And she's coming in now as a panelist here.
Could you state your name and spell it for the court reporter, please?
Hello, my name is Chyna Bailey.
First name is C-H-Y-N-N-A.
Last name Bailey, B-A-I-L-E-Y.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Mr. Holloman has a few questions for you.
Good morning, Miss.
According to our records, you have submitted all of the required documents.
Is that correct?
Please proceed.
I'm sorry.
Hold on.
All right.
Can you guys see my...
We can.
we can okay so i am the owner of the property at 4601 o'york rule this is the list of exhibits
my husband and i have to present to the board today um i would like to ask a question chairman
is it okay if he helps me present and is he allowed to speak i would want to swear him he
should state his name and spell for the court reporter i'm sorry if i okay good
I was just asking if he was the on the deed with China. No, it's just me. Okay, so you would have
to present only. Okay. All right. So the document on the left is our refusal from LNI. We are asking
for a use variance to allow us to use our property as a three dwelling multi-family.
Because we are in an RSA 3 based zoning district, it was refused. We also have our application for
appeal. Below is our project information form and we are not looking to do any construction
construction or building of any kind.
Here we have the deed that shows the property in my name.
This is our tax compliance showing we don't owe any back taxes.
These are the current floor plans we had drawn up of the property and again we are not looking
to make any changes so this is where we fall well this is where we feel the hardship comes into play
here's a closer look into the property is currently laid out to start with the second
floor there are three bedrooms two bathrooms in the kitchen in the living room area
in the living room area we also have two sets of steps one coming from the front door
and one leading from the back door on the first floor we have two bedrooms
one full bath a large kitchen and a large living room area
there are two exterior doors leading outside a front and a back door
Lastly, the basement, which is ground level, and we'll see pictures on the next slide,
has two bedrooms, one bathroom, a kitchen, and a laundry room.
Most of the utilities are on this level as well as the laundry room.
This level can only be accessed from the separate entrance.
one on the side 1300 block of portland and the other through the backyard
we also have a nice size backyard and a separate garage
um a few things we want to stress here are we've made no changes we've done no building or
construction this is exactly what the layout was when we purchased this property in june of
2020. All three units already had separate utilities, which we will see pictures of later.
And because of the current layout, we cannot move freely between the three units.
All right, so these are exterior pictures of the property. The top left, the Old York Road
entrance to the top two floors. The bottom left, an extended view showing the surrounding
properties. The top right, that's the Cortland, the Cortland or side entrance to the lower
level. And the bottom right is the extended view of the side of the property showing the
The basement is ground level for the length of the house.
These are some interior pictures of the property.
The top left, the entrance to the top second floor.
Each unit is separated this way in the front entrance and the back entrance.
The top, middle, and right shows that both the gas meters and electric fuse boxes are
already separated into three units. We also have three separate electric meters and three
separate HVAC units, all of which were installed and operational before I purchased the property.
uh the bottom row from left to right the kitchens on the second floor
basement or ground floor and the first floor these were all here when i purchased the property
uh we think the we think the circumstances of this property particularly the utilities
being separated, and the physical layout of the property create a hardship.
We also think a use variance is the least possible modification to make this property
economically viable.
Here we have proof that we sent letters to 143 of our neighbors, and the letters were sent.
This is the letter of support from our coordinating RCO. The Logan Civic Association said that
they support the variance and oppose any development not consistent with the nearby properties.
We don't intend on doing any development, so we're good here.
next we have some historical zoning documents for this property the document on the left shows this
property was originally zoned for two residential units on the top and a business on the ground
level that was then changed to one residential unit on the top and a grocery store on the bottom
shown on the right. A few years later, it was changed back to a multifamily dwelling
with a store on the bottom. With this application referencing the above application stating
the property was already legal for two families. Lastly, we have the application that changed
the use to a single family for the first time. These documents show that for the
To a single family for the first time, these documents show that for the majority of the life of the property, it was used as multifamily and mixed use.
It was only recently that it was changed to a single family.
We believe there is a precedent here.
and um we are in the rsa3 base zoning district which is why we are here asking for the use
variance living across the street from an arm one district there are many multiple family
properties on that side of the block but we actually have at least five properties on our
side of the block with variants that allow more than one family dwelling. The next few slides
are pictures of the properties and the documents showing the uses. So this is 4601 O-year-old,
46 07 sorry uh 46 13 oh your crew 46 15 oh your crew and 46 17 oh your crew 46 19
oh your crew uh well that's all that we have mr chairman um we are good thank you thank you
questions from the board? No, Mr. Chairman. No, Mr. Chair. Questions from the virtual audience?
No hands, sir. Planning Commission? Thank you, Chair Bergman. I want to just take a moment to
compliment the applicant as a per se applicant for a very thorough presentation. Members of the
The board, the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing RSA 5 zoning at this location.
However, as the APCAN has demonstrated, the structure has a use history as two dwelling units and a commercial unit.
And we believe the proposed use is similar and is related to the interior configuration of the structure.
So the City Planning Commission recommends that the board grant the variance.
Before I vote, I would say you did not need any help with your presentations.
I agree, Chair.
second and third that mi 2021-001-785-4601 old york road i vote yes
i agree that the presentation was excellent thomas holliman my vote is yes
james snell my vote is yes my vote is yes thank you very much and good luck with your problem
thank you look number 10 mi 2021 003822 459 north 53rd street mr council rco letter in support west
philly together
the council has been promoted to panelists
Mr. Consul, state your name and spell for the court reporter, please.
Good morning, Joseph Consul. That's C-O-N-S-O-L-E.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
I do, sir.
Mr. Howellman has a few questions.
Good morning, Counselor. Do you agree to the reading of the refusal and stipulate to his accuracy?
i do according to our records you have submitted all of the required documents is that correct
yes mr hallman please proceed my screen all right so i'm i'm hoping to do as good of a job as
miss bally just did but uh there's no no promises uh did my packet come up yes all right uh good
morning again joseph consul here for 459 north 53rd street with me is miss genesee baker the
sole owner of jg investment group llc which is the uh owner of 459 north 53rd street
my packet contains the refusal a letter of support from the rco photos of the property
a copy of the blueprints the deed and other required documents for our submission
we are here because the property at 459 north 53rd is zoned rsa 5 and we're seeking to legalize a
long-standing use for three dwelling units ms baker purchased the property in 2014 and i'll
Get you up a nice picture of it. There we go. It is a 1,486 square foot property on the corner of 53rd and Westminster. That's the side view. That's the view from the corner.
get you up a nice picture of it. There we go. It is a
the zoning archive shows that the property had permits going back 60 plus years
for use on the first floor as at different times a church a luncheonette and a retail store
always with the three bedroom one family on the second floor at some point in the past there was
a multi-family rental license issued on the property to the owner before miss baker but
But since her time in ownership, she has not had a multifamily license.
I'm going to bring up the floor plans showing everyone.
Just scroll through a few photos here.
Photos showing our posters.
The property also has a garage that sits on the end of the property, as you can see there.
Let me find my blueprint.
We submitted a blueprint which shows how the property is currently laid out and going back to this picture.
If you look at these pictures here, this door on the side here leads to the rear first floor unit.
This door in the back here on the blue leads to the upstairs unit.
you enter through there and this is an old photo so this has since been improved which was one of
the questions of the RCO that gate's been improved and so that back door gets you into the stairs to
the second floor unit and then this door on the front leads to the front first floor unit as
my client calls it the two units on the first floor are one bedroom each the rear unit on the
The first floor has been occupied since my client purchased the property by the same tenant.
The other units are empty pending the results of of this hearing.
Just some supplemental evidence.
This is all stuff that existed at the time my client purchased it.
You know, not that it's dispositive of anything, but, you know, she did her inspections and believed that she was purchasing a legitimate three unit property.
there's your four meters showing first front first rear second floor and common house meter
some gas meters it's a little blurry but we got three of them here's three old
old heating units that have been there since you purchased it obviously it's much
much further out than that. And here's three water heating units.
So each unit has access to this gated area here in the backyard, which is where folks
can store trash. And each unit has access to the basement, both through an entrance
on the side of the property here.
Not that people use Bilco doors, but there's stairs to the basement through this gated area here, too.
We met with the RCO in January, and we have their letter of support, which is on the screen now.
uh they just had some concerns about uh cleaning the place up my my client addressed all them and
started some security lighting she addressed all them so we you know that was at that meeting and
then we submitted everything that they were looking for to kind of follow up and show that we had
you know fire extinguishers and carbon monoxide detectors and once we did that i think we soothed
their um their worries and we got their letter of support uh and uh with that i'll call my client
Ms. Baker to adopt my testimony.
My name is Genesee Baker.
It might be Jen Baker.
Ms. Baker has been allowed to speak, sir.
Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Can you hear me?
My name is Janese Baker, J-E-N-N-E-S-E, and Baker, B-A-K-E-R.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed, counsel.
Good morning, Ms. Baker.
Did you hear my testimony regarding your property?
Do you agree with what I said, and do you adopt it as your own?
Is there anything you'd like to add?
okay thank you questions from the board no mr chairman no mr chairman
Thank you.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
no no mr jim questions from the virtual audience
um mr chair i've got a few people with a that are stating they have their names as
randall jefferson i'm going to allow the first one to speak of that yes
Mr. Jefferson, if you have two devices on, one should be muted so we don't get feedback.
But please open your mic and wait to be sworn in.
Could you state your name and spell it for the court reporter, please?
please randall g jefferson r-a-n-d-a-l-l middle initial g jefferson j-e-f-f-e-r-s-o-n
right remember remember the board of wp west philadelphia together civic association
thank you do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
i do please proceed sir um several questions on the letter of um starting with the letter of um
support as uh counsel stated we had uh several questions that i was one of the ones with
opposition and asked for the information to come back that we needed. It wasn't until I believe
it's February 7th that the council sent this floor plan. Now, I'm not sure how a floor plan
and a letter can, the letter can be dated before the floor plan, before all the issues were
uh resolved as a person that travels past this uh property day in and day out uh as even as of
yesterday as council said i have not seen any lighting the gate that he showed there is still
a safety issue which we wanted to address with uh yesterday probably about 8 40 yesterday morning