There you go.
You just froze up at one point.
Hopefully there wasn't any issues.
We had electrical issues here, too, which the electric went out in Berkeley.
So so fun. Right. Hopefully. Sorry about that. Sorry for the inconvenience.
OK. Let me reshare my screen.
All right. That's not it. Let's see.
OK. Yeah, that's it. All right. Sorry about that.
I did not attend the community meeting. Mr. Goldberg from my office did, but I think it's a pretty accurate representation of what happened here.
So I did not attend the community meeting, Mr. Goldberg from my office did, but I think
The next door neighbor to us who lives in the residential unit next door to us was in support of this project.
There were members of the community that were upset that we were going to eliminate a commercial unit or potential commercial unit mid block on a block that has other residential properties.
We did try to work out a CBA with them. We did offer an amount which they found insufficient. They were seeking a donation. You know, we explained to them that we thought that, you know, we really didn't meet the burden of undue hardship under circumstances where, you know, having a commercial union would be unsuccessful and it would stick out like a sore thumb.
And, you know, the neighbor next door was not appreciative of the fact that there would even be a commercial unit next door and that they wanted us to mimic the other four or five different row homes on that block and eliminate that commercial component.
So, again, you know, even before the meeting, we, you know, we changed the plans where we've reduced the amount of units from three residential units to two residential units, which would be allowed as of right.
And the only request that we're asking for from a use standpoint is to eliminate the commercial component.
We also reduced the occupied area to 74.91%, which would make us in conformance with the code.
Oh, sorry. This is just maps of the area showing that we're a CMX2 property.
We're actually across the street from a school, which I believe is ready to close.
To close, I think it's the Blankenberg Elementary School.
And then photographs of the property. So we're a vacant lot here.
This is proof of our posting for today's hearing.
This lot has been vacant for some time since 2000, as far back as Google Earth goes or Street View since August of 2008.
8 this is Marion Street to the right of the property and then to the left of the property
and then these are our plans and drawings again and we reduced the amount of units because we
wanted to mimic the architecture from a port standpoint in the neighborhood and then as you
can see here too the um you know we are really 16 feet rear yard depth from this side right here
The code or the examiner was saying that we were not in conformance to the code based on this smaller portion of the rear yard.
And then these are our floor plans.
So if you walk into the common vestibule area, you make a right into unit number one.
The bedroom's tucked in here.
There's a bathroom.
There is a kitchen.
There is a living room.
And then there's an outdoor space with trash storage for unit number one.
And then there's a lower level as well.
Instead of going into unit number one, you go up a flight of steps.
That's unit number two.
And you hit the landing of those steps.
And there's a living room.
There's a kitchen.
There's a ventilated trash closet.
There's a bathroom.
There's a bedroom.
There's internal staircases that lead to a second floor of unit number two, where there's a bedroom, a bathroom, laundry, another bathroom, and then another bedroom.
So we did meet with the community on February 9th at 6 p.m.
We emailed that notice on January 23rd to the Coordinating RCO, the District Council
Members Zoning Aid and other relevant RCOs.
We sent it to 59 addresses.
These are the addresses that we were asked to by the City Planning Commission, proof
of mailing to those addresses, our application for appeal that we filed on Carpenter's Investment
LLC, along the notice of refusal in the project information form, the deed to the property
showing that Carpenter's Investment LLC is the owner of the property, and then finally
the certificate of tax clearance.
I'm going to stop sharing my screen for now, and I would ask that Mr. Addis Evan be promoted
and be sworn in.
They're being promoted to panelists.
they're being promoted to panelists
They're denying the promotion requests.
Why would that be?
just give me a second
let me text him and see
I know he had a family issue
earlier today
he says
he's here but he can't
And I think he said he raised his hand.
So maybe they don't see him.
This is Ian Hegarty.
We just need your client to click accept when that dialogue box comes up.
Can we try to promote this person again, please?
Yeah, saying that it doesn't allow him to join for some reason.
Well, I would ask Mr. Otis Evin maybe to get out of the Zoom session and then come back
in and i can take any questions the board may have in the meantime questions from the board
so it looks like we've it's officially been reduced from a triplex to a duplex
and the main issues at this point are just the dimensional various variances in the lock coverage
it's it's it's the rear yard setback where it's showing the shorter side it's taking the shorter
side of the rear yards which is eight feet 11 inches where nine feet required but the right
side of the yard is 16 feet you know rear yard depth and then the fact that we're eliminating
the commercial component right right yeah yeah this is one of those weird blocks i'm familiar
with this block um and where it's there's commercial it's it's zoned this commercial
but you've got that group of residential properties that's right there and i think
you're absolutely right no way a commercial of anything could fit could work there just it just
won't um so i guess i say that to say is that you're probably moved in the right direction
not to try to attempt to do commercial because it would never never sort of work in that that
location at that particular block um so all right other questions from the board
um alan is a uh you're an officer of the court we can take your testimony okay
well mr out of seven is actually on here okay sorry about that yeah
sir could you please state your name is spelled for the stenographer
yes my name is gazi joe other seven spell it please g-a-z-i-j-o-e-a-t-a-s-e-v-e-n
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, told truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do, sir.
Allen?
Oh, yes.
Mr. Alice Eben, you heard everything I had to state today about your zoning matter.
Yes, I heard it.
And is it true and correct?
Yes, correct.
And do you adopt this your own testimony?
And then specifically, I don't know when you came on, but board member Johns, who's familiar with the neighborhood,
made a comment about the feasibility of having a commercial unit at the location,
And he stated that, you know, given that he knows the area, it would not be feasible.
You are a broker, a licensed broker in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, correct?
Yes, correct.
What is your opinion about the feasibility of a commercial unit on the ground floor at that property?
Yes, I agree, Mr. Johnson.
So that's why we wrote that path, that the commercial, based on my experience and based on, forget about my experience, based on the reality.
commercial is not going to work there that's our opinion all right and then you also i'm sorry and
then you also agreed to reduce it from three residential units to two residential units yes
thank you questions from our attorney
not at this time mr chair should your comments from the virtual audience
yes we have a hand up from dawn wilkerson
Hello, hi. Good morning. Could you please state your name and spell for the sonographer?
Dawn Wilkerson, D-A-W-N-W-I-L-K-E-R-S-O-N. Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the
truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth? I do. Are you a neighbor? I am. Please proceed.
I just wanted to state that if the community would lose opportunity to have
um i just wanted to state that um if the community would lose um opportunity to have a commercial
space we spoke about a community benefits agreement and i think they all they offered
the community a thousand dollars which i think would not be um a sufficient amount for the
community to um accept to lose a commercial property um i think that the developers should
work with the community to come up with a better uh community benefits agreement if we were to lose
a commercial um property and they state that it mimics the architecture of the of other properties
it does not all right um mr knockups do you have any questions uh no again i think we made a good
faith attempt to come to commercial, a community benefit, especially given the circumstances
of the undue hardship here.
Anyone else in the audience?
Yes, sir.
We have a hand up from Armand Williams.
Good morning.
Can you guys hear me?
Could you please state your name as spelled for the sonographer?
My name is Armand Williams, spelled A-R-M-A-N-D, last name Williams, W-I-L-L-I-A-M-S.
You swear or firm to tell the truth, told truth, nothing but the truth?
Are you a neighbor?
Please proceed.
So I live on the same block as the property involved in the appeal.
And I just want to start by saying that I do support the development of this lot.
Residential use seems to be much more compatible with our small street than a commercial business,
as we have several disabled people and elderly people living on this block.
and I do appreciate the applicant's effort to improve the property. My neighbors echo that
sentiment as I'm kind of an unofficial block captain. Our block already has limited parking
and traffic concerns as we are across from a street from the school that may or may not shut
down. That's still like up in the air right now. So additional commercial activity could cause
safety issues. And I also think that this block just doesn't have the foot traffic for a business.
I don't think a business would fare well there.
But we do also hope that whatever is approved results in housing that's well managed and maintained.
Our block is small, but we have a lot of heart.
And the quality of property management makes a big difference for everyone living here.
And we just like to see tenants who take pride in the property.
All right. Thank you for your testimony.
Alan, you have any questions?
Questions? Anyone else in the virtual audience?
Yes, sir. We have a hand up from Patrick Rushing.
Do you have any more hands after that?
Nope, that's it.
All right, thank you.
Good day.
Hi, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
My first name is Patrick, P-A-T-R-I-C-K.
Last name rushing, R-U-S-H-I-N-G.
Right, do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, told truth, nothing but the truth?
Are you a neighbor?
No, I'm actually the RCO representative for Milk Crate.
Are you in favor of this project or against?
Well, actually, we didn't really have an issue with the project itself. It was presented well. The issue that we had was about the commercial space and the loss of the commercial space.
If it was going to be supported that the loss of commercial space would take place, could
we put a community benefits agreement in place in regards to that?
Yeah, there was a dollar amount that was offered.
We weren't really looking for a dollar amount.
We were looking for maybe like looking at how this project could help with the benefits
of the community, the block at large, because one of the things that I brought up in the meeting,
because I know they talked about the foot traffic, but one of the things that when development is
taking place, one developer may not know about the other developments that are taking place in
the surrounding community, right? So, for example, 4624 Lancaster Avenue, they're looking to build
from um properties there about 75 units um 1034 i mean 1030 north 48th street um they're looking
about build about maybe 60 something properties there right um so we're going through the process
with those particular um locations the blankenberg school um is not officially said what the school
district of philadelphia will do with that whether they'll sell it as a property or will they use it
as as they were closing these schools for 2030 um will it stay a building that'll be
that'll be district use or will the district make a decision to sell it off to a developer and then
district use or will the district make a decision to sell it off
they will develop that property um and then finally the christian stronghold baptist church
which is right there on the same block so when we talk about commercial when we talk about commercial
um space as well as walking traffic these are things being developed within the neighborhood
that could contribute to that, right?
But at the same time, we were looking at, okay,
like Ms. Wilkerson stated about the property,
the way it looks versus the rest of the property on the block.
If this was to take place, right?
Well, is there things that the developer could look at
as to like helping with the development of the community?
That's what we were looking for.