and changes were made based on our initial meaning.
To give you an idea of what this looks like,
we've got an empty lot here when my client had purchased the property and on
the plans you can see what the property looked like prior to the demolition the
large property on the corner was collapsing so five five five eight was
collapsing into five five five six and so I'll show you the plans in a second but
But now we've got this 1,600 plus square foot corner lot that's open now.
So the property was purchased that required a demolition to safely remove it and rebuild.
My client paid for that demolition and that part's been done.
And now the second part is to rebuild on the property.
It's just the legal descriptions for the lot lines.
this is the proposed building took these neighborhood hazards and the goal would
be to provide housing on the corner of this property here the physical and
financial reality of building this ground-up structure requires a
multi-family unit as my client can attest to again we're over 1,600 square
feet so by you know square foot we're not abusing what the code would allow if
this was multifamily I understand it's not but that is sort of you know just a
position we have gives you idea what it looks like on the outside the bottom
left which I'll zoom in you get an idea of what the property that required
demolition. We ended up demoing the corner property there and then the one next to it which is 56 and
58. The original proposal had the first and second unit were bifurcated in the basement and the first
floor. The RCO did not like that. We'll get to their letter in a second. They said no
living in the basement. So you'll see in our revised plans that living space was removed
from the basement. But first I'll go through these original plans. That's the original
first and second floor you'll notice there's two means of uh going up and down from the uh first
two units to the second uh and floors above the basement has two egress window wells as well as
obviously stairs leading leading up and down and then the the three floors above each have one unit
so Joe look at the third floor plan and the second floor plan here as mentioned
And the second floor plan here, as mentioned, there's two stairwells for each unit providing
there's two stairwells for
the necessary and safe means of getting up and down the stairs.
So that'll allow all the units to not only escape safely, but also access the shared
roof deck.
And then there's unit five at the top.
so the third the second third and fourth floors each have one unit with two
bedrooms each and those mimic each other
excuse the other so the history is in November went in front of the RCO met
Yet with opposition, however, their letter from December 14th notes that they were opposed
only to having bedrooms in the basement and wanted this property developed as it had been
dilapidated for quite some time and needed to be developed and they want something there.
They were not dissuaded by the number of units or anything like that.
It was the living in the basement that had led to their opposition was represented earlier
this month and we got their letter of support and their letter explains that they are excited
and happy for someone to be developing this property as it's being developed.
So that letter just came in on March 6th.
In addition to that, my client has meticulously canvassed
both this block and the surrounding blocks
and gotten a good number of neighborhood signatures.
And I'll just note that she was straightforward
in what she was asking for
and got a lot of people to sign on her behalf.
It's the deed, the tax clearance, you have all the other submissions, I'm sure the floor
plans will be something to discuss and I could call the architect as well to assist with
any questions that we have.
All right, well with that I guess I'll call my client Charbonne to address my testimony.
Charbonne?
they're declining to be promoted to panelists okay um charbonne you have to accept
charbonne
dave declined again okay um could we call my uh my architect up
why don't we call the architect up last name should be m-e-n-y-o
all righty they're being promoted to panelists andrew menyo
good morning sir
hi i'm here hi could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
it's andrew menu m e n y o right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing but the truth yes counsel uh good morning mr menu um would you describe the
changes in the plans that you made based on the community feedback that um charbon received
certainly um yeah so so primarily it's uh was was the opposition to the basement bedrooms
and so from a overall program stance things stayed the same the bedrooms came up to the
first floor and the living room and kitchen went downstairs so that's that's the high level view
of the changes and little tweaks as needed that were necessary to achieve that.
um but fundamentally the stairs staying in the same location the exterior massing staying the same
But fundamentally, the stairs staying in the same location.
um just to accommodate that that change okay uh next question and hopefully by the time we're
done miss anderson can figure out how to sign in um does the building provide safe egress
including multiple stairwells for each unit and egress wells for the basement
Yes, it does. Yes, this will be fully code compliant, fully sprinklered building, and in meeting all the other requirements of safety egress, fire alarm, every safety feature that we can implement.
All right, thanks. And then finally, why the 40-foot, 8-inch height variance? What about the project makes that necessary?
So the multifamily nature of the building requires fire-rated floor systems, and we're not running ductwork through the floors because that's not allowable.
So there's inherently soffits that are lower than the ceilings, and trying to keep the building up out of the ground a little bit as well is the high-level rationale for the height request to accommodate the program that needs to be implemented to make this project economically feasible.
okay uh and uh all right to that point does the board have any questions for
architect why don't we why don't we do this why don't we see if we can get your
client back on first and then we'll start with the questions yeah that'd be great
charbon
the invitation has been declined okay all right so we'll start with questions now joe
okay questions from the board yes what's the depth of the basement below basement slab below grade
uh i believe it's nine foot nine foot
yeah would this help you yeah it's hard to see it's hard to see in this section
so you're you're you're you're nine feet below grade it's yeah the first floor is
above grade a bit it's it's about nine foot six yes so you're that's that's that's very deep
below grade um the layout the change in your layout is is somewhat weird for the first floor
units because you you're entering through you have to go past bedrooms to go to your living space so
if you have company they're coming past your bedrooms all the time in and out of the units
it's just an odd an odd layout and i have a real big concern with having uh any living space below
grade at nine feet below grade i think there's a firm objection to the to the depth um ultimately
though, we're trying to respect achieving a four-story building and not going any further
above the 38-foot total height requirement. But if there is a certain specific threshold,
I do not believe there would be client objection to going not quite as deep. They were looking to
achieve taller ceilings but if that's the the point of contention i i don't believe there's
any sort of objection to that and uh i'll i'll echo same there there won't be an objection
and uh but the other the other issue is is the fact that your bedrooms are on the first floor
so you have to walk past them to go to your living space which is on the in the in the basement so
So that's an odd configuration in terms of practicality.
I don't know that people generally want people walking past their bedrooms.
If you're having functions or entertainment and people want to go to bed, they have to walk past your bedroom to get in and out of the unit.
But those are my issues.
I'm quite sure there are other questions.
Other questions from the board?
Yeah, is there a site plan that shows the rear yard?
Does that give us anything?
That's perfect, thanks, Joseph.
Can you switch your cursor where the property line is in this drawing?
It should be right there.
The rear property line.
the rear property line not that joseph to the where those egress wells are on the right hand
Joseph, to where those egress wells are on the right-hand side.
side it would be that first red line the first red line and then the alley is the easement
that's recorded on the deed yes yeah i don't know um i guess my general question is that
this is very dense it's like a very tall building for a two-story roll home block there's no outdoor
space you've got a 10-foot basement you know 10 10 feet into the ground where there was space
on this very large lot to like create more light and more access into the
basement or even have a walkout basement and I'm not really understanding what
the hardship is that required turning to single-family lots understanding that
the original corner building was three stories and likely had multiple units in
it into this despite how much support it's gotten from the neighborhood it
does feel very different than what's there uh i believe my client would testify to just the
financial viability but yes it was a multi-unit on the corner plus the single family at uh 5556
um what's the trash plan for the uh building can you speak to that andrew
I don't know if I have it handy.
We did do a trash study,
but ultimately it's all contained within our lot lines,
specifically in the rear of the property and doing private.
We're in the rear, I found a lot of space in the rear.
Is there interior trash rooms, closets,
or like you have to talk about five units they have to put the trash somewhere it has to be
stored somewhere sure yeah they are going to walk down four flights of stairs and then roll
carry their trash all the way around the corner
is that that's the plan that that is currently the plan um i think i would confirm on behalf
of the client that if that was you know another one of these deal breakers that that could be
implemented um i know they are doing private trash pickup and we did look at the number of receptacles
that would be back there and that is not a great plan all right questions or comments from our
attorney um yes and this may be the architect so i saw there were revised floor plans submitted but
i wasn't clear if there were any changes to the envelope of the building because there wasn't
There didn't appear to be a revised site plan or provides a form submitted. So can we clarify what's what's being revised? If there's revised plans. I do also have 1 more question. Who has access to the roof deck?
It's yeah, let me go through all them. So common common roof deck.
There's a common stair tower to get up.
Right. So if I'm in unit one or two, again, I'm going to go out the door that's on the Locust Street side, walk around the corner, and then walk back up four flights of stairs to get to the roof deck.
You could access it internal. You could get to the roof from internal points or from external points. You don't need to go from outside a unit to then get to another door. Yeah.
okay so the whole floor units have access to both stairwells
every unit okay all the units have access to yes correct yes correct okay and then our attorney do
we have any work yeah no i was just asking about the if they were the revised plans if there were
changes to the envelope of the building of it seems like the plant the changes were only plans
or changes were only made to the floor plans.
Yeah, so the answer is the changes were internal only.
And, you know, I'm speaking, once again, kind of on behalf of the client when I say this,
but this is a very personal project to them,
and it's understood that there may be a sense of nonconforming.
And so that's the rationale behind what I would say is a very decorative,
expensive facade with brickwork and to answer your question specifically no there's no changes
to the outside massing the building right so the the building as depicted in the renderings
is um is is the intention there was no changes to the outside it was um it was just a swap of
the first floor to the basement okay all right thank you questions or comments from the virtual
audience yeah this is jason pando i'll be stepping in temporarily
do we see anybody i see
I see a number of center was allowed to speak. I don't know if they're related to the case or not. Sure.
i see a number of center was allowed to speak i don't know if they're related to the case
I'm a center. Please unmute. Okay. Why could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Here, Emma Sonner is a employee of the department.
Okay. Thank you.
Planning commission.
good morning chairman thank you david vector with the city planning commission
chairman and board members the comprehensive plan recommends a change in zoning at this location from
rsa 5 residential single family to cmx1 commercial mixed use the city rezoned this neighborhood in
1978 and a council supported map change the site was previously two row houses that were demolished
in 2022 this board dismissed a prior appeal for the same proposal this is a solidly single
family block face there is no unique physical condition or circumstance that would prevent
this property from being used in strict conformity with the zoning code the city planning commission
recommends that the board deny the proposed use variance for five dwelling units and the
dimensional variance for maximum height thank you mi 2025 003 846 55 58 krausen street i vote no
uh michael johnson my vote is no cheryl gaston my vote is no tenetta graham my vote is no
ryan mcadams my vote is no tyo and my vote is no thank you thank you council
Number 15, MI-2025-005-578-951-Jackson Street.
Zen Jin is the attorney.
We've still got five cases left.
Counsel, could you please, I think I already swore you in once, am I correct?
You came up?
just for the record could you please state your name yes zenjin z-h-e-n-j-i-n could you identify
your client a relationship to the property yes uh my client is mr john mcgrillo uh and his wife who
are the owners of the property and we're still waiting for a tax clearance am i correct that is
correct very good our vice chair has a few questions sir good morning nice to see you in
mr jen um so uh have you submitted all your documents say for the tax uh compliance and
exhibits five days in advance for this hearing i believe the documentation were submitted by my
clients five days in advance minus the tax certificate correct thank you and do you waive
the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy i do okay thank you counsel you can
proceed with your case thank you i'm going to share with the board what was submitted uh through
my client. It is coming up on the screen now. So this is an application for use of this
property as a two-family dwelling at this location. The zoning district is an RSA 5.
A little bit of the history of this property, which is what gives rise to the request. This
property is an older property that is also a corner property in a rsa5 district however