City Avenue.
This is a resumptive hearing.
uh mr knockamson just for the record you've been sworn today could you state your name
alan knockamson a-l-a-n last name knockamson n-o-c-h-u-m-s-o-n um and this is a resumptive
hearing um could you give us an update of where we stand with this case yeah this is the beer
distributor am i correct yeah that's right the beer store and and to my left in the in the audience
is uh alex pugman one of his representatives i am glad to say that we have community support
you should have received a letter i think we do yeah so again after much discussion and and we
entered into a community benefits agreement they feel very comfortable i don't want to speak for
them i think the letter speaks for itself um but is the political leadership there too because you
had two council people against this right i i can't speak as to that i just know that we've
been working directly with the Winfield Community Neighborhood Association Inc. I can't say whether
or not they spoke to them, but we diligently worked with this community group. We entered
into a RIN community benefit agreement that's binding on our client, and we feel good about it,
and I think the community feels good about this. Just as a reminder, we're on City Avenue. We're on
the commercial corridor. I think some of their concerns was about how responsible my client was
as an operator serving beer and other related beverages. He sat down with them. He showed them
his aptitude. He also put written commitments as well in terms of security and lighting and hours
of operation. And based on that, we got this letter on June 2nd, 2025. I remember there's
a state liquor store across the street am i correct there is so it's not out of character
that's on the montgomery avenue side i understand so um again that was one of their concerns was
like well why is it always on our side and it's not the case it's not out of character to have
liquor um nearby and i think one of their issues too was in terms of just the beer distributor
they're all created unequally right so this is not the one where you would see where there'd be
glass where the cashier is. This is a higher-end beer store. My client's opening up a different
operation in Chestnut Hill. He's been in business for well over 10 years in the suburbs, and he's
shown through his history that he's been a responsible operator.
Any questions from the board?
i guess i'm trying to remember which one this is so is this the one that had the
fancy beer display and that's right it was like a counter and yeah so it's more for like a craft
beer store we're not like you know our focus is not to like the traditional beer stores that you
as you would see like um you know how i equate it because i um board member gas and i know you
live in fairmont too um i would equate it to like what you're seeing now on the corner was a 19th
in fairmont there's like a stone stones stones so i would equate it to more like that you know how
it used to be it used to be a real distributor now it's more of like a boutique type of thing
several rental apartments too that's right above there so um that's how i would have since it
opened i haven't either i drive by it every day all i can tell you is i see from the window when
I'm traveling east on Fairmont and it I would equate it to that it's a little bit more finished
a little more refined what about the hours did that come up at the community when you were talking
with the community again or here let me again I haven't had those communications Mr. Pugman can
you and and they took my my my prep materials with them my team so I don't have my brain materials
that I'm flying blind here.
You ever hear it before?
A little bit.
I was like, where's my written materials for this?
They took you with me.
Sir, could you please state your name
and spell for the stenographer?
Alex Pugman.
Spell it, please.
A-L-E-X, last name Pugman, P-U-G-M-A-N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth,
the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, Alex.
Mr. Pugman, hours of operation.
What are they again?
9 to 9 Monday through Saturday
10 to 7 on Sundays
10 to 7
on Sundays.
Any other questions?
Hillary?
One other thing. There is a revised
plans because...
Hillary, I want to mention something.
Hillary?
Yeah, so
and I believe
Amy, if she, Amy, you're still there.
There was
a question or an issue about
um like an amended refusal for this one or a corrected refusal for this one
i've received an email from the planning commission right yes there's a revised
plan or a corrected refusal submitted plan showed additional parking but worker descriptions said
no change to existing accessory yeah that was the that was the parking issue but there was i think
there was another issue that i i don't know exactly what it was but i understand there was
a planning kind of concern about the current refusal yeah so um amy war by the planning
commission there's been a new amended refusal but our plan examiner ben emailed you alan on monday
to state that we need some additional plans and to work out some landscaping obligations so
planning is going to hold our testimony for the form of letter in order to get that straightened
out with you okay i don't remember receiving that email it was monday around 4 30. okay um
i mean is this something that we can because this is he's purchasing the property so this is
you know we've delayed closing based on our hope that we would have a vote today so um hillary
feel free to jump in of course um but last time something like this occurred um we rescheduled
for our
for our testimony
in a letter and rescheduled
just a couple weeks out if Hillary
wants to do that again or if Ian wants to do that again
was I was going to ask if we could do
if we could do two weeks
which would be
the 18th
which I believe we only have 930 hearings
that day so we have to schedule it for
930 vote on that day
okay um can someone send me the email i so is it is it extensive work that we have to do i
i can't speak to that specifically is that is not my work product that's not my area but i can
re-forward you the email to make sure that you have it at the top of your inbox all right thank
you i appreciate it okay all right so the 18th at 9 30 a.m we'll vote all right thank you and
Mr. Nockamson. Is that going to be another resumptive or we'll just vote? No, no, because
planning is going to submit a letter with their testimony and we can read that into the record. So
that can just be a vote. It'll be at 930. But I just want to note, too, depending on
the corrections that are made, we may or may not need those revised plans, Mr. Nockamson. So
I just want to let you, I'll get clarity on that once we have everything sorted out. So
um but if we do need them i do have them so um is there a way that if we if
if we don't need revised plans or can we do this close the record and as soon as we get it you guys
can vote do i do we need to like wait to the 18th hillary well i think i think there needs to i mean
i mean what we could do is schedule it for next week and then be prepared to reschedule the vote
for the following week if if everything hasn't been worked out by then yeah we would appreciate
that because it really is holding up a closing okay all right so we'll reschedule for next week
then at 2 p.m the july 11th at 2 p.m and if it's not ready then we'll schedule for the following
week all right um and mr chair i do i do see it hand raised from um a representative of the rco
D. Dukes. Thank you.
Hi, could you please state your name?
The panelist should be coming back in shortly, Mr. Chairman.
Sure, thank you.
E. Dukes, are you still available?
Please unmute and wait to be sworn in.
Hi, could you please state your name and spell for a stenographer?
i'm mute i am i apologize can you all hear me we can we hear you perfectly could you please
I'm mute.
state your name and spell for the stenographer sure it's d dukes d-e-e last name d-u-k-e-s
you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
i do miss dukes could you turn your video on my video okay hold on video
Oh, that's great. You got a nice logo there.
Thank you.
Hi. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for this opportunity.
I just want to concur with Mr. Nockamson that after many months and weeks of discussions,
they have satisfactorily satisfied all of our questions all of our concerns and so as the
community leader for Winfield Community Neighborhood Association we are in support of this of this
variance but the question I do have is I just want to make sure that I'm clear on why we're coming
back and and so I'm not really clear on on the yeah I think yeah if you can explain that it has
nothing to do. Hilary, you want to explain? Mr. Chair, I didn't get the details directly
from planning, but I believe it has something to do with the refusal has landscaping refusals on
it. So I think it has something to do with the landscaping because that's typically
planning's purview in these cases that involve parking lots. Okay. So that would have nothing
to do with our part and
our community and all that.
Nope. Okay.
It would just try to make it look a little better.
How does that sound? Okay.
That sounds good.
It's a code compliance issue in terms
of I'm pretty sure it would be the landscaping.
All right. Very
good. Thank you so much. Thank you for taking
the time to calls. Okay.
Thank you.
Thank you very much. All right. Bye-bye.
Moving on to the 3.30 list, everyone.
I'm sorry, Mr. Chair, I just I realized I jumped in there and you didn't ask if there was anyone else to speak on this case.
I don't believe there is, but we should just ask the audience who wants to say something about the case.
You're not seeing the hands, Mr. Chair.
Is there anyone in the virtual audience whose 2 p.m. case has not been called?
Once again, I do not see any hands. We're going on to three thirty.
Mr. Chair, I just want to note for the last case that the record is closed, except for any, if there's a corrected refusal or revised plans related to discussions with the Planning Commission, as well as the letter from the Planning Commission and applicant response.
Otherwise, the record is closed.
Thank you very much.
Good afternoon.
My name is Bill Bergman.
I will be chairing this meeting of the Philadelphia Zoning Board.
With me is our board member, Cheryl L. Gaston.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Board member Tanetta Graham.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Board member Michael Johns.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Board member Taya Nguyen.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
So here is Hillary Emerson, our lawyer,
also our executive director, Ian Haggerty,
and our board administrator, Lakeisha Dandy.
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