um someone who's been trying to raise their hand to miranda p that wants to testify in this matter
i'm not sure who that is miranda
i'm going to allow them to speak to you sure thank you
hello i'm miranda could you please state your name is spelled for this phonographer
hi i'm sorry somehow i put my i must have clicked the wrong thing my name is manda perlis
could you spell it m-a-n-d-a p-e-r-l-e-s right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the
whole truth nothing but the truth yes are you a neighbor i am a neighbor please proceed um so
as rich had commented i have a lot of the same worries that um you know a lot of already what's
been done on melville hasn't been by code or any kind of anything filed i also have concern with
When construction starts, I mean, he the the properties, he owns the properties at three one one eight Melville and three one one two Melville and works out of those garages.
In between those is the garage that he built and then continuously stores things on Melville Street.
I mean, I can. OK, so that's one. Two, I just I really don't think, although I'm not trying to call anyone a liar.
i do have a huge question of intent with what will be done with the garages i can tell you right now
he was not using that garage for supplies like at this moment there was someone else using it i
don't know if he rented it leased it out someone was using their putting their cars in there in
fact his all of the like scaffolding i can send photos if you like all of that stuff was being
stored on Melville. So once again, this is just feeling very like icky and that it's not being
So once again, this is just feeling very like icky and that it's not being completely truthful.
I do know a lot of his family now that he's gotten older, they've kind of all taken some of the properties or he's gifted or sold some of those properties.
So a lot of the properties here on this block are just kind of, you know, speckled with family members of his.
OK. All right. Thank you for taking the time to cause. We appreciate it.
Is there anyone else?
Alan, do you have a response there?
No, and I do want to just clarify, I misspoke in terms of this.
He does own lots on Melville.
They're just not continuous.
So what I think I meant to say, because I misunderstood what Mr. Goldberg was saying,
is that there's no intention to consolidate these lots because it's impossible because they're not continuous.
So if the, if the question is like, do we continue consolidating lots that there's no intention, we just want to legalize this use of the lot, you know, again, we're doing this out of our own volition, and we're, you know, and I figured we consolidate the lots if we're going to change if it's one building structure in there, and that was the intent of our office.
okay all right thank you planning commission amy boy with the planning commission the comprehensive
plan recommends no change in zoning at this location from the existing arm run residential
multi-family however the majority of the block is not used for dwelling and the non-conforming
building which is not outfitted for residents is proposed to be reused the planning commission
recommends that the board grant the request of variance for moving in storage facility
Hillary, we're going to hold this, and would we think we're okay by Wednesday, next Wednesday?
All right, so we'll vote on this next Wednesday at 2 p.m.
Thank you, and thank you for everybody who called in.
We appreciate it.
So number 13, Mr. Nogamson again, right?
Mr. Nogamson?
uh hi sorry you have your second one right sorry to you he's coming back in all right okay
sorry for the technical difficulties no no that's okay so mi2025 007 217 3043 miller street um
um it's a recommendation of opposition from some Southport Richmond Civic Association
no explanation provided and a letter of Opposition from Councilmember Squill Mr Nockamson you've
already been sworn just state your name and spell for the stenographer Alan Nockamson A-L-A-N last
name Nockamson N-O-C-H-U-M-S-O-N and Mr Nockamson could you um identify your client the relationship
to the property yeah my client is laryn and luan uh salige uh the owners of the property all right
thank you very much our vice chair has a few questions good afternoon have you submitted your
documents and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing yes we have and do you waive the
written other refusals and stipulate to their accuracy i do i think you can share your screen
proceed with your case thank you all right so this property is also in the south port richmond
section in philadelphia it's 3043 miller street this is an rsa5 property that's a rather large lot
of 1437 square feet and we're looking to put a tribe legalize a triplex that was placed on here
So we have 11 exhibits and at the conclusion of my presentation, one of the property owners will, you know, obviously be promoted as a panelist and be sworn in, and I'll have a few questions for them.
So, again, this is an RSA 5 property, large property, and not to say it is, but if this was an RM1 property, this use would be allowed as a right.
um we're seeking uh use as a triplex and we have two refusals one you know multifamily use because
this rsa 5 is not allowed as of right and second we converted the the garage there uh to uh the
first unit or used as as one of our units and um the surface parking is not allowed as of right
even though again all we're doing is you know continuing to use the driveway as parking
we met with the community uh it was not unanimous they were also the same committee was also against
this triplex um we did have this pretty significant uh petition that was you know you know distributed
to nearby properties um my client personally did it um i'll be honest at the community meeting
I'll be honest, at the community meeting, there were a couple people who, I guess, changed their mind after the fact, because we have some signatures here of some people who signed it, you know, the petition, and then at the community meeting decided to not vote in favor of this.
there were a couple people who i guess changed
So I can't speak as to why they did it.
They stated they didn't understand what the petition was stating.
But again, all we do is with the petition is exactly say what we're doing.
And, you know, it says, I hereby support the governmental application filed by the owner of 3043 Miller Street, which is currently before the ZBA for the use of multifamily living three units in the existing structure and the relocation of one garage off street parking space to one driveway surface parking space as per the attached notice or refusal.
So we try to keep it exactly what the refusal says to keep it pretty straightforward.
So but one or two people said, oh, I signed this, but I didn't realize what I was signing.
So I can't speak as to why they signed it at the time.
But there were still a significant amount of people that signed it that were close by in support of this.
And just so you understand, the property owners live close by as well, and they personally manage the property themselves.
And then, again, we're, you know, on Miller Street, you know, there is some, some mixed zoning of some sort, not too far away. There's some CMX2 zoning, there's some CMX1 zoning.
and then photographs of the property there is no below grade living at all right so this this is
where the garage was there's a front door there now there's another entrance for the upper floors
but there's no below grade living which i know is important to the board so this is our orange
notice posters this is miller street to the right of the property miller street to the left of the
property and then our interior photos so my clients um you know had this done you know the
work and they honestly did not know better until they got a violation and then you know contacted
my office so it was not intentional um they did get a building permit the building permit did save
for only one unit but their intention was to build three nice units here which they did and you can
see from the quality of materials that they did. That's unit A, unit B, and then unit C.
So A is first floor, B is second floor, C is third floor. And I don't believe the property
has been occupied since our office has gotten involved. So we wanted to keep it legal in
in terms of non-use while we're going through this process
and then these are our simple plans again all we did was create a door here for the
you know where the garage was and there would be one parking space where the driveway is
and then the units are pretty straightforward you have the first floor unit you have an open floor
plan, you have two bedrooms and a kitchen area and a backyard. That's for unit number one where
the garage was. You saw those steps that were the original steps for the front door, the single
family structure. You go up those steps, you have a common vestibule area, you have a kitchen,
living room, two bedrooms, washer and dryer, area to store trash. Same thing with the third floor.
My understanding is my client didn't make any structural changes that were necessary.
and they're more than well they're more than prepared to have l and i come into the property
if they're so lucky to get the zoning variance because they have to get a co and they're very
aware of that so we did meet with the community on february 11th and we emailed notice of proof
of mailing for that community meeting notice on january 28th we confirmed that we mailed the
notice to 173 addresses. These are the addresses we mail to. This is proof of mailing to those
addresses. Our deed to the property showing that my clients own it in their own names.
And their certificate of tax clearance showing that the only money due is not technically due
yet i would ask that uh one of you know either leon or luann uh be promoted to a panelist and
be sworn in out of curiosity what's the property next door it's single family and i'll be honest
the person next door was not happy about the and i don't know if it's even the triplex use
about the and i don't know if it's even the triplex use i think it's how the tenants so we
I think it's how the tenants...
had tenants in there our firm also had to get attendance out right and you know during that
process since we got that one set of tenants out they weren't great tenants they blocked her
driveway on a number of occasions and um you know she was unhappy about that and that's unfortunate
but she was not happy all right thank you
So, I would ask that Mr. or Mrs. Silage virtually raise their hands so they can be sworn in.
Thank you.
hello hi sir could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer yeah my name is
liaren salia l-i-r-e-n s-a-l-i-a-j right do you believe or affirm to tell the truth the whole
truth and nothing but the truth yes i do alan so liaren you heard everything i had to state
today about your zoning matter? Yes. Is it true and correct? Yes. And do you adopt it as your
own testimony? Yes, I do. Specifically, are you prepared to have L&I review and inspect all the
work that was done to the property if this board grants the zoning variance? Absolutely.
And you also understand because it's a triplex that the building has to be sprinklered then?
yes all right thank you questions from the board yes i have a question about units and access so
how are you determining which tenant has access to the parking space uh laren um
uh the ground floor unit because we want it to be ada
you want the ground for you can you pull up the plans again sure thank you
and then who has access to the rear yard only only the ground floor unit the ground floor
or the first floor well well so how personally yeah well there's the low i don't know what you
would consider it like so it's an elevated i would consider i'll let you know i would consider the
basement and the garage ground floor and i would consider the ones that you enter by walking up the
stairs the first floor because that would have been the primary entrance of the original house
all right so if you look at it this is the the ground you ground floor you said
i'm asking who has access to the rear yard i only only the person on the ground floor they're that
they're the only ones have access is that correct rear yard is that grade yeah that's correct
because i do see a passageway and it looks like a breezeway that would allow all tenants
to get back there yeah there's a there's a breezeway right here and if you want i can show
you the picture too i think it's like a it is three feet yeah yeah let me just show you the
picture i mean if the board feels so inclined to grant this variance we could agree to a proviso
of trash stored outside where we can create an interior gate
so that everyone has access to the left-hand side
for their storage or trash.
And then the ground floor unit would have access
to the unused portion of the rear yard for their own purposes.
Do you have a photo of the door that the ground floor,
is this how you...
This is, yeah.
No, I mean, for how the ground floor reaches the backyard.
is there i don't think we have a photo of that one you mean that side door
yeah well i just one this unit is currently not ada accessible the bathroom's not ada accessible
and while it does look like you might be close to a zero step entry at the front it's not clear that
that is the case at the back it also means that a person if they were to go out the back the
wheelchair cannot get through that breezeway so they're sort of stuck in the back which is
generally not a good thing so i think one i was trying to figure out part of it was who has access
to the rear yard who has access to the parking space both for rear yard like just recreational
access but also for trash because the room the units also don't look like they have ventilated
trash rooms well again if i think you know if there has
rooms well again if i think you know if there has to be reasonable modifications made i think
my client would make those modifications if if there's requirements for either trash stored
outside um you know for all units and or if there's requirements for a ventilated trash room
i'm sure that we can figure out modifications regarding same i'm sure there's a closet somewhere
near the bathroom or the kitchen excuse me and for purposes of this conversation you guys are
considering fully sprinkling the building as reasonable accommodations well it's a requirement
under the philadelphia philadelphia building code so i don't i don't know if that's a reasonable
accommodation or mandatory it's mandatory it's only mandatory for three units you could also
go down to two units you could go back to one unit and not need a sprinkler well that's what
i'm saying but if the board is inclined to grant this it's a requirement and my client's prepared
to do that okay all the questions I have a question that's a pretty residential block
I know on your side of the street is there any other duplexes let alone triplexes on that street
or on the block not that block but nearby there are a number of multi-families but not not on
that block to be honest okay thank you Helen was this a triplex before or was it a duplex
It was a single family.
Not legally either way, but tell me what it was.
I think my understanding, and Loran, if I misstate anything, please correct me.
My understanding is that they purchased this as a single family structure.
And then converted themselves to three?
And then converted themselves to three.
They didn't realize that they needed zoning for it and building for it,
code permits for it.
And then that's where our firm got involved.
All right.
Questions or comments from our attorney?
not at this time mr chair questions or comments from the virtual audience
yes i have a hand up by mark harris oh sure
mr kairos could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
could you speak up a little bit too we're having a hard time hearing sure sure do you swear or
affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth sir and are you a neighbor no all
right please proceed yeah i just want to comment that if they were to restore the ground floor to
garage and then they would have a duplex and two off-street parking spots which would satisfy the
concerns of neighbors about parking it it's an option i think they should consider um mr harris
thank you very much for taking the time uh do you have any questions to mr harris helen no but if if
you know you know again if if the difference is between one and three and one unit two units
or, you know, I think, you know, or no three units, I think my client would be more inclined
to mitigate their damages to potentially going to two units with what Mr. Harris stated,
potentially with multiple, you know, opportunities for parking spaces. You know, again, they're behind
each other. So that's a little tough. Anyone else in the audience? Michelle Kredinsky
have been promoted to talk.
How many more hands do you have?
Just Michelle.
Thank you.
Hello.