That's, what number is that again?
Let's see here.
this is hillary that was number eight mr chair
okay mi mi 2021 -005 -188 -2842 rue street mr mccato
mr chairman i did read him the uh questions yeah yeah but is he with you
If so, raise your hand to be promoted.
She has been promoted.
Thank you, Jason.
Mr. Mercado, you've been sworn in.
You can start your presentation.
Okay, Ms. Codillo, I ask that you please start your video and unmute and allow the applicant
to go forward with you sharing the screen and providing the board with the information
Oh, my God.
I think I have a problem.
I don't see my video.
One second.
beside your microphone just hit your video uh it is but no pictures coming up
we have a picture coming up we just need the person okay first of all okay now you can assist
by sharing your screen for all to view his exhibit package okay i'm looking for that now
can you see this exhibit package are you on your computer there's one second
okay so you're going to hit the green button at the bottom there we go
hold on one second i'm going to have to open at the same time it's not allowing me to go to where
I had it at. Okay, we see your files. So you would have to open it. I'm not seeing anything,
but are you saying you see anything? We see your file. So your own only your file is where your
files are is open i need you to click on the file that you want to open before you hit can you see
the picture yeah but dita okay can you please understand listen to what i'm saying yes close
close this out right then open up before you hit share so you want to see your pictures first
before you share them with us okay so hit the green button again okay now yes now you see okay
we see now you can scroll and the applicant please you do the presentation thank you
here. I need to get this out of here. Hold on. So, Benita, where is the gentleman? I'm here.
Okay. You can now present your case, sir. Speak to the case.
Yes, how you doing? My name is Javier Mercado, J -A -V -I -E -R -M -E -R -C -A -D -O.
2842 Roof Street. This is the application for the zoning use registration permit.
2842 Roof Street, this is the
Allow me one moment. This is the refusal that we submitted. We got refused. That's the appeal.
this is the um uh the project information form of uh of the zoning and um this is this is the flyer
that uh everybody got in the mail in in the mail um advising everybody about the zoning at the
community meeting. This here is my lease. I'm running the location. I have to scroll
down real quick. Okay, so here's an existing structure of the building. This is the
inside of the building. Still the inside of the building. This is the outside of the
building which has a sign that has been used for previous auto industry. This is the office.
this is the bathroom this is the inside of the um of the structure
this also is the existing of the um of the building this is the floor plan
of the building this is the certified mail mail that it was sent out to all the neighbors and
everything. And here is the letter of recommendation from RCO and for the support. Here is my
tax clearance for the 2842 Grove Street, and here we are going to show you the actual
building itself, which has been a CMX2 building for quite a while.
As you can see, there's pretty much no houses, nothing around.
Pretty much, it was abandoned.
It looks abandoned.
We are trying to come in and pretty much trying to better the neighborhood.
And as far as the community are willing and did support us with this new plan that we got going on.
um it's been it's been zoning for cmx too it's been prior zoning to um for automotive industry
we just pretty much trying to add another piece to the business so we will actually keep the
business open not being abandoned i know that we are in a rough neighborhood and um we are staying
strong. Staying strong, trying to open more business so we can bring Kensington back.
I don't know if you guys know about the history of Kensington. We are fighting. We are fighting
trying to improve this neighborhood. I also have multiple more business in Kensington. I also have
the support of the community. The support of the community. And pretty much we're just trying to
bring back Kensington what it was and you know I would like to see me um have this granite so
like that we won't have no no more vacant um buildings so like that we won't have no more
fire in buildings you know and like I said this structure here has been here for quite a while
and all we're doing is just pretty much just adding another piece to this to this building
which is what we apply for. Thank you.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Chair, we have Sloan Foulkes.
Good morning, Mr. Foulkes. Just state your name. You've already been sworn.
Good morning again, Chairman Bergman, ZBA Board, Sloan Folks, Office of Councilman Marie Keanu -Sanchez.
The applicant having met with the...
The applicant having met with the coordinating RCOA of the community and having received a letter of support, the Councilwoman has no opposition to this variance request. Thank you.
Thank you for calling in. Other comments from the virtual audience?
Chair, we have Harris Steinberg. Please unmute yourself and wait for the chair.
Hi, could you state your name and spell it for the court reporter?
yes my name is harris steinberg that's h -a -r -r -i -s -s -t -e -i -n -b -e -r -g
you swear a firm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
i do proceed um i own morris auto parts which owns a property on the kensington avenue on the
same side as the front of his property hobby's property as well as the parking lot you can see
on the picture on the far down on the left after that tan building um we've been there 100 years
this year and uh javi's been there a couple years and he's been a great addition to the neighborhood
as he said it's a rough neighborhood there are a few businesses at that end of the block where
he's at there's drug addicts and drug dealers that allow the open air inject themselves and
and people selling drugs there's people dumping trash all around this neighborhood over the past
couple of years. There's defecation. Urination is an issue. Shootings, shootouts that I've
witnessed personally. Murderous bodies being dumped on a lot that you can see on the right
side there. There's squatters in the buildings back behind his building that there was a fire
in the building not long ago that they actually had to break into my building in the middle of
the night to make sure that my building didn't get on fire. I'd say if Javi wants to do anything
in that area and in the wild, wild east, as I call it, you should be given a badge of courage.
There are repair shops needed, the times that are needed to either fix cars or whatever,
there's not enough businesses down there to support the people that actually live and work
in that area. And, you know, what's being allowed, basically, are a bunch of bodegas that open up
that actually sell drugs. That's the businesses that are, the illegitimate businesses that are
being allowed in that area so again more power to Javi if he wants to open up a shop and try to
help the neighborhood in a legitimate honest way all right thank you for your call sir any other
comments from the virtual audience yes chair we have Luis Velez good morning Mr. Velez could you
state your name and spell for the court reporter yes uh my name is Luis Velez
could you spell it please uh it's l -u -i -s and v -e -l -e -z right do you swear a firm to tell
the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes sir proceed okay uh i just wanted to
give my my statement but basically i've been a resident in this area for quite some time and
And for the last few years, I've seen Javier come into this area and basically make a little
bit of a difference considering of the area that it is.
And I just wanted to basically give my comment on saying that I am in agreeance to what he's
doing.
And basically, he has my full support, 100%, to anything that he wants to do there.
and I'm asking you
on my behalf if you can
approve this for him so that he can
definitely make the area
better.
Thank you. Thank you for calling in.
Any other comments from the virtual audience?
I see no more hands,
Chair. Planning Commission.
Thank you, Chair Bergman.
Ian Hegarty for the Philadelphia City Planning
Commission. The comprehensive
plan recommends a zoning map change here
from CMX2 to RSA5.
however this proposed use is consistent with both the existing structure and with prior approved
uses so the city planning commission recommends that the board grant this variance thank you
mi 2021 -005 -188 -2842 rue street i vote yes thomas hall my vote is yes james snell my vote is yes
Ishmael Shaheem, I want to share.
Thank you.
MI 2021 -005 -189 -935 Ellsworth Street.
Letter of non -opposition, Pashon Square.
Tara Kayo is the attorney.
Ms. Cale has been promoted to panelists, sir.
it'll take a while for that i joined we're fine
It'll take a while for that I joined.
good morning everyone thank you panel and chair could you state your name and spell for the court
reporter please uh my name is tara ko t -a -r -a last name is k -a -o right do you swear firm to
tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes i do could you identify your client
the relationship to the property? My client is Chai Tang, the owner of the property.
Okay, thank you. Mr. Holloman has a few questions. Good morning, Counselor. Do you agree
to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy? Yes, I do. Did you email all of
the exhibits as required, such as proof of ownership, tax clearance, copy of refusal or
referral, picture of drawings of the property. Five days in advance of this hearing, did
you meet with the RCO? Do you have an RCO letter?
Yes. Yes, I do.
Thank you. Please proceed and share your screen.
um okay so uh this this property is uh classified as cmx two um we the existing building is three
stories with one residential apartment unit on the second floor and and third floor and uh the first
floor is commercial space. And we are requesting to eliminate the first space commercial space
and to change basically into a two -dwelling, two -family dwelling structure.
The change of use to two -family dwelling was refused because of two reasons. One is that
um although uh the use of two -family dwelling is permitted as a matter of right in cmx2 um
the cmx2 requires use other than residential on the ground level so um but the purpose of that
rule is to promote active uses but unfortunately at this time and for actually about uh for a while
it has been vacant and and um back in 2002 there was a restaurant but that closed down at that time
and since been vacant and uses storage so we're requesting a change of use um so that way we can
use the property and um and fill it let me show you um some pictures of the property
so this is the front of the building and um actually in this area and in the neighborhood
is mostly residential um there's not that much for traffic uh for these for any kind of business
to really uh be viable there um as you can see directly across street is residential um at some
point there there was a parking lot for like uh restaurant patrons to park but that has since
changed into a senior housing um which is this building orange building in that i'm showing right
now um so actually the change of views to residential will be more consistent with
the the neighboring uh the neighboring properties
and uh i also can present uh the documents we submitted already to zomi
um that i have we had filed an appeal um i have the deed showing that my um the applicant is the
owner. And, and another. So I think that this would be the
least change to the rules, it'll be consistent with the rules.
And another thing I didn't mention is another reason for the
refusal was that the lot size area was required to be 960
square feet but we're only at 828 but um as you can see from the pictures that i showed earlier
the uh the building is land basically locked on both sides and um we cannot be we're not able to
change the lot uh uh the lot area to 960. uh therefore we're asking for a variance on the
the the use of a residential on the ground floor of commercial on the ground floor
and um my my client mr tongue should be on the line um and i can have him confirm what i had
already presented okay could you state your name and spell for a court reporter
hello can you hear me yes i can could you state your name yes uh spelled for the court reporter
Can you hear me? Yes, I can. Could you state your name? Yes.
Spelled for the court reporter. Yes. My name is Chai Tiu -Tung, C -H -A -I -T -I -U -T -U -N -G is the last name.
Here we go.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing about the truth?
I do. Proceed. Yes.
Oh, I was just going to ask you, do you confirm everything I had said earlier and take that as your testimony?
And, you know, if you could take this opportunity, add anything if you would like.
There's a lot of multifamily on the street.
Actually, most house on the street is like residential and majority of them is like,
at least half of them is like multifamily already.
and there's very limited like commercial activity on the street it was a very small street that's
why and that's all i have to say thank you questions from the board no mr chairman no mr chairman
questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no further hands mr chair planning commission thank you chairman bergman
ian hegarty for the philadelphia city planning commission the comprehensive plan uh recommends
a zoning map change here from cmx2 to rsa5 we agree that the ground floor commercial requirement
is not consistent with uses on this block face which is why we made that recommendation
and given the configuration of the existing building with two separate units uh the proposed
two family use is appropriate we recommend that the board grant the variance thank you mi 2021
one zero zero five one eight nine nine three five Ellsworth Street I vote yes Thomas Hallowman
my vote is yes James Snell my vote is yes
you have your three votes thank you very much thank you for your time right is there anyone
else in the audience whose case hasn't been pulled
i do not see any hands mr chair wait wait wait i have a mr diane monroe with her hand raised
okay miss monroe please unmute and wait to be sworn in um hello hi could you state your name
and spell for the court reporter uh yes um let me turn my speaker up a little i'm sorry you
talking about this case? No, that case is over. Okay. I said, is there anyone waiting for a case
to be heard? It could have been the first one and I didn't get on until maybe about 936. So the
first case, the first case. I'm sorry, ma 'am. 1007 Brandywine Street. Did you do that? That case was
continued ma 'am oh really i'm sorry okay thank you put your reference put your question in a q a
thank you chair is there anyone else uh who's waiting on a case to be heard
do not see anyone mr chair thank you everyone see everybody at two
begin recording and now you go forward as you wish chair good afternoon my name is bill bergman
i will be chairing this afternoon's eba hearings with me is ishmael shaheed our board secretary
president mr chair thomas holliman our board member present mr chairman james snell our board
member. Present, Mr. Chairman. Also here is our Executive Director, Director Tanya Sunkett,
and our Attorney, Hillary Emerson. Before we begin, here's our virtual format. Be advised
these proceedings are being recorded. By participating, you acknowledge your agreement
to be recorded. The video will be available by contacting tanyasunkett at phila .gov. For the
benefit of our court stenographer, we ask attorneys and witnesses to identify themselves before
testifying. If you're participating by phone, if you wish to testify, press star 9 to raise your
hand and star 6 to unmute. To enter an appearance statement, call 267 -270 -5548. Leave your email
address and the address of the property in question. And lastly, please note the question
answer box on the screen is not for testimony or comments. Any comments should be directed to
Tanya Sunkit, our board secretary. Hold on a minute, our board administrator, I'm sorry.
Hold on a minute. Our board of ministry, I'm sorry.
And here's our continuances for the San Francisco.
Number six, MI 2021 -004041.
This is a reconsideration hearing for MI 2021 -001866.
This particular contingence will be marked must be tried.
Number seven, MI 2021, 001278, 2446 North 21st Street.
Number 13, MI 2021, 003957, 3440 North 18th Street.
and number 14, MI -2022 -000 -295 -601 West Cliveland Street.
That is Attorney Movement Party.
Those four cases will be continued.
Are there any comments or statements
relative to those cases?
Mr. Chair, I have Rachel Pritzker with her hand raised.
I have allowed you to speak.
hi miss pritcher you've already been sworn thank you um rachel r -a -c -h -a -e -l pritzker p -r -i -t -z -k -e -r
um i represent the owner for 1820 venango and actually i'm part of ownership for this project
as well i appreciate the board allowing this to be a must be heard and given this has been sitting
at the pleasure of the council person
would just ask if we could get
as soon of a rehearing date as possible.
As you can imagine, we are paying loans
and things of that nature while we sit and wait.
So appreciate the must be certain requests.
I will talk to Tanya about that
and I'm sure she'll do what she can.
Wonderful. Thank you very much.
Anyone else relative to the continuances?
sir i have mr sean ward with us i will allow him to speak at this time
good afternoon sean state your name and spell for the court reporter please
uh yes mr chairman sean ward s -h -a -w -n -w -a -r -d um i am inquiring about 4227 east thompson street
MI 2021 -005 -160.
I'm not sure.
I logged on a second late
and I don't know if that was continued or not.
Let's see, which one is that?
I submitted my request yesterday afternoon,
so I don't know if it made it to the board in time.
Mr. Chair, this is Hillary.
That is on the 3 .30 list.
Oh, I'm sorry.
My bad.
That's okay.
But we did receive it.
Okay, very good.
thank you any other continuances for the two o 'clock list
i have darlene three with her hand raised i have allowed her to speak at this time
hi could you state your name and spell for the court reporter please
good afternoon commissioner darlene three on behalf of the applicant
do you swear or firm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth what what case
3438 North Carlisle I logged on a minute late myself and I see in the comments is smart continued
um hold on a minute I didn't I didn't get to that yet did I here it is here
um I did not continue that's number 12 right yes no that's not okay very well thank you sir
Is there any other continuances?
I have Mr. David Orphanides with his hand raised.
I have allowed him to speak at this time, sir.
Hi, Mr. Orphanides.
You've already been sworn to state your name.
Certainly.
David Orphanides, D -A -V -I -D, last name Orphanides, O -R -P -H -A -N -I -D -E -S.
Is it number 11?
uh mi2022000305262533 jefferson yes sir i'd like to request a continuance so that we can uh
have further meetings and discussions with the uh the community that case
mi20220003052635 to 33 jefferson street cases continue thank you that concludes my business
may be excused. Thank you. Absolutely. Any other continuances?
I see Mr. Henry Clinton with his hand rights. I've allowed him to speak, sir.
good afternoon henry could you state your name and spell for the court reporter
Good afternoon, Henry. Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter?
sure my name is henry clinton 1313 south 33rd street philadelphia pa 19146 clinton is c -l -i -n -t -o -n
do you swear a firm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
i do springer street sir yes mr chairman number eight number nine right 223 and 225
We understand that there's still some neighbors who are not happy, and we'd like the opportunity to meet with them again and ask for continuance.
Yes, sir. Granted.
Thank you.
MI 2021 -004 -012 -225 -E Springer Street, and MI 2021 -004 -011 -223 -E Springer Street.
Both cases are continued.
Can I be the moving party on that, Mr. Chairman?
You can.
Thank you very much.
I appreciate your patience.
Any other cases?
I might see no further
answer, Mr. Chair. I have a withdrawal.
Number three,
MI 2021
002 165
North 49th Street.
That case is withdrew.
Any other withdrawals?
I see nothing else,
sir. Okay.
Number one on the list.
MI 2022 001917 1018 Wood Street. This is a reconsideration hearing for MI 2021 003824.
Jen Zing is the attorney. Mr. Jin has been promoted to panelist, sir.
good afternoon sir could you state your name and spell for the court reporter
yes uh good afternoon zen jen z -h -e -n j -i -n 1617 john f kennedy boulevard suite 1838
philadelphia pa 19103 here on behalf of the applicant do you swear or firm to tell the truth
the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I do. My understanding, we are going to incorporate
testimony and exhibits from the original case. Yes. My understanding of this case will be
concentrating on the PCDC change. That is correct. If I may, yes. Go ahead, proceed.
If I may, I will share the additional information with the board and go over the additional questions.
I want Mr. Holloman to ask a few questions.
Absolutely.
Hi, Chair, this is Tanya.
Because it's a reconsideration, he's already submitted the required documents.
so so tanya there's the only thing i'm looking at we we did not receive a letter yet from pcbc
this is this is hillary um so um mr jim submitted a supplemental packet which was a number of the
same documents that had been originally submitted but um what was included that was not included
previously was a community benefits agreement between the applicant and pcdc and pcdc had
previously indicated that they would be upon execution of a cba they would change their
position from opposition to support in this matter i did not receive confirmation from them that they
now support the matter but i don't know if somebody is here to testify from pcdc to testify
So what I will do is share with the Board the additional information that we have submitted
to the Board in anticipation of this particular hearing.
The support language is actually built into the CBA, so I'm going to go ahead and move
right to that document for the Board's review.
In that sense, we have worked out with PCDC that a number of low -income housing units will be
incorporated into this particular application. As the board may recall, this is an application
for residential use in what is essentially an IRMX district. What we are
in what is essentially an IRMX district, what PCDC asked for was designated units that they can verify and check on
that will have essentially a low -income housing component that we agree to based on the income ratio of the applicants.
PCDC will work with us closely on making sure that the community benefits agreement is followed closely
and the affordable housing will be enforced with their assistance.
My client negotiated and worked this out with them.
Again, to recap the board, part of PCDC's concern with building these residential -only units
is that it would displace some of the Chinatown possible tenants that otherwise may not be able to afford these units.
By incorporating these low -income units, we alleviate some of that concern,
And therefore, PCDC would support. So PCDC will support zoning appeal for the purpose of rehearing by providing a letter of support to CBA. However, I understand that letter never did arrive, but they had made it clear within the signed CBA that is one of the conditions that when we entered into the agreement with them, they would be in support of the changes we're asking before the board.
So they are now or should be in support of this application.
Kellogg Hill Neighbors, the other RCO in charge of the area, was in support of the original application.
At this point, all the affected community organizations are in support.
And also, we had at the time submitted a petition of the neighbors as well to the board who were in support.
Even though there are some industrial uses still left on that block, there's one that I know of, majority of the block has been changing to residential, and there are no real objection to residential use of this particular lot.
In addition, we do have a parking agreement as well that was sent with this package that is to help alleviate any parking issues.
So with that, unless the board wants additional testimony or need to see other exhibits, I will end my presentation at this point and leave questioning to the board.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
questions or comments from the virtual audience
no hands Mr. Chair
Planning Commission
good afternoon this is Greg Waldman with the Philadelphia City Planning Commission
Greg could you spell your name for the court reporter
Sure. Gregory, G -R -E -G -O -R -Y, last name Waldman, that's W -A -L -D -M -A -N.
Right. Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Proceed, sir.
In 2015, the zoning map was amended in this area to reflect changes proposed in a community plan.
The community plan was accepted by the City Planning Commission.
The intent of the ICMX zoning of this block, which does not permit residential uses, is to ensure an adequate supply of land for the existing restaurant support industry that has clustered here.
While we recognize that this may not be the long -term use of the block, given recent non -conforming buildings, we believe the only hardship has been an economic one.
We also note for the Board's consideration that the affordable dwelling units contained in the benefit agreement are not enforceable by the city pursuant to a deed restriction and affordability agreement, and their actual value as community benefits should be discounted accordingly.
The City Planning Commission recommends that the Board deny these variances.
Mr. Chairman, just to address the Planning Commission's comments quickly.
PCDC is extremely active in enforcing these CBAs.
They're an active community group within the Chinatown area, and I'm sure this will be an enforced matter.
Also, my client, by agreeing to this, will be putting in these affordable housing units.
We're not here to make a representation before the CBA just to renege on what is a written agreement, which we're contractually obligated to move forward with.
In addition, while I understand the Planning Commission's position with regarding to the remapping, I do want to point out my client, Sidewalk Tofu Inc., was one of these restaurant support business operators, and they have since moved on.
While we understand that the goal is to keep land available for these type of businesses.
The goal is to keep land available for these type of businesses.
This block is basically 80 % residential at this point.
There are basically no other businesses looking to come in at this point that we're aware of.
So we would ask the board's consideration of that situation and vote in support of this application.
Thank you.
Thank you.
MI -2022 -001917, 1018 Wood Street, which is the reconsideration for MI -2021 -003824.
I vote yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Thank you.
Thank you.
MI 2021 -003 -959 -1250 North A Street.
Alan Nockamson?
Mr. Nockamson has been promoted to panelists.
Mr. Nockamson, you've already been sworn.
Just state your name for the record.
I'm sure we're joining soon I don't sure we're fine I'm fine
I'm just not to just state your name for the record you've already been sworn
alan a -l -a -n last name knockamson n -o -c -h -u -m -s -o -n could you identify your client the
relationship to this property yeah for 1250 north 18th street um it is owned by bja real estate llc
and i have its member shati cooks in the virtual audience that's 1250 north 8th right not 18th
uh 18 12 50 north 18. okay mine's showing 12 50 north 8th i'm sorry i'll correct that 18.
so that's mi 2021 -003 -959 -1250 north 18th street um mr holliman has a few questions
good afternoon counselor do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to his
accuracy i do did you email all of the exhibits as required such as proof of ownership tax clearance
copy of refusal referral pictures or drawings of the property five days in advance of this hearing
did you meet with the rco and do you have an rco letter yes i actually have a letter
of non -opposition there was no coordinating rco for this matter so we received we met with the
council member the council president daryl clark's office who coordinated the community meeting and
we have a letter of non -opposition okay please proceed and share your screen thank you
hi i'm here to present 12 15 north 18th street this is in the kabat section of philadelphia
in my presentation materials we'll go over the notice of refusal the letter of non -opposition
from council member daryl clark's office nearby recently granted multi multi -family zoning
variances which is what we're asking for here under similar circumstances maps of the area
photographs of the property in the surrounding area our plans and drawings our rco meeting notice
and proof of mailing of that notice or deed to the property showing that BJA real estate LLC is the
owner of the property or applications for appeal that we filed with the zoning board of adjustment
and our certificate of tax clearance. As I indicated previously in the virtual audience
is Shati Cooks, the member of BJA real estate LLC and at the conclusion of my presentation
he'll adopt my testimony and then we will be more than happy to take any questions from the zoning
first things first uh we have the refusal this is an rsa5 property uh all we're looking to do
is put a two -family dwelling in there and have an addition in the rear uh so we have two refusals
first because this is an rsa5 property and we're proposing multi -family use we're being refused
in that respect we'll go through the presentation materials you'll see nearby variances that cba has
um we'll go through the presentation materials you'll see nearby variances that cba has granted
under similar circumstances nearby uh second uh would be refused because of the rear yard that
proposed is 8 .43 feet basically eight and a half feet and what's required is nine feet but you'll
see from the site plan that's a technical refusal um our rear yard depth is actually in excess of
the allowable use it just we have a bay window that projects outward which is counting against
that rear yard setback so we met with the community and based on the community input
the council president issued a letter of non -opposition with the one proviso no roof deck
so if this board does grant uh this uh variance request uh we would ask for a proviso stating no
roof deck and then here's nearby multi -family structures um that the zba has granted over the
years there's how many is one two three four five six seven eight nine ten eleven twelve thirteen
1415 within a basically less than a two -block radius. Next door to us, in 2019, the ZVA granted
similarly a duplex for 1252 North 18th Street. On the following block, on the 1300 block of
North 18th Street, they granted a duplex at 1300 North 18th, a triplex at 1314 North 18th Street,
a triplex at 1316 North 18th Street, and a triplex at 1320 North 18th Street.
But instead of going for a triplex, we felt it was appropriate to follow what the Zoning Board did grant in 2019 for 1252 North 18th Street, our neighboring property of a duplex.
Maps of the area. Again, we're in the Cabot section of Philadelphia. We're on 18th Street between West Thompson and Cabot.
and then just the neighborhood in general from a google maps perspective
my photographs of the property uh you know it's it's a property that definitely needs some tlc
that my client purchased um and he's excited to do that and as you can see uh there has been new
construction on this block and then this is north 18th street to the right of the property
north 18th street to the left of the property and then our plans and drawings uh so you can see
here from our plans we're not going any deeper than the house to the left of us and right here
is our rear yard setback which is over 12 feet but this this projectile uh bay window is what's
causing the de minimis variance requests. And that projects almost four weeks out.
And then just our plans. Again, we have a lower level, which is bi -level unit number one, which
is two bedrooms, two vats. And then units two and unit two is the second and third floor, which is
also bi -level, which is two bedrooms and two vats. And then here's just a roof deck, which we would
the past that the CVA, if they would grant this variance, just grant it with the variance, no
roof back. And then here's our meeting notice. We met with the community on February 15th at
6 p .m. We notified 150 people of this meeting. These are the addresses. This is the proof of
mailing for that meeting. And then our deed to the property, again, showing that BJA,
real estate LLC is the owner of the property. Our application for appeal to the ZBA,
along with our notice of refusal and our project information form, and our certificate of tax
clearance. With that being said, I would ask that Shati Cooks virtually raises his hand
to adopt my testimony.
I'd love to speak.
Could you state your name and spell it, please,
for the court reporter?
Yes, my name is Shati Cooks,
S -H -A -T -E -E,
Cooks, C -O -O -K -S.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed.
Thank you.
Mr. Coach, you heard everything I stated today.
Is it true and correct?
Accurate. Correct.
And you adopt it as your own testimony?
Thank you.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
no mr chairman no mr mr knockamson when uh do you understand that means both decks
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr.
uh we do understand that to me thank you thank you um mr chair this is hillary for i would then
have the proviso say no roof decks plural oh yeah i make sure it's clear okay thanks i know the one
i gave you said no roof deck yeah i just want to make sure you're there thank you okay thank you
questions or comments from the virtual audience
no answer Mr. Chair
planning commission
good afternoon this is Greg Waldman
of the city planning commission
the comprehensive plan
recommends no change to the single family
zoning at this location
there is no unique physical condition
that would prevent this 937
square foot lot from being used
in conformance with the zoning code
the block is solidly single -family except for one triplex a church and a rectory
multi -family uses are not in character with the block the city planning commission recommends
that the board deny the variance for two units it's not going to do you have any comments to that
yeah i would just say that 1252 according to the city's record was approved as a triplex and
excuse me a duplex in 2019 and there were four or five instances on the other block on the 1300
block of North 18th Street, which were approved as triplexes as well. And then there's like
probably eight to nine properties on Cybert Street, which is a block and a half away under
similar circumstances. This board approved variances under similar circumstances. Okay.
MI 2021 -003 -959 -1250 North 18th Street. I vote yes with proviso. No roof decks, plural.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes with Proviso.
James Snell, yes with Proviso.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes with Proviso.
Thank you.
Thank you.
MI 2022 -00640, 1401 Schuylkill Avenue.
And I believe we have a second case.
MI 2022 -000 -639 -1421 -55 Schuylkill Avenue.
Sean Ward is the attorney, and Grace Ferry Community Council has a letter of support.
Mr. Ward?
good afternoon mr chairman good afternoon spell for the court reporter please
sean ward s -h -a -w -n -w -a -r -d applicants attorney all right do you swear a firm to tell the truth
the whole truth and nothing about the truth yes i do and mr ward we can handle both at the same
time that's correct they're companion cases and it's a related use okay could you identify your
client your relationship to the property my client is michael slocum doing business as 1401 schuyl
avenue lp which is the owner of the premises as well as 76 carriage tours which i'm sure the
board is familiar with um that is his company and that would be the operator at the location
mr halliman has a few questions good afternoon council good afternoon do you agree to waive
the reading of the refusal and stipulate to his accuracy tom i will waive a reading but i won't
stipulate that i can explain those during my presentation okay did you email all of the
exhibits as required such as proof of ownership tax clearance copy of refusal pictures drawings
of the property five days in advance of this hearing did you meet with the rco and do you
have an rco letter yes to all the above please proceed and share your screen
okay can everybody see my screen yes awesome uh mr chairman i've
submitted my typical exhibit packet again let me blow it up wait
Again, I represent Michael Slocum. He is on the call. He does business at 1401 Schuylkill Avenue LP, which is the owner of the premises, as well as 76 Carriage Tours LP, which would be operator.
And these are adjoining properties at 1401 Schuylkill Avenue and 1421 Schuylkill Avenue.
The application was for the permit for the keeping of carriage horses on an existing lot, even though the refusals say existing lot, the one should say existing lot.
Even though the refusals say existing lot, the one should say existing lot and the other should say existing structure.
So that's why I couldn't stipulate. That's one of the reasons.
It resulted in four refusals on both uses within 50 feet of the front lot line, which is Schuylkill Avenue,
and uses within 500 feet of a residential lot line, which would be on Reed Street.
And it also says the keeping of horses is not permitted in the district, which is I3, which we disagree with.
In any event, we're seeking a variance for the use. A2 is the ZBA application of appeal.
A3 project information form. A4 is proof of ownership. A5 proof of tax clearance.
A6 is a site plan. A7 are floor plans. A8 are photographs of the subject, aerial views and some street views.
Attached at A9 is the RCO letter of support from Brace Ferry.
A10, if submitted, I would ask that the district council letter, if submitted, be marked as A10.
A11 is the relevant zoning history.
1401 was basically used as a ball field known as a trolley works field.
My client also operates a Philly trolley works.
1421, 2015, there was a gun shop and range permit issued.
During much of the 70s, it was an electric motor repair shop.
And in the 1960s, it was a metal fabrication business.
A12 is the zoning map and A13 is the aerial photograph.
Just to summarize my discussion, the property, we've already talked about the applicant.
The property is located at Schuylkill Avenue and Reed Street along the Schuylkill River.
It's zoned I3 Heavy Industrial.
The existing conditions are it's an open field and a partially vacant warehouse.
The site and floor plans will depict a horse turnout in the open field and horse stalls in a portion of the vacant warehouse.
There are seven exterior stalls and 14 interior stalls for a total of 21.
The company, 76 Carriage Tours, specializes in tours, weddings, funerals, special events, and sleigh and prop rentals.
Now, when we talk about permitted uses in I -3, animal husbandry is a specific use that's permitted,
and that involves the feeding, housing, and care of farm animals for private or commercial purposes.
And then animal services are uses that provide for the treatment, care, maintenance, or keeping of animals.
And those two are permitted.
The specific use of boarding or other services is not permitted.
Boarding facilities for horses and similar animals, including public and commercial stables.
It doesn't talk about private stables, okay, as defined by the code.
And a commercial stable is defined as any stable building facility or premises where horses are accommodated for consideration.
In this particular case, there's no other horses other than those privately owned by 76 Carriage Tours LP.
So it's neither a public stable nor is it a commercial stable.
It's a private it's a private stable specifically for the boarding or the keeping of horses privately owned as part of the 76 carriage tours business.
But again, in any event, we are seeking a a variance from the blue.
I got to move this. Hold on a second.
I got the thing at the bottom of the screen.
Okay. So we do agree with the refusal that stables, that each stable structure, excluding fences, shall be located at least 500 feet from each property line abutting a residential district and 50 feet from the front property line.
Now, this applies to the building only. It does not apply to the horse turnout because fences are excluded and, you know, they specifically mention a stable structure.
Okay. So in the packet, we have our two refusals. Again, we identified them in my summary. And then here's the refusal for 1421. We have the application of appeal attached to the packet, the project information form, my transmittal letter to the board requesting a hearing date.
And they're attached for both cases. We also have copies of the deeds
for both properties. I don't need to bore you with those pages.
Let me just curse her down. Hold on. Okay. We have tax clearance showing all taxes are paid
Let me just cross her down. Hold on. Okay. We have tax clearance showing all taxes.
through 2022. Here is a site plan of the property. Schuylkill Avenue would be running along the left
side and Reed Street would be running towards the top here. The shaded area here is the horse
turnout. Down here is the existing warehouse structure. Now, when we look at the warehouse
structure. Outlined in red is where the actual horse stalls would be. Also stored in here might
be carriages and other apparatus used in the business. Blowing up that section,
pardon me, you'll see there are seven stalls which are accessed from the exterior of the building.
And then there are additional 14 interior stalls proposed for the building itself.
And then we also included some front side and rear elevations of the property.
So I think the aerial photos show it best.
And down the page on the left, Reed Street, almost running across the stop, the top.
And this is the former Charlie Works Field.
This area would be used as a horse turnout for the horses, and then inside this building in this area here are the 14 interior stalls, and the exterior stalls would be constructed or erected on the outside here.
This is just another aerial view. You'll see the homes on Reed Street and Schuylkill Avenue to the front.
when we and here is the building uh where which would house the stables uh as you can see this
building basically fronts almost up against uh schuylkill avenue i'll show you in the zoning map
it's about 14 to 15 feet to the property line so we cannot comply with the 50 foot setback from
schuylkill avenue however we would submit it is an i3 property it's on the dead end street and
the only businesses back there are owned by Mr. Slocum. This would be a view from Reed Street
facing towards Schuylkill Avenue. You can see the subject building where the horses would be
stabled is back here in the background. It is a fenced -in property, and we're hoping to bring
a little country to Grace Ferry. These are just pictures of the posting. We have one on the fence
next to the building. And you can see that photo there. We did meet with Grace Ferry and after the
presentation at Grace Ferry Community Council and those in attendance reviewed the plans and they
voted to support the requested variance. I believe Carmine Zulli, the author of this letter,
may be on the call. He did indicate that he would be attending today. And then I have the zoning
history attached to the packet as well. Again, this is just a site map from Google. I mean,
I'm sorry, City Atlas, and they have a nice little feature down here in the right hand
corner where you can take measurements. So you can see the actual building is about 310 feet
to the closest residence. And if Mr. Azuli is on the phone or on the call, I'm sure he will
indicate that he he occupies and resides and owns one of these
residences here. And then again, we're about 15 feet. Again,
these are estimates are not exact measurements, but I would
say 14 or 15 feet from the side. Again, the zoning map shows
that the property is owned. I three industrial attached to an
I two industrial. This area in here is the railroad tracks. And
And then we have the RM1 Residential District with some mixed in CMX.
And then across the street at 1350 Schuylkill Avenue is Mr. Slocum's other building, which is the home of Philly Trolley Works.
And quite frankly, his residence, there are condominiums or apartments as part of that building on the top floor.
So, again, here's just another aerial view of property.
Again, Philly Trolley Works is across the street, and there are five apartments, one of which is occupied by Mr. Slocum.
That is the sum and substance of my application.
If we can permit Mr. Slocum, Mike, if you can raise your hand, there's a little button at the bottom center.
That way they can find you, and then you can verify and adopt my testimony.
Could you state your name and spell it, please, for the court reporter?
Mike, okay, there you go.
Mike, okay, there you go.
All right, state your name and spell it, please.
Mr. Slocum?
He was afraid of having technical challenges.
We spoke about this earlier tonight.
He's got his hand raised, but Mike, can you speak?
We can't hear you.
Can you hear me now?
Oh, there you go.
Okay. State your name and spell it for the court reporter.
Michael Slocum. M -I -C -H -A -E -L -S -L -O -C -U -M.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
I do. Proceed.
Michael, you've heard my representations to the board this afternoon?
Yes. Are they true and correct to the best of your knowledge, information, and belief?
Yes. And would you adopt them as your own testimony today?
yes i would if the board has any questions we are available questions from the board no mr
chairman chair no mr chairman or comment question questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no hands mr chair planning commission
good afternoon this is uh greg waldman city planning commission staff the comprehensive
the plan recommends no change to the existing heavy industrial zoning at this location
proposed use is compatible with existing recreation uses on the site the city planning commission
recommends that the board approve the variance thank you mi 2022 000 640 1401 schuylkill avenue
and MI 2022 -000 -639 -1421 -55 Schuylkill Avenue, I vote yes.
Thomas Holliman, my vote is yes to both.
James Snell, yes to both.
Ishmael Shaheed, yes to both.
Thank you, Mr. Ward.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
I'll see you at 3 .30.
Okay, thank you.
M -I -2022 -000 -553 -223 -South -45th Street.
Mr. Nockamson, letter of non -opposition from Spruce Hill Community Association.
Mr. Nockamson, you've already been sworn to state your name.
yes alan knockamson a -l -a -n last name knockamson n -o -c -h -u -m -s -o -n -1 -2 -3 south broad street
suite 1600 philadelphia pa 19109 hi mr knockamson could you identify your client the relationship
to the property uh yes my client uh the property owner is 223 south 45th street llc
and in the virtual audience is its member samuel stanford thank you uh mr holliman has a few
questions good afternoon council do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate
to his accuracy yes did you email all of the exhibits that's required such as proof of ownership
tax clearance copy of refusal pictures of drawings of the property five days in advance
at this hearing did you meet with the rco and do you have an rco letter uh yes we have a letter
of non -opposition from the coordinating rco thank you please proceed and shut and share your screen
thank you so i'm here to present 223 south 45th street uh in my presentation packet we will review
the notice of refusal the letter of non -opposition from spruce hill community association maps of the
area photographs of the property in the surrounding area our architectural plans and drawings our
community meeting notice and proof that it was mailed to those addresses our deed to the property
showing that 223 south 45th street llc is the owner of the property our application for appeal
to the zoning board of adjustment and our certificate of tax clearance showing that
the property owner owes no real estate taxes to the city of Philadelphia as this property.
At the conclusion of my presentation, Mr. Stanford will virtually raise his hand and
adopt my testimony. And again, he's the member of the corporate property. First things first,
a notice of refusal so this is a cmx2 property uh essentially all we're trying to do is legalize
uh the fifth dwelling unit if you go on uh the
fifth dwelling unit. If you go on the zoning file for this property, there are four legal dwelling
units. And there is a fifth unit that for years, people have been trying to lease as a commercial
space, but unsuccessful, including my client, which they have tried to market this property
for, you know, for some time and has been unsuccessful. And if you read the letter from
the coordinating RCO, Spruce Hill Community Association, I think it really speaks volumes
as to hardship here. And I'll read it. This property has been vacant and under some sort
of construction for a number of years. It has been a neighborhood eyesore. This particular block has
a number of small commercial storefronts that often than not are vacant and failed ventures.
The issue here is the CMX2 zoning requirement for ground floor commercial that Spruccio
aggressively supports. That said, in this current business environment and on this particular block
with its current commercial activity history, we have decided not to oppose this application.
Right now, a functioning residential structure is preferable to another empty or unpinned
structure. So my client purchased this property in 2009, mid -construction, and has completed that
construction. And in spite of his efforts to lease out that commercial space, he's been unsuccessful.
And he's asking for the board, due to this undue hardship, to allow for this fifth unit
to be residential as well. So maps of the area. Again, this is where we are. We're between Walnut
and locusts on 45th street this strip and here we are as well from a google maps perspective
and then photographs of the property right so this is the front of the property uh this would be the
commercial storefront we took this on we you know we completed the facade but um this this would not
be an adequate commercial storefront or reasonable commercial storefront we would have to devote
significant resources to reconfigure this so we took this on mid -project and in spite of our
efforts we have not been able to lease out the commercial space but i just want to give this
background of like you know so you know we didn't own the property before 2019 but i went to google
earth to see you know what the progression of this property over time so you see to find the
property in july of 2017 it was under construction you see the property in october 2018
it was under construction you see the property in august of 2019 it was under construction
so we took over this property soon thereafter and we worked diligently on completing the project
specifically focusing on the residential space, which has been stabilized. Unfortunately, we have
been unable to lease out the commercial space. And that's why we're here today with the hopes of
allowing for a residential unit on the ground floor with no basement. So this is just a rear
of the property. And then this is just an example of interior of what the other units look like
from a finishing perspective and then this is south 45th street to the right of the property
south 45th street to the left of the property unfortunately this street during the pandemic
and otherwise has struggled to keep commercial confined and keep commercial tenants as noted by
spruce hill community association and here's just you know again just a schematic of what we're
looking for we're just looking for a studio it's not a huge space and it's really tough to rent
from a commercial standpoint but we think that it would be very nice for a resident uh of the
community uh it's ada accessible and um you know it could be a it could be a student it could be
someone on a faculty at one of the universities um that's where we're someone that works for one
of the universities and then this is just floor plans in general we'd be more than happy to go
over the whole building but the only thing we're looking to do is add one unit on the ground floor
where the commercial space technically is.
Our meeting took place in front of the community on February 16th at 6 .30 p .m.
We notified 122 addresses of that meeting.
It was a well -attended meeting.
Spruce Hill Community Association is a very organized group.
Their members of the community are very involved.
And with those 122 addresses, this is who notified.
and this is our proof of mailing and this is our deed to the property again showing that 223 south
and this is our deed to the property again showing that 223 south 45th street llc is the owner of the
property our application for appeal to the zoning board of adjustment along with the notice of
refusal and the project information form and our tax clearance certificate showing that my conyan
is a good standing with the city of philadelphia with that being said i would ask that mr stafford
Stanford virtually raised his hand
and he put down my testimony
and then we'd be more than happy to take any questions
from the court.
Hi, Mr. Stanford.
State your name and spell it
for the court reporter.
Samuel Stanford.
S -A -M -U -E -L -S -T -A -N -F -O -R -D.
You swear for him to tell the truth,
the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Proceed.
yeah mr stanford you heard everything i stated today
yes and is it true and correct yes and do you adopt it as your own testimony
yes thank you questions from the board no mr chairman
no mr jim
questions or comments from the virtual audience
Mr. Andrew Goodman with his hand raised.
Mr. Goodman, state your name and spell it, please, for the court reporter.
Afternoon. Andrew Goodman, G -O -O -D -M -A -N, here representing the Office of Third District
Council Member Jamie Gaudier, room 586 City Hall.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Proceed.
Thank you.
mr chair members of the board the council member has no opposition to the requested variants at
this address um since we are in office that oftentimes uh does oppose commercial variances
and cmx2 zones we thought it was important to log on today and be on the record stating that
we do believe there are unique circumstances at this specific property that warrants this ad
this variance that are related to the nature of the site itself and not the block as a whole
thank you for your time thank you Mr. Goodman for calling in anyone else in the virtual audience
I see no further hands Mr. Chair planning commission
good afternoon members of the board this is Greg Waldman planning commission staff
the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing commercial mixed use zoning at this
location. CMX2 zoning requires ground floor commercial use. Commercial storefronts are the
predominant ground floor use on this block, which is part of an identified commercial corridor in
the Planning Commission's inventory of commercial areas. The most recent zoning permit this property
had received included a ground floor commercial space in 2008. The proposed additional residential
unit increases the existing non -conformity. Accordingly, the City Planning Commission
recommends that the board deny the variance.
Nakasim, do you want to respond?
Yes. I mean, I think that only helps our case even more.
The last time anyone has had commercial use on that property
was as far back as 2008, which is almost 15 years ago.
You know, despite our best efforts,
we have been unable to garner and locate a commercial tenant.
The community, you know, said loud and clear
that this is not their ultimate preference, but given the marking conditions, given the history
of that block in particular and that property in particular, and even Mr. Goodman stated that this
property is very unique, that typically their office is not supportive of this type of variance,
but is in non -opposition under these unique circumstances. Thank you. MI -2022 -000 -5533,
223 South 45th Street.
I vote yes.
Thomas Alleman, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Thank you, Mr. Nackamson.
MI 2022
636 3433
North Carlisle Street. Darlene Threatt is the attorney.
Nicetown Tioga is not taking the position on this case, it's basically a tied vote.
This three has been promoted to a panelist.
Good morning, Commissioner.
I'm darling, through on behalf of the applicant, Passerelle NYC.
Right.
I think I swore you once this morning, didn't I?
Could you identify your client in a relationship to this property?
My client is Passerelle NYC Corporation.
I HAVE MR. MICHAEL SIMPSON ON THE LINE TODAY WHO IS A PRINCIPAL OF THAT CORPORATION.
THANK YOU.
MR. HALLMAN HAS A FEW QUESTIONS.
GOOD AFTERNOON, COUNCIL.
DO YOU AGREE TO WAIT THE READING OF THE REFUSAL AND STIPULATE TO HIS ACCURACY?
YES, I DO.
DID YOU EMAIL ALL OF THE EXHIBITS AS REQUIRED, SUCH AS PROOF OF OWNERSHIP, TAX CLARANCE,
COPY OF REFUSAL, PICTURES OR DRAWINGS OF THE PROPERTY, FIVE DAYS IN ADVANCE OF THIS
hearing did you meet with the rco and do you have an rco letter yes i do please proceed and share
to your screen.
here we go I submitted a package of materials to the board last week they
include a refusal on appeal project information forum tax information
clearance form a deed zoning history of the block plans pictures a community
flyer a meeting flyer a certificate of mailing and the community letter of no
position I'm going to start with just showing you a picture of the property
Here is a picture of the property. It's a three -story building on a block in the Temple area, right behind Temple Hospital and Temple Parking. It's detached on one side. There's a little breezeway here. Right next to this is a Temple facility and there's some parking on the end.
i have another shot for you here which shows uh the back of the building actually this is the
yard on the other block and here is the uh back of this building but behind the fence here that
you can see i'll show you a picture looking north uh down the block carlois street as you can see
this is a temple facility some type of little office this is a big parking facility for the
hospital and this is a another temple building on the end here i also send you a shot looking south
down carlisle street as you can see again there's a another temple facility here there's another
temple i believe a medical facility here and there are um multi uh families uh up and down
this block which I'll go into a little further later here's a another picture
of the block I just took this to show you that there are multifamilies on the
block there is an apartment building I'm located at the very end of this block
again another picture of the temple facility and parking here's another
a shot of the end of the block to show you that our structure is consistent with all the rest of
the structures on the block uh again in the next block there is a temple overpass a temple hospital
a temple of parking i'll show you a few pictures of the interior of the building
uh the building had been gutted it's been out of use i understand uh for some time now it's been
empty. We have a couple pictures of what's going on inside in the building now. It's
just been gutted, waiting for zoning to be approved. Here's a final picture of the building.
And that's the interior of the building.
I'm going to go back now to the, I want to show you a little history of this block in
I want to show you a little history of this block in this building.
this building.
This is a zoning use permit for 344 North Carlisle, two family there.
This is a zoning permit for 3448 North Carlisle.
It's a three family dwelling here.
I also have a, this is on the same block.
I also have a zoning permit for 3, 4, 4, 3, North Carolina, or actually a six -family dwelling that was just recently approved, 8 -11 -21.
Let's scroll down and see here.
It was approved as a six -family dwelling.
the now I'm going to move to our plans here is the again the picture reduce it a little bit so
you can see it a little better there's an actual picture on all the property we don't plan to go
outside the footprint of this property basically we're requesting that we be approved for three
units. The ground floor of this building will be used for just utilities only. We don't
plan to have any space in the basement for living. It's just a basement area. The second
floor of the building is a two -bedroom, two -bathroom apartment, approximately 850 square feet. You
You can see you can enter from the front, you have a living room, kitchen, a full bathroom.
You walk a little further back, and you have the bedroom and a walk -in closet.
That's the first apartment.
The second -floor apartment is basically the same as a two -bedroom or a two -bathroom apartment.
It's approximately 850 square feet also.
That is a kitchen, living room, and two bathrooms.
the third floor is just a large uh studio it's about 550 feet square feet it's a large area
a little kitchen area and a large uh bath our commissioners uh we did meet with the uh
civic association uh we circulated uh this fire here uh for the meeting i believe we circulated
two, 86 individuals. And we did get a letter from the community. The letter was really a letter of
no position. Apparently there were a number of people at the meeting, but only four from the
block. And two were in favor, two were against, and there was one abstention. In support though
of our application, I'd like to say this is not an overuse of the property. The renovation and
construction is consistent with all the renovation and newer construction on the block there is
actually a six -family dwelling and the same size of property on this block as well as other three
family two families and as well as an apartment building and with that um i'm here to answer any
questions that you may have about presentation would you want to have your testimony adopted
sure mr simpson can you raise your hand please
he's going to have to speak uh mr simpson uh are you the uh could you state your name first and
spell for the court reporter michael simpson m -i -c -h -a -e -l -s -i -m -p -s -o -n right do you
swear for him to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes proceed uh mr uh
Simpson, have you heard the testimony that I've given the board today?
Do you believe it's true and correct?
And would you adopt it as your testimony if you were to testify today?
And Mr. Simpson, are you the owner of Passerelle NYC, who's the owner of 3438 North Carlisle Street?
Yes, I am.
Thank you, Mr. Simpson.
You're welcome.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
questions or questions or comments from the virtual audience
mr charles richardson has his hand raised i've allowed him to speak
all right mr richardson could you state your name and spell for the court reporter please
good afternoon mr chair charles richardson from the office of councilwoman cindy bass
room 312 city hall last name is r -i -c -h -a -r -d -s -o -n do you swear for him to tell the truth
Do you swear a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
the whole truth is nothing but the truth i do proceed
Proceed.
As Nicetown Tioga Community Organization has taken no position, the Councilwoman will have no opposition to granting this variance.
Thank you very much for calling in.
Any other comments from the virtual audience?
I see no further hands, Mr. Chains.
Planning Commission.
good afternoon board this is greg waldman city planning commission staff
the comprehensive plan recommends a zoning map change to rm1 residential multifamily use at this
location the proposal for three units would be permitted by right in the proposed zoning district
the city planning commission recommends that the zoning board grant the variance
Thank you. MI -2022 -000636 -3438 North Carlisle Street, I vote yes.
Thomas Hallamann, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Ismail Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Thank you.
Thank you very much, Commissioner.
Thank you. Is there anyone in the audience still waiting for their 2 o 'clock case?
i do not see anyone mr chair let's take a break at 3 30 everyone
good afternoon my name is bill bergman and i will be chairing this afternoon's eba hearings
with me is israel shaheed our board secretary
President Mr. Chair Thomas Holliman our board member President Mr. Chairman James Snell our
board member President Mr. Chairman also here is our Executive Director Tanya Sunkett and our
board attorney Hillary Emerson before we start
Let me go over our virtual format.
Be advised, these proceedings are being recorded.
By participating, you acknowledge your agreement to be recorded.
A video will be available by contacting TanyaSunkett at phila .gov.
For the benefit of our court sonographer, we ask attorneys and witnesses to identify themselves before testifying.
If you are participating by phone, if you wish to testify, please press star 9 to raise your hand and star 6 to unmute.
To enter an appearance statement, call 267 -270 -5548.
Leave your email and the address of the property in question.
And lastly, please note the question and answer box on the screen is not for testimony or comments.
Any comments should be directed to our Executive Director, Tanya Sumkin.
So let's talk about our continuances for this afternoon.
MI 2021 -005 -160 -4227 East Thompson Street. That case is continued.
Number five, MI 2021 -005 -118 -428 -28 Centner Street. That case is continued. And number six,
MI 2021 -005 -117, 534 South 4th Street. That case is continued. Anyone have any comments or statements
relative to those three cases? They're all continued. I say no hands, Mr. Chair. Thank you.
we're going to go past our, we're going to start our original, our, our list. We're going to pass
by one yet. We're still waiting for attorney. Number two, MI 2021 -005 -193 -2068 East Somerset
Street. This is first listing. We have no exhibits. Any hands up? I see no hands, Mr. Chair. Okay. MI 2021 -005 -193 -2068
East Somerset Street. That's continued. Must be tried. Number three, MI 2021.
Number three. MI 2021 -005 -120 -2557 West Sterner Street. Letter of opposition from Strawberry Mansion Community Concern and RCO and a letter of opposition from Councilman Jones. Sean Ward.
Okay, Mr. Ward has been allowed to speak, sir.
Mr. Ward, you've already been sworn. Could you just state your name for the record?
All right, I'm back.
Okay, just state your name for the record.
Sean Ward, S -H -A -W -N -W -A -R -D, Esquire, applicant's attorney.
Okay, could you identify your client and the relationship to this particular property?
My client is Keith Yantes, Y -A -N -T -E -S. He is the owner of the property, and I also represent the tenant, Mohamed, M -O -H -A -M -M -E -D, Moolazem, M -U -L -A -Z -E -M, Asadi, A -S -S -E -A -D -I.
uh forgive me if i pronounced those wrong but uh he is the proposed tenant i am not sure that
muhammad uh was able to join us today but uh mr yantes is mr holliman has a few questions for you
good afternoon council hey do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to his
accuracy yes i do did you email all of the exhibits as required such as proof of ownership tax
clearance copy of refusal pictures of the drawings of the property five days in advance of this
hearing did you meet with the rco and do you have a rco letter uh yes to the old above uh but to
clarify i submitted my exhibit packet five days in advance which did not include the rco letter
because i did not get that uh but uh that was submitted uh and i do have a copy of it today
and the chairman's correct is in opposition and i will address that during my presentation
thank you please proceed and share your screen thanks
all right just to confirm my screen is shared
anybody there yeah we're here which good okay all right good uh again mr chairman sean ward on
behalf of the applicant owner uh keith yantes and the uh presumed tenant uh mohammed molazem
assidi uh we call we refer to him as mo uh i think it might be easier for presentation purposes to
refer to him as Mo. I submitted my typical exhibit packet for the property 2557 West
Sterner Street, Philadelphia. With regard to the notice of refusal, the application is for a permit
for a grocery store on the first floor of an existing structure with an existing previously
approved single -family dwelling above, resulting in one refusal. A grocery store is not permitted
in the district. Accordingly, we seek a use variance. A2 is the ZBA application of appeal.
A3 project information form. A4 proof of ownership. A5 proof of tax clearance. A6 are photographs.
A7 is the RCO meeting notice and certificate of mailing, which I included in the packet in the
event that the letter did not get here in time however we do have so what i label as a 7 .1 is
the rco letter uh no longer pending it's actually here a8 if uh if submitted uh and i believe tom
said it was um i would ask that the district council letter be marked as a8 uh i also have
the relevant zoning history of the property dating back to 1959 until at least 2016.
This property has been a check cashing agency and then in 2016 it became a daycare center.
A10 is the zoning map, A11 is the aerial photograph and just some brief comments.
It's been continuously used for commercial use since pre -1959.
The check cashing agency we can establish was 1959 through 2016, and the most recent use as a daycare, you know, unfortunately, the COVID -19, pardon my typo there, COVID -19 pandemic resulted in the demise of that operation.
operation with regard to the proposed use uh we're basically looking for sunday through saturday
operation. With regard to the proposed use, we're
8 a .m through 8 p .m uh mo uh proposes uh you know three to five employees including the owner
you know between part and full -time employees and uh if sometimes we talk about trash uh there is a
fenced in rear yard area where trash would be contained so without further ado in the packet
is the notice of refusal, the application of appeal, the project information form,
my transmittal letter to the board, copy of their deed.
Here is the tax clearance showing taxes are paid through 2022.
Here is a Google aerial angle view of the property. It's a corner property,
historically been used for commercial purposes on the first floor it's at i believe the corner of 26th
in the sterner um here is a moment yes hold on okay
Okay. Here is an angle shot of the corner. Obviously, it's a commercial enterprise most
recently used, again, as the center of attention, early learning center.
Another angle view shown the zoning poster posted on the property.
copy of the poster this is how the property has been left since the daycare vacated in
2020 during the pandemic
just a couple more photos of the interior and this this interior exists pretty much as of today
because we have not proceeded with the fit out or any other things for the grocery store
until we get approval. So we have our RCO notice, which was sent on 412,
advertising our meeting on April 25th. It included a copy of the refusal.
It also included a copy of the zoning notice poster. And then the addresses
some five pages went out to 215 215 addresses i pointed out because that's important
uh you know regarding this property and they were and this was the second scheduled meeting
uh there was a mix -up with the rco with their zoom scheduling uh where we could not log in
uh so we we agreed to an additional meeting uh simply because it was before the scheduled hearing
date. So we absorbed the cost of that additional mill. So we did send that out. And then I have
copies of all of the various zoning histories with regard to the property. As you can see,
the red dot indicates the location of the property. It is one block up from a CMX district.
The aerial photograph, that would be Lehigh Avenue, is the area down here towards the bottom with the CMX1.
And we submit respectfully to this board that, we'll get back to my summary.
Um, again, uh, this property has a long standing, uh, history of continuous commercial use
since pre 1959, predominantly as a check cashing agency. Um, and then, uh, most recently as the
daycare, uh, I spoke with my client, the, the daycare vacated shortly after the COVID shutdown
in March of 2020. I believe it was May. He has continuously, you know, marketed this property
or this first floor space for rent for commercial purposes since that time. And quite frankly,
the only interested party was the grocery store operator. And obviously we need zoning approval,
zoning board approval to institute this use. If I may pull up the, I thought I had it up there,
but hang on a second. I want to go to the RCO letter, which I will have in a second.
okay is everybody saying my rco letter strawberry mansion yes okay uh mr chairman uh in their
summary as you can see let me get my uh hand okay but we did we did have the meeting it was a
I would say almost virtually unattended meeting but for two nearest neighbors and again if we go
back to the exhibit packet which included the certificate of mailing
again we sent it out to 215 neighbors yet two nearest neighbors showed up and they voted in
opposition to this application. And in the letter of explanation, you know, they claim, which is a
legal conclusion, no demonstrated hardship. They say it's an excessive same use business in a one
block radius, no demonstration to the community and near neighbors as, you know, a need for the
same type of merchandise sales. All these, all these arguments were suggestions by the RCO.
are, you know, they're not land use or zoning variance related. And again, you know, number
six, no hardship to use as a living space apartment. It's a commercial storefront corner
property that has been used that since 19, you know, pre -1959. You know, they also provided
pictures of properties at 1701 Cecil B and then another one called High Times at 1702 Cecil B.
Two properties fully unrelated to this application. Given the history of the property
and the fact that it is a commercial corner property used that way for decades, we would ask
that this board grant this application and the variance for this use Keith Yantes is on the call
I would ask Keith at the bottom middle of your screen there is a raise your hand icon if you
could click on that so the administrator can find you and you can verify and adopt my testimony
There he is.
I'll have to talk.
Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please, Mr. Yantes?
Yantes.
That's K -E -I -T -H and Y -A -N -T -E -S.
You swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Proceed.
Keith, you heard my representations to the board today?
I did, yes.
Are they true and correct at the best of your knowledge, information, and belief?
would you adopt them as your own testimony yes uh mr chairman uh we are free to answer any
questions that the board may have questions from the board no mr chairman no mr chairman
um mr ward is there several properties like that in the area i mean grocery stores
well there's you know there's uh you know there's quarter properties that have historically been used
yeah that's the way these that's the way these places were built uh it was a corner store with
an apartment above that usually the operator of the store lived in back then but um you know and
and quite frankly uh keith has marketed this property since it vacated by the daycare in
what was that keith may of 2022 or 2020 approximately and yeah and and the only
the only one interested prospect has been Mo for this small grocery store use.
Correct.
Okay, thank you.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Mr. The Strawberry Mansion community, I'll reach Mr. Hendricks.
I'll allow them to speak.
Hello?
Hi, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Yes, my name is Bonita Cummings, B -O -N -I -T -A, C -U -M -M -I -N -G -S.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed.
Of course, we are the survey management community concerned was the coordinating RCO.
The nearest neighbors that did attend the meeting are living directly next door, one, to this property.
living directly next door, one, to this property. And it's feeling opposed to that use. That's not
Thank you.
the best use. They've named seven additional type of stores within that one block radius.
At the top of that block at 2501 Sterner Street is the same type of store. It sells
of beverage drinks, food, groceries, is right at the top of the block at 2501 Stoner Street.
Also, the residents feel they would not want to be trapped in between two same type businesses
that brings a lot of loitering to the 2501 corner, transposed to the 2557th Street corner.
The reason that the information is in there regarding other locations is because the LEC is the owner of at least seven of the same type businesses in Philadelphia, and at least three of them are now presently under cease operations for drug paraphernalia from the city of Philadelphia.
here. So we have health, welfare, and safety considerations. We don't feel that they did not
feel that that's the best use of the property. There's no demonstrated hardship that it could
not be used as an apartment. The size of that space is very small, and there was no demonstration
from the applicant of what it would potentially even could look like if this was granted.
The nuisance that the community feels would be created by having this business on that end corner is the consideration also that they would not want to have to endure.
So they would not want to be trapped in between two businesses, one already that causes a great deal of nuisance at the top end of their block.
If I may, Mr. Chair.
First, I'm going to thank her. I'm going to get to you in a minute. Thank you for calling in. Do you want to ask her a question? Or do you just have a comment?
No, I was just going to make comment.
I'll let you respond a minute. Thank you very much for calling in. Mr. Ward, do you want to respond?
Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm going to object to Ms. Cummings' testimony in the fact that, number one, it's inflammatory. Number two, she's attempting to introduce evidence into the record, which is not even present.
She cites, you know, an allegation that three other sites are under code enforcement cease operations.
There's no evidence of that in the record.
And the fact that there's other similar businesses in the area competition is certainly not a reason for the board to deny a variance for a proposed use,
especially when the property has been used consistently for commercial purposes since 1959.
So for those reasons, I object to her testimony.
And given the fact that only two neighbors out of 215 that were notified by mail showed up at this meeting and voiced concerns or opposition.
So I would ask that the that the board give it the weight and authority that it deserves, which is slim to nil.
So any any other comments or statements for the virtual audience?
we have a hand raised from a phone number ending in three five five two sure to speak yeah
they've been allowed to speak sir hi state your name unmute please
could you state your name and spell for the court reporter
yes this is adrian fernandez of swamp little neighborhood carsers association rco
Could you do me a favor? Spell your name for the court reporter.
Yes, my first name is spelled A -D -R -I -E -N -N -E. My last name is spelled F -E -R -N -A -N -D -E -Z.
Right. Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed.
Okay. Swampo to RCO is opposed to this variance. Number one reason is because the neighbors do not want to live around it, the next door neighbors especially, and also that the variance requests, it will be an overuse in this area, especially with them having another grocery store at the other end of the block.
We are an infected RCO with Strawberry Mansion
on this address and possibly another RCO.
However, the owner that was mentioned, he has an interest
in placing by variance or later variance by conversion,
placing by variants or later variants by conversion grocery stores in our area that get converted
Grocery.
to 24 -hour convenience stores to sell drug paraphernalia. We just had a withdrawal last
week. I'm going to object, Mr. Chairman. She's referring to other properties. Mr. Ward,
Mr. Ward, give me a minute. Ma 'am, I heard this testimony before. I guess the simplest thing
I'm not talking about the same thing. They're talking about other addresses that are open.
Also, Strawberry Mansion talked about other addresses where they were violating.
Listen to me a minute. Are you against this variance?
Yes, because we do not want children shopping with owners who do not care that children are around drug paraphernalia.
All right. Thank you.
Okay. Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
Anyone else in the virtual audience?
Sir, I have Ms. Shawna with her hand raised.
I will allow her to speak at this time.
Hi, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter?
Hi, my name is Shawna Richardson.
It's S -H -A -W -N -A Richardson, R -I -C -H -A -R -D -S -O -N.
and I am the current owner of property 2555 West Stone Street.
Okay, all right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Correct, yes.
Could you proceed?
Okay, I am opposition because where we live is 90 % senior citizens that own their properties.
Number two, traffic is very bad here. It's problematic. Number three, this is a highly crime area. There has been police, I mean, shootings. There has been drugs in the area. And I am not comfortable with this at all. And I see it and I see it every day.
okay you're against it i would say yes sir thank you thank you very much for calling in and taking
the time is sean i'm going to get to you in a minute you get you can so is there anyone else
in the virtual audience
miss valerie anthony okay okay miss valerie anthony has her hand raised
hi could you state your name and spell for the court reporter
Valerie Anthony, V -A -L -E -R -I -E -A -N -T -H -O -N -Y.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Could you give me your comments?
And if you would, try to give me something that we haven't heard already.
Is that possible?
I'll try.
Right.
Well, first, I do want to say that the daycare closed a couple of years prior to COVID.
So it wasn't just like it shut down due to COVID.
It's been closed.
But we have on that block, that's the way we enter our street from right there at that corner driving.
The street goes east.
With that proposed store, we will have people hanging out on the corners.
And I, for one, definitely after getting off of work, if I see that, I don't want to turn into the block.
That's where I live.
I can't even get to my home.
So I will have to go around another way.
and park around the corner um that's basically it that and the drugs and in five and a half blocks
we have eight stores that's a hot food cold food seafood hookah um cigarettes malt liquor liquor
uh grocery items anything you could think of we already have those stores there
all right thank you for calling in and taking the time is there anyone else
there is no other hands mr chair thank you mr ward would you want to summarize before i go to
the planning commission yes thank you mr chair uh number one with regard to swamp poodle um
rco uh they did not participate in this rco meeting um and we did share with them our rco
exhibit packet uh so they're taking a position that they oppose this simply because two neighbors in
the uh you know in the area uh oppose it uh i think is disingenuous and has no weight or authority
uh with regard to shauna's uh comments uh elderly people reside in many areas of the city uh it's
Elderly people reside in many areas of the city. It's not a zoning related issue.
It's not a zoning.
Traffic is also a citywide issue not related to this proposed use and crime.
There's no evidence that this proposed use will increase the likelihood of crime simply because they want to open a grocery store on this corner.
again it relates back to the fact that uh competition is not a reason to deny a variance
uh and then the uh the third uh uh commenter uh i'm sorry i forgot her name but uh
yeah it's a one -way street and you enter block you enter the block there that that's just a
physical fact uh on how you know philadelphia streets are you know laid out they're you know
mostly one way you know one block goes south one block goes north or one block goes east one block
goes west and uh as far as hanging out you know people have been hanging on street corners uh
since the invention of street corners and uh but our client will do their best uh to monitor and
patrol their business as you know as a good neighbor uh to make sure that loitering is not a
a factor during the sale of groceries. Our hours are limited from 8 a .m. to 8 p .m.
And it's not going to be a nighttime hangout where people are coming in buying drinks,
soft drinks, and there's no suggestion that we're going to be selling takeout beer. So the
Colt 45s and the things like that are not present in this application, nor will they be present
in the operation of the business thank you excuse me mr chairman mr hallman you have a comment yes
um could we have a reviso for the time that the operations of the business we have no objection
another question what is the script what is the square footage of the first floor
Tom, I don't know the exact square footage. If I go to Opa real quick, I might be able
to get an idea. Hang on one second. Yeah, and that was another thing they mentioned
that we didn't prepare floor plans, but there's no requirement for floor plans for a use application,
but let me just check real quick two five five seven yes
do you have a rear yard
um hold on let me let me get this uh bear with me tom
all right tom opa is showing the lot size is 744 .3 square feet uh the improvement area is uh
1288 so you divide that by two you're talking 600 and what you know about 650 feet give or take
so it does have a rear yard um i'm trying to get back to the aerial let me go back to the aerial
photographs do do do okay you have a trash plan
bear with me tom i'm trying to get there
yeah tom i'm going to share my screen again just to uh it's it's not a it's not a crystal clear
picture but uh i think it adequately uh shows that uh can you see that tom yes so you can see there's
there appears to be a common alley in between the you know the back properties and the sterner street
properties and there would be a small rear yard uh keith is on the line too he can confirm that
there's rear yard storage space in which you know trash can be stored in sealed containers
and placed out for commercial pickup and Tom what was your second question I forget
you've completed my questions thank you okay all right thank you Tom planning commission
it's uh ron city planning uh first name is ron r -o -n last name bednar b -e -d -n -a -r
you swear for him to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
i do proceed uh this property is indicated for residential use on a city plan or adopted
district plan recommends no change in existing zoning at this location the applicant's hardship
the existing zoning at this location. The applicant's hardship is not supported with
is not supported with
evidence of unique physical circumstances or conditions of the property that would prevent
it from being used in conformity with the code. Therefore, we recommend the request of variance
not be granted. Okay. MI 2021 -005 -120 -2557 West Sterner Street. I vote no. Thomas Holloman.
My vote is no.
James Snell, my vote is no.
Miller Shaheed, my vote is no.
Chairman, if I could make a
point following the board's decision.
This property is owned
RSA 5, which does not permit
multifamily dwellings.
So, we have...
But, Mr.
Ward, the case is
over. Okay.
Thank you very much.
We're going to call for one minute so we can get the chair.
okay he's back if you hold one second we can proceed i'm good i'm good okay
uh mi 2021 005 119 2050 cater street leo movahill
mr movahill has been promoted to panelists thank you
hi Mr. Mulvihill
he should be coming back shortly bear with us it's a lot going on with um zoom today
okay all right yeah I noticed I noticed
all right so i'm here now hi mr mulvihill could you say your name and spell for the court reporter
yes leo mulvihill m -u -l -d -s victor i -h -i -l -l right you swear for him to tell the truth the
whole truth and nothing but the truth i do could you identify your client and the relationship
to this property my client is bgm1 llc michael murray is the principal of that he should be on
this call all right thank you uh mr holliman has a few questions for you good afternoon counselor
do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy i do did you email
all of the exhibits as required such as proof of ownership tax clearance copy of refusal pictures
with drawings of the property five days in advance of this hearing did you meet with the rco and do
you have the rco letter everything other than the rco letter was submitted timely we do have an rco
letter now without thank you please proceed and share your screen leo try to speak up a little
bit you're hard to hear certainly is my screen being shared at this point members of the board
yes okay let me see if i can change
so there we go members of the board sorry i just adjusted mine
all right microphone hopefully better now so good afternoon members of the board i'm here today for
2050 cater street on behalf of bgm 1 llc michael murray the principal this is an application for
the erection of a third story edition on a two -story block we have a mansard style roof
that we've proposed and we do have full support from south and south neighbors association for
this application that's where we are from the outset so i have the refusal appeal and project
information form at page one area zoning maps at eight to ten tax clearance at 26 plans at 27
photos at 31 our notification letter the neighbors at 37 and the letter of support tacked on the end
at 40. so here's our refusal oh pardon me here's our refusal members of the board
so we received the refusal for not having the required setback above the second story
and we received the refusal for a slightly smaller open area than what's allowed in this
Although, I will point out when we see the plans, we do have a nine foot rear yard. It's only due to the fact that these lots are rather narrow that we received this refusal.
i'll go to the next most important thing and that's the overhead view here we are members of
I'll go to the next most important thing, and that's the overhead view. Here we are members of the board.
the board this cater street is 21st street our property is located right here it is an existing
structure we're seeking to build a third story edition two and you can see it zone rsa five we
are surrounded by rm1 and some cmx properties as well in the corners uh this is the hud for
my client indicating that they are the owner uh let's see where's our next important thing this
my client's tax clearance valid through 519 and here's the plans members of the board so very
simply this is the existing two -story structure with the seller we're planning to build a third
story edition and a rear edition as well so overall i'm enlarging enlarging the footprint
rather of the structure itself making a little bit taller but not exceeding the 38 feet requirement
and not having the pilot house rather if stairs are recessed into the roof.
As I discussed earlier as well, our third story is going to be Mansard style, which is preferred
when we do third stories with the neighborhood association in terms of beautification,
rather than just having the strict kind of Tetris piece looking setback,
which would otherwise be required under the code.
So here's another overhead view. We can see the existing structure here that I'm indicating.
here's the dotted line here's the proposed third three -story rear addition which is then going to
go over the second story all the way to the front of the property as well as i stated we do have a
nine foot rear yard it's just the fact that our lot isn't terribly wide that we got that refusal
for open air but we do have sufficient depth under the zoning code so i suggest that various
requests is de minimis here a number of photos of the property i was taken by landmark so here we go
indicating the subject property and the red circle front of the property looking east on cater west
on cater yard view looking south yard view looking north then looking at the two adjacent properties
as well and our properties across the street which are two -story i believe the property directly
across the street does have a third story addition as well although it does not have the mansard
style roof and you can see at the end of the block we do have a third story three -story property with
roof deck that's pre -existing just to go to the floor plan quickly members of the board
so in the cellar we plan to have a den in the front uh potential bedroom with built -in shelves
to the rear on the grounds oh there's a bath down there as well a half bath pardon me full
bath rather with a decent sized closet on the ground story we have living room to the front
dining room to the middle next to the stairs kitchen to the rear this is the rear yard which
nine feet as you can see members of the board this cross -hatched area is a proposed addition
so we're adding a substantial amount of interior space to allow for a sizable kitchen in this
property uh going up to the second story bedroom to the front and the rear bath in the middle
pretty standard layout and then the third story is the owner's suite so we have the bedroom to
the front with a nice fireplace decent size walk -in closet a wet bar potentially which is
very nice and a large owner's bath suite to the rear the stairs from the rear of the property
then kind of caddy go around the corner and go up under the roof and as i said this is not a
pilot house the recesses of the roof that we're not going to have one anyone blocking any views
with the pilot house two it's not going to have any more massing that's going to look like it's
very heavy among the other two -story homes across the street it's a true three -story home and we
see we have our dormer the roof here set back from the roof deck itself of five feet from that roof
line this is just the proposed finishes so red brick front some sort of metal cladding around
the windows um and we're trying to figure out exactly what we're going to put on but we're
probably going to do metal cladding on the dorm and on the roof line itself the railing itself
is going to be relatively see -through again so not to impede views and take off some of that
massing from the street itself here's the rear view again here's the staircase that i was
discussing no pilot house we don't go any taller than the parapet wall
here's just the posted photos of our property going to page 33
zoom out a bit there we are and then zoom back in at page 37 this is our notification letter that
went out proof that we sent the letters out to 175 addresses and here's the letter of support
from sasna dated april 21 2022 indicating overall support for the project eight to one now members
of the board that completes my testimony if mr murray might please raise his hand
so he can be recognized and unmute so i have a few questions for him
hi could you state your name and spell it please
hi could you state your name
murray please unmute
you hear me yes yes so first name michael m -i -c -h -a -e -l last name murray m -u -r -r -a -y
sorry do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
i do proceed all right mr murray you're the principal of bgm1 llc that's correct
that's correct yes have you heard my testimony today with respect to this application and appeal
i have is there anything you'd like to add no okay would you otherwise adopt my testimony as
a row i would yes all right thank you very much i have no other questions for you questions from
the board no mr chairman no mr chairman no mr chairman questions or comments from the virtual
audience mr chairman mr gotter reister has her hand raised i have allowed her to speak
could you state your name and spell please uh yes i got the raster landmark architectural design i
apologize this was when leo was not present yet and and i wanted to interject that he was in jury
duty but i did not realize that the hand was raised the entire hearing so i do not have that's
fine fine thank you um any other comments for the virtual audience i see no further hands sir
planning commission uh ron bednar city planning this property is indicated for residential use
on the city plan given the surrounding physical context we recommend the request for variance
be granted thank you mi 2021 -005 -119 -2050 cater street i vote yes thomas holomon my vote is yes
james now my vote is yes
okay thank you is there anyone in the virtual audience still waiting to hear their have their
case heard no further hands raised mr chair okay thanks everyone great day work appreciate it
thank you great job mr chairman thank you thanks good night everyone good night good night everyone