Hi, could you please state your name
and spell it for this tonographer?
Michelle Krizenski, M-I-C-H-E-L-L-E-K-R-A-D-Z-I-N-S-K-I.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth,
the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Are you a neighbor?
I am. Please proceed. So this is a very residential block. There's parking only on one side. This is a single family home that they made into a triplex. There is not even a duplex on this block. The people that they've had in there, not good.
um and also gina there is somebody on the line gina she wants to speak to but she doesn't have
a hand raised thing okay right um do we see gina's hand can we get her on her
is there anyone else not at this time cheer
mr chair can i just respond to the comment about the tenants um i'll be brief um you know
we were not happy with this tenant either.
They were a nightmare tenant.
But, you know, whether it's a single family or multifamily,
sometimes you have bad tenants.
We worked really hard to get that tenant out of there
Did or we worked really hard to get that tenant out of there as quickly as we could. You know, the system in Philadelphia is kind of tough in that regard, but we acknowledge that that tenant was a bad tenant and we got them out of there as quickly as we could.
as quickly as we could.
Okay, thank you. Planning Commission.
Amy Boyd with the Planning Commission. The comprehensive plan recommends no change in zoning at this location from the current RSA 5 residential single family. Parking in the required front yard is characteristic of the block face.
However, the conversion to multifamily was done without the benefit of the permits, and the appellant has not demonstrated that there are unique physical conditions or circumstances of the property that would prevent it from being used in conformance with the zoning code for multifamily household living.
The Planning Commission recommends that the board grant the requested variance for parking in the required front yard, but deny the requested variance for multifamily household living.
Thank you.
um alan uh there were several issues raised i'd like really have an opportunity to talk to the
to the board we'll do that next wednesday morning and we're going to vote on it at 2 p.m
thank you very much thank you i appreciate it all right have a great day you and enjoy your trip i
hope. Thank you. Number six. All right. Number six. Yep. Yep. Number six. MI 2025 005 674 1101 South 53rd Street. W. Keith Williams is the attorney.
it's a letter of support from the 51st ward rco and a letter of support
from council member got the a's office
do we see the attorney
He's coming back in as a panelist.
Thank you.
good afternoon can you can you guys hear me
yes okay um miss thornton the owner of the property could you please state your name
and spell it for the stenographer yes it's uh will keith williams uh first name is w-i-l-l
uh middle name k-e-i-t-h last name williams w-i-l-l-i-a-m-s do you swear or affirm to
tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do could you identify your client
the relationship to the property yes my client's name is pamela thornton and she is the owner
of a pound cake heaven at the address of 1101 south 53rd street okay and our vice chair has
just a few questions good afternoon have you submitted your documents and exhibits five days
in advance of this hearing yes okay and do you waive the reading of the referral and stipulate
to its accuracy yes okay thank you you can share your screen and proceed with the case
sure uh miss thornton should be in this zoom meeting i'm not sure if she uh
she's here yet um one second one second
why don't you start your documents
okay i'll go through again one second
they're coming up
I see it sir
so why don't you tell us first what you're trying to do okay yeah so um you know today we're seeking
approval of a special uh exception uh permitting what is a small uh takeout only neighborhood
bakery at 1101 south 53rd street so the use is not prohibited and in neighborhood commercial use
districts it's allowed by special exception so this is not a variance case and there's no hardship
issue before the board today what the record will show is straightforward this is a low intensity
city bakery, no seating, no late hours, minimal equipment, minimal water.
no seating no late hours minimal equipment uh minimal water and utility use uh it does not
generate unusual traffic uh no absurd noise and it fits the scale and character of the neighborhood
ms thornton also complied with every procedural requirement the property was properly posted
the community was notified and the RCO meeting was held and all exhibits were submitted on time
and so I wanted Pam Pamela Thornton to testify but we're gonna why don't you do this why don't
you show us the building first and how it's laid out okay sure it's your notice
so why don't you explain what we're looking at there okay so this is a picture of the building
it's uh at 11 1101 53rd street um so the bakery will be held on the first floor
um i can show you the inside of it there's a this is the kitchen it's kind of blurry
um this would be the front of the building
these are some more photos here this is the outside everything is to go am i correct
say that one more time like everything is to take out yes you said there's no sit down inside
everything is to take out no no seating at all everything is the bakery store you go in and buy
your bakery goods and leave yes or you can order order before you know have it made and then come
to take it out okay this is uh the aerial view okay
so i wanted i wanted to have her testify is she in the audience yeah yeah she should be here okay
can you hear me we can could you please state your name is spelled for the stenographer
pamela thornton p-a-m-e-l-a-t-h-o-r-n-t-o-n right do you swear referring to tell the truth the
whole truth nothing but the truth i do pamela could you turn your video on please i don't know how
okay that's okay then just keep going counsel okay miss thornton uh what is your relationship
to the applicant business i am the owner okay um are you also the owner of the property located
at 1101 south 53rd street yes did you authorize a filing of this zoning application and appeal
yes i did uh mr and i'm showing you exhibit one uh there's only application submitted to lni do
you recognize this document yes i do okay uh members of the board i move exhibit one into
the record okay all right i'm also showing you exhibit three
uh the application for appeal to the zoning board of adjustment do you recognize this document
miss thornton yes i do did you authorize this appeal yes all right so i move exhibit three into
the record and so finally i'm showing exhibit five um this is proof of ownership of uh the property
is this accurate miss thornton yes it is okay i move exhibit five into the record
okay so miss thornton um can you briefly describe um in your own words what pound cake heaven is
Pound Cake Heaven is a family-owned business, and we bake flavors from back in the past.
We do cakes, we do cookies, we do all the traditional treats.
We sell sliced cakes, pies, just the traditional baked sweets.
okay will there be any uh sit down seating in your bakery no it's not is this a large scale
or industrial bakery no it's very small what equipment do you use in the bakery we have one
oven we have two mixers we have a sink we have a bathroom we have a hand washing sink
and we have some cabinets for storage
okay i'm showing you exhibit four uh the completed project information form does this
uh accurately describe the proposed use of the property
use of the property. Yes. Okay. I move exhibit four into the record. Does your bakery generate
Thank you.
large volumes of customer traffic? No, it doesn't. Usually they call an order and they come and pick
up or they come in and select and then they leave. Based on your operations, will the business
cause congestion in public streets or transportation systems no do you expect deliveries that would
block streets or sidewalks no is the proposed use consistent with the size of the building
yes does the bakery involve large staff or large gatherings of people
no will the use overcrowd the land or surrounding area of the building no
uh miss thornton how much water does your operation require very very little
will your bakery strain public utilities or city services no how do you manage trash
and waste that's your property trash is minimum and we handle it through the regular city
sanitation services all right now i'm showing you exhibit seven the certificate of tax and compliance
this is a true and correct copy we we have we have we have those we have that okay mr williams
just let you know you can just move all of your exhibits into evidence at the end you don't have
to authenticate each one for the port got it got it thank you perfect okay um miss thornton is your
property physically connected to adjacent properties uh no we're on a corner
okay will your business create excessive noise no will there be any industrial
scale ventilation lightings or fans no uh will the use permanently injure impair
their neighboring properties I I counsel I think you've really you've made your case okay perfect
I I guess the question is how long has she been running the bakery I've been in business for 13
years at that location uh in one other right so so she's coming here today just to make this legal
is that said what is that what right Council would say she's been running it for a while
now she wants to make sure she gets the right that's correct yes all right okay all right
um um questions from the board just to clarify the commercial space or the bakery is not going
to be separate from the home correct from i don't understand like they're all going to still be on
one meter or are they on separate meters yeah no same and then are you using like the the kitchen
in for the home and then the sort of retail space is really just where things are being packaged and
sold right so there's not a separate kitchen no no i have no further questions any other questions
yes so you're using um are you using commercial equipment at this premises yes you are so
You've had, the health department has been out to look at the space and help you plan this kitchen. Is that what you're saying? Or are you?
Yes, they gave me the appropriate paperwork to be able to go down to get my new license.
Okay. And they, as part of that, you do have, they did come out and plan the space for you.
so you have the proper equipment yes okay all right so um okay so you're baking on site
yes okay um what about venting for the oven we are using a convection oven so there's no
no fan needed or anything extra to ventilate okay and that was approved by the health department
okay and what about delivery of supplies i pick up my own supplies
okay so when we talk about the the operation what are we talking about
So when we talk about the operation, what are we talking about in terms of, like, volume of business?
I mean, you're not.
Well, since we're so small, we haven't grown yet.
This is just the first step of growing.
So we're only servicing the neighborhood and those who might want to patronize me outside of the neighborhood.
But that hasn't been a big volume yet.
so we're looking to grow as we make these changes can i interject yes so so it's to my
understanding that she has multiple different locations she has a larger location um in
delaware county um this would just be like a kind of like a satellite location uh where she can
um appease a smaller crowd it's a neighborhood area um so and going back to the kitchen uh
part i think she's make primarily making most of her uh baked goods at a different location and
bringing them over to this smaller location so most of the work is being done at another uh
pound cake heaven location okay so you're this is for sales only is that what you're really saying
You're bringing in. Okay. All right. And you're not. Okay. All right. I'm going to leave it alone because I'm trying to figure out whether we're talking about a need for more. This is more a retail business, not a wholesale kind of business. Correct?
Correct.
All right. All right. Thank you.
questions from our attorney not at this time mr chair questions or comments from the virtual
audience not at this time chair planning commission amy boy with the planning commission
the comprehensive plan recommends no change in zoning at this location from the current cmx2
commercial mixed use the appellant has demonstrated the proposed use will not cause such a bunch of
impacts beyond what would reasonably be expected the planning commission recommends that the board
grant their requested special exception for takeout restaurant mi2025-005-674-1101 south
53rd street i vote yes then cheryl guest and my vote is yes tenetta graham my vote is yes
i am mcadams my vote is yes hi owen my vote is yes thank you thank you counsel thank you
Sure. Number 7, MI-2025-005850, 416 East Woodland Street. Meredith Ferliger is the attorney.
Good afternoon Council.
Good afternoon I'll turn this on.
could you state your name and spell for the sonographer
meredith berliger f-e-r-l-e-g-e-r do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and
about the truth yes i do um can you identify your client in relationship to the property
sure my my client is kj base kjb solutions llc which is the owner of the property um so i asked
this not to hurry you or anything how long do you think your presentation takes
um 20 25 minutes oh okay i i don't i don't think yeah okay despite the letter of opposition
i i fear to say this is somewhat straightforward um i do have watching you're sounding down
yeah i i know i was laughing when he said that because i was thinking the same thing
um but i i don't think my presentation itself it's you do know that there is letters i i do yes
okay yes i know our vice chair has a couple questions good afternoon have you uh submitted
your documents and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing i sure did okay and do you waive
the reading of the refusals and stipulate to the accuracy i do waive the reading i cannot stipulate
to the accuracy of the rear yard refusal or the heritage tree referral i will address both of
or the heritage tree referral i will address both of those in my presentation
those in my presentation.
okay and thank you so you can share your screen and proceed with your case thank you
all right
all right mr chairman members of the board again my client here today is kjb solutions llc which
is the owner of the property and is represented by my client kenny brown who unfortunately had
to travel this week and is joining us via zoom we do also on zoom have our architect logan dry
and then in the room with me here i have our civil engineer leslie cunningham with cornerstone
the request before you today concerns 416 eastwood lawn street you have an exhibit packet in front of
you that contains 19 exhibits to summarize the basis for today's request the application requests
the subdivision of an existing lot into four new lots and on each lot for the erection of one
single family dwelling although we submit that the proposal is not only patently reasonable
in terms of the variances and the special exception that is requested and also completely
in character with the surrounding neighborhood we are of course aware of the letter of opposition
Letters of opposition that were submitted to the board.
We will address some of the express concerns during the presentation in the hopes that the board will assign appropriate weight to the community's position here in light of the strictly dimensional relief that is requested here today.
The tax clearance is included in your exhibits at exhibit 2.
and again that's just for 2026 taxes which are not yet due
and then the deed to the property is shown at exhibit three
by way of background i'll bring up exhibit five
actually let me make sure i have the right
all right
as you can see here the zoning map of the lot result you can see here that this lot results
from a previous subdivision of this property which was finalized in March of 2025. the original
property as you can see here was a nearly 40 000 square foot parcel that extended all the way from
Locust Avenue all the way back to Woodlawn Street. The board heard and approved variances for the use and the addition to the historic Edwin T. Chase House that fronts on Locust Avenue several months ago.
Today's request concerns the roughly 11,000 square foot parcel on Woodlawn Street, which was continued from the previous hearing date to allow for additional discussions with the community.
as you can see this block here is zoned rsd3
to reorient you again to the neighborhood the aerials are shown at exhibit six