Good morning, everyone. My name is Frank DiCicco. I'm the chair of the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
I'll be participating in today's hearing along with our vice chair, Ms. Calitoneri.
Excuse me, chair. I'm sorry to interrupt. Just remember that people have to still come in.
Well, I'm sorry. I got ahead of myself.
Yeah. Sorry.
I think the numbers are staying stable around now, so you should be able to go soon.
Thank you.
we're good frank okay thank you again good morning everyone my name is frank di chico i'm the chair
of the zoning board of adjustment i'll be participating in today's hearing along with
our vice chair miss carol tennieri board secretary confessor plaza and board members
mr thomas hollowman and mr james snell board administrator jason hand and our board attorney
Ms. Sharon Saleta, are also in attendance. For those of you who haven't yet participated in one
of our virtual hearings, I'll go through some of the basics of what you can expect.
First, we will be administering oaths to individual participants prior to their testimony.
Second, we'd like to advise everyone that this proceeding is being recorded and that by
participating, you acknowledge your agreement to be recorded and this recording will be available
to the public on the web or otherwise. Third, for anyone participating by phone, if you wish to
testify, you must raise your hand by hitting star nine and then star six to unmute yourself. I'll
repeat. For anyone participating by phone, if you wish to testify, you must raise your hand by
hitting star nine and then star six to unmute yourself. Finally, to enter an appearance statement
call google 267 -270 -5548 and leave your email address and the address of the property at issue
i'll repeat that for anyone for for to excuse me to enter an appearance statement call google
267 -270 -5548 and leave your email address and the address of the property at issue and i would
also like to remind everyone at this time please do not attempt to testify in the chat comments
should be directed to our board administrator mr jason hand with that i will read the list
of today the 9 30 list of continuances that have already been requested
uh am i let's let's go with the add -on uh continuance first mi 2020 -001076
329 east worcester street the applicant excuse me let me get my i knew this would happen
The applicant is to submit an amended application in order to obtain a revised refusal that accurately reflects the proposed use of the property.
This hearing will be continued.
MI 2020 -000119, number 7 on our list, 3442 North 18th Street is continued.
number 10 on our list mi 2020 -000769 4356 josephine street is continued number 12 on our list
MI 2020 -002 -708 -635 West Olney Avenue. Number 13 on our list, MI 2020 -002 -703 -802.
002 703 802 North 63rd Street. If anyone objects to those continuances that have just been read into the record, please raise your hand at this time. Only if you object to the cases I call.
there are no hands at this time mr chair thank you um i also understand that there's a third
party request for number six on our list mi 2020 -002 -673 -3120 north rosewood street
is the applicant available
mr chair i have mr charles robin mr charles richardson's hand up okay it's not the applicant
No, he's not. He's a councilwoman's office. So is there applicant for 3 -1 -2 -0 North Rosewood Street available?
Chair, this is Sharon Saleta. On this one, we also have no exhibits. The RCO is requesting the continuance and it is the first listing.
Okay. All right. Mr. Richardson, if you want to get on the record, if not, we're going to continue this case.
That's fine, Mr. Chair. We were going to request that as well.
Let's see. Number eight on our list, MI 2020 -002709, 3410 North 17th Street. Is Mr. Masters available? There's a continuance request from the RCO.
mr masters has been allowed to speak sir good morning mr minister please identify yourself
with the record and i swear you in good morning mr chair members of the board steve masters
attorney for the applicant from the law firm of just laws we're in the firm to tell the truth
the whole truth nothing but the truth i do thank you there is a request from the rco
for continuance and there's a notation if we don't continue it there's a letter of non -support
yes um the uh without going into a long narrative which i believe the board does would prefer not
to have in a continuance um motion we will um agree with um the rco's request for continuance
But we do ask, because this is a case that is more than a year old, it was scheduled for, it was the appeal was brought to the board right at the beginning of COVID. And we had tried to get an RCO meeting starting in December, and the RCO was just quite busy and unable to accommodate us until late in February.
So we didn't have the cushion that we normally would to have a second RCO meeting, which we, which we always are, of course, understanding about. So we are asking the board to expedite a continued hearing date. And I believe that the councilwoman is going to support that request.
okay uh calendar number 2020 dash zero zero two seven zero nine three four one zero north 17
street is continued uh we're going to put it as a must be heard steve um that's fine but is it
possible to do it at the end of march or the very beginning you'll need to speak with tanya and or
jason offline okay okay they'll give you a date um and now i think mr richardson just wanted to
put on the record that he wanted to have a quick date as well richardson you want to get on i'll
swear you swear you in mr richardson is now able to speak sir thank you good morning mr richardson
please identify yourself and i'll swear you in good morning mr chair charles richardson from
the office of councilwoman cindy bass room 312 city hall we support the request from both the
applicant and the rco to have this case continued hoping that this can be uh scheduled as quickly
as possible thank you uh and as i said to mr masters that'll work that out with tanya on a
date. Okay. Any objections to cases that I
call to be continued?
Mr. Chair, Ms. Tina Marie
mr chair uh miss tina marie russell is has a hand raised i can allow her to speak at this time if
Russell.
that is okay mr russell please identify yourself for the record and i'll swear you in hi tina
marie russell north central philadelphia cdc swearing for him to tell the truth the whole
truth nothing but the truth um yes i do please proceed um in reference to um the case on um
reference 18th street,
17th street with just laws.
We have several more
cases this month, so
for us to, I could
accommodate him next month.
That'll get worked out with
Tanya. I don't mean
to cut you short, but that'll get worked out.
All right? Okay, thank you.
You should work that out with Mr. Masters and
Tanya.
Anyone,
Any objection to the cases that have been called to be continued?
Mr. Chair, Sloan Fulks has his hand raised.
I can allow him to speak at this time.
Mr. Fulks, good morning.
Please identify yourself.
Good morning, Chairman and Chief Bill,
members of the Board of Adjustments.
My name is Sloan Fulks.
I'm from the Office of Councilwoman Maria Quinonez Sanchez
from 508 City Hall.
Thank you. I got it now. It wouldn't unmute. I'll be swearing for him to tell the truth,
the whole truth, nothing but the truth. I do, sir. Please proceed.
I am speaking in reference to case number MI2020 -000769. The councilwoman is not an
objection to the request of continuance, but we did send a letter, just literally sent a letter
a few minutes ago. We'd like for the ZBA to disregard that letter of opposite, that letter
that we sent. The councilman is working on negotiating a further discussion with the
applicants and the RCO. Yeah, Mr. Anastasia, who's the attorney,
already requested a continuance. I read that in earlier. Yes, you did, but the councilman wanted
me to say that on the record okay understood thank you any objection to the cases that have
already been called into the record to be continued
chair this is sharon sletta there is one more third party request for continuance
that is um number 13 oh i'm sorry um number 11 4320 germantown avenue
okay isn't that the one okay i'm i'm confusing the other one all right uh that's uh a continuance
you said it's a third party request for a continuance the rco is requesting it i believe
mr anastasio will want to speak to whether it should go forward okay mr anastasio please
good morning mr chairman can you hear me yes please identify yourself for the record
verne anastasio a -n -a -s -t -a -s -i -o 1315 walnut suite 1006 philadelphia 19107
thank you swear and affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
i do sir please proceed thank you i am representing the owner of applicant of 4320 -22 germantown
Avenue. Mr. Chairman, we mailed through VISTA printing, just like everybody else, to each and
every household that we were asked to mail to with all pertinent information. We attended the RCO
meeting. There was more than a handful of zoning committee members there, although none of the
immediate neighbors showed up. The zoning committee was present. We were prepared to present. I
I actually showed the committee proof that we mailed.
I can show it here again, if you'd like.
We're prepared to move forward.
And we have signatures of, I mean, I'm sorry,
we don't have signatures on this one,
but we are prepared to move forward.
You know, my client would like to rehabilitate this property
that is literally falling in on itself.
And we've met all the requirements of the code.
Thank you.
Is there anyone here who's representing the 13th Ward RCO?
Mr. Richardson has his hand up.
Do we allow him to speak?
Yes, please.
Good morning again, Mr. Richardson. You're still under oath.
Good morning again, Mr. Richardson.
You're still under.
Good morning again, Mr. Chair. Yeah, Charles Richardson from the Office of Councilwoman Cindy Bass from 312 City Hall.
We are in support of the continuance request for the RCO.
Nobody from the community showed up. There was not even the other RCO, the co -RCO,
uh nice town cdc who had a competing uh a competing uh issue that they were dealing
with on that on that specific evening so they could not not attend either uh so we would like
to give the opportunity for the community to actually have a chance to have a say uh we can
assist with flyering if if mr anastasio would would uh submit to that and uh you know we can
try to make sure that we get some some folks out to the next meeting
yes sir i have to object uh because it's in the best interest of my client since we've made every
uh we've met the burden of of notice uh we posted the property anybody walking down the down the
sidewalk could easily see when the community meeting was and when the zoning hearing is so
um that's all i have to say about that perhaps we could do a hearing hold if if it so pleases
uh the board yeah we don't do the whole we do a resumption hearing um which means you know
people could come in and testify uh which is it's it's very similar to a continuum right it's akin
to a continuance i think it's a distinction without a difference in this matter so i mean
Yeah, it sounds like the Councilwoman is trying to be helpful, would like to engage in this application.
I don't know what the earliest date is.
Maybe we go offline, you could talk to Tanya and see if there's an early, the earliest date that may help you make a decision on behalf of your client.
So, Chair, just so we all are clear, continuances are going to be late June, early July.
I think you answered the question.
I can't even go along with it.
So we'll do it here.
Excuse me.
This is Sharon.
Though you generally wouldn't allow a resumption hearing in a case where there had been no community meeting in this case, certainly your call, because there has been the requirement for an RCO meeting has been met.
If you wanted to schedule a follow -up hearing limited only to further community feedback, you could do that.
so we wouldn't refer to it as a resumption well no it will be a resumption i was saying that it
recently the board has taken the position that where there has been no community meeting at all
you will not do that you won't go forward at all but but in this case that has been done so all
right so vernon yes but said hearing would still be june or july is that correct a resumption hearing
or no? Ms. Sunkett, are you online? Can you, if this were only a follow -up hearing
regarding the results of the second RCO meeting, would we be able to give Mr. Anastasio a date
today? I would have to check. I wasn't prepared because I didn't think we were doing resumptions,
so I would have to find a date. Okay. All right, so you're number 11 on our list. We have a few
ahead of you, Vern. Why don't we just take a break? You'll work, talk to Tanya, and then
we'll see if we can figure something out to accommodate you. That's fine. I'm available
via email, and I have that on my phone, so that's fine. Thank you.
All right. We'll get back to you. Thank you. Thanks, Sharon. Thank you, Mr. Litta.
Okay. Is there anyone who would like to request a continuance or withdrawal
at this time? Please raise your hand.
Mr. Joseph Vaccaro has his hand raised. I will allow him to speak now, sir.
Good morning, sir. Please identify yourself with a record and I'll swear you in.
Good morning, Attorney Joseph Vaccaro, attorney ID 83366, address 5918 Torresdale Avenue, Philadelphia, 19135.
Please spell your last name for the court reporter.
V as in victory, A -C -C -A -R -O.
You're swearing the firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
And what case are you calling a reference to?
Number nine on your list, 4154 North 7th Street, MI 2020 -000657.
Okay. Are you asking for a continuance?
Are you asking for a continuance?
Yes, we are. We'd like to meet again with the RCO. My last communication with the RCO indicates that their next availability would be March 16th.
Yes, we are.
We'd like to...
By way of background, there was a meeting with the RCO before I was retained on this project back in October of 2019, and there were five votes against and one vote in support.
So we'd like to revisit it with the RCO and hopefully turn the no into a yes.
Okay. So MI 2020 -000657. 4154 North 7th Street is continued.
Much appreciated. Thank you.
Anyone else requesting a continuance or withdrawal, please raise your hand.
no further hands at this time mr chair thank you we'll go to the add -on the and then we'll
go to the regular list carol so the add -on is mi 2020 -001 -333 -2027 ellsworth street my vote is no
my vote is no my vote is no my vote is no my vote is no my vote is no
yeah i think with that carol we can begin the regular list
unless i've left something out if not let's go forward calendar number 2704 10908 knights road
The owner is Giovanni Williams.
I have a Mr. John Kradzinski whose hand is raised.
I can allow him to speak right now.
And also the owner, Mr. Giovanni Williams.
He's also got his hand raised.
I will allow him to speak at this time as well.
it's the chair's call who he wants to hear from okay is the other not Mr. Williams but the other
gentleman is he an attorney no sir uh okay hold on a sec Mr. Williams good morning Mr. Chairman
Good morning.
Please just spell your full name for the record.
J -H -E -O -V -A -N -N -I -E, Williams as W -I -L -L -I -A -M -S.
Are you the owner?
Yes, sir.
Are you a nonprofit or an LLC?
No, sir.
You're prepared to go forward with the case?
Yes, sir.
All right. So the other gentleman, I'm sorry, I misplaced your name.
The other gentleman who had just.
John, John, John. Yes, John, please identify yourself full name and address.
Sure. My name is John Krasinski. It's K R A D Z I N S K I.
I am the president of Millbrook Civic Association, the RCO.
The address is 4330 -Deer -Path -Wayne, Philadelphia, PA, 19154.
And do you swear and affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Mr. Williams?
Yes, Mr. Chairman.
Please present your case.
Share any documents you have with us so we can see what your application's about.
So we're going to need him to be promoted.
mr williams has been promoted to panelists
thank you mr chair was he sworn in yes okay i think he was if not just swear him again anyway
no he was he was sir have you emailed an exhibit packet with the required documents
including proof of ownership, tax compliance, refusal referral, photos, and plans of the property
five days in advance of this hearing, and have you met with the RCO, and do you have a letter?
And did you hear me?
Doesn't appear to be here.
I think a few people just got booted out of the meeting.
I know some of my colleagues did, those who are not on the panel.
I would say if it's okay, we could give him a minute to just re -come in.
so chair if you like we can move on to the next one until they come back
excuse me Mr. Williams come back okay thank you so Mr. Williams have you
emailed the exhibit packet with all the required documents consisting of proof of ownership tax
compliance refusal or referral photos and or plans of the property five days in advance of this
hearing and have you met with the rco and do you have a letter mr williams you need to unmute
yourself please oh no he's already been promoted to panelists i'm sorry good morning i'm sorry
good morning did you hear any of the anything i said yes i did i'm i'm i'm i'm apologize i'm not
too good with this computer stuff yes um i did submit everything i sent it um to you guys and
i did meet with the rco okay you may proceed uh good morning my name is giovanni williams
the reason i'm i'm here i removed my garage door and um built a wall due to the fact of this
pandemic. I'm a police officer, and my son is a firefighter. We use this space to decontaminate
ourselves. Every day that we come home, we change downstairs, we leave our clothes downstairs,
we take a shower downstairs before coming upstairs to our family. I have four little boys
and a wife, and until today, thanks to that, I keep them safe.
do you have any photographs or exhibits you can share with us
uh i have it on the phone but i really don't know how to um sure i i send it um like a week
and a half i go to you guys right um javani do you live in parkwood manor
sorry i'm sorry do you live in parkwood manor no in night roads
i know i think it's parkwood manor okay
how about we hear from the uh
the rco mr krasinski i think it was yes
yes good morning um currently he resides in uh the area is called millbrook it's not parkwood
matter um having trouble allowing a toll for some reason it's called it's called millbrook
not parkwood matter some uh keep getting muted can you hear me yes okay it
keep muting yourself
yeah it keeps muting out on me um it's it's called millbrook or or shellfire um currently
we had uh no objections at our meeting to this um we had just positive feedback from the neighbors
um i myself had had walked past the property and looked at it um there's nothing that i can see is
wrong um or or anything i i could personally object to just as a citizen on my own um but
from the meeting standpoint we had um everybody uh gave positive feedback from everybody in
neighborhood period well thank you thank you for your testimony uh is there any questions from the
board no no is there anyone else who would like to testify in this case if so please raise your
hand no hands at this time mr chair thank you planning commission
good morning david effecto f -e -c -t -e -a -u with the city planning commission
David, you swear in the firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth.
Yes, sir, I do.
Please proceed.
Thank you, sir.
mr chairman members of the board the comprehensive plan recommends single
Mr. Chairman, members of the board, the comprehensive plan recommends single -family residential use.
family residential use for this property the expansion of a driveway is not likely
to impact any of the surrounding properties we recommend the board to grant the variance
thank you mi 2020 that's zero zero two seven zero four one zero nine zero eight knights road my
vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes thank you mr williams
thank you and your son for your service thank you very much thank you very much thank you
calendar number 0348 1957 north 24th street the owner is craig dwyer
Mr. Chair, I see no hands at this time for that particular case.
Wait a minute, Mr. Excuse me, sir. Mr. Dwyer has raised his hand. I will allow him to speak.
I will promote him to panelists immediately.
Ms. Dwyer, you have been promoted to panelists. Please wait to be sworn in.
Can he unmute himself?
Mr. Dwyer, can you put your name and address on the record and spell your last name?
Okay. My, okay.
Mr. Dwyer, are you there?
Yes, I'm here. Can you hear me?
Yes. Can you put your name and address on the record, please, and spell your last name?
Yeah, my name is Craig Dwyer, C -R -A -I -G, and last name is D -W -Y -E -R, and I'm the address owner for 1957 North 24th Street.
Thank you. Do you swear or affirm to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
I swear to tell the truth.
Have you emailed your exhibit packet with the required documents consisting of proof of ownership, tax compliance, refusal or referral, photos and or plans of the property five days in advance of this hearing?
And have you met with the RCO? And do you have a letter?
I met with the RCO several times, mail a package, no respond.
You may proceed.
Yeah, I'm the owner of 1957 to 1955. 1955 received a variance already for duplex. I want to turn, I have the same blueprint for 1957 North 24th Street.
Mr. Dwyer, pardon the interruption. Could you share any exhibits with us, please?
Sure. Okay. So I'm going to share my screen. How do I do that? Share screen. Okay.
Okay, so here we go. Can you see my screen?
Yes, you can.
Okay, so this is where the property address is located, 9 to 57.
This is the refusal paperwork, and this is the all the items, the project information.
I have the tax compliance, the deed here of the purchase of the home.
And then we have the tax compliance would be right here.
Anyway, so we have the blueprint, the zoning print of the front, the front of the building, the inside of the building.
inside there's a side hallway that's the back of the building um and these are the um
the mailing to um the community um so this has been going on for a long time and i'm not getting
any feedback i'm not sure what's going on so it's like it's kind of delaying me because i can't do
anything to the back end i want to stuck away i can't do nothing um so pretty much i'm here
I'm here. I'm trying to get the approval. I did everything in my best interest. This is a blueprint of the building. It's going to be a two bedroom upstairs, a bedroom downstairs. And I'm just trying to basically move forward with this process.
We're trying to get the approval.
it's not easy to read your print uh the first floor is the is there what's in the basement
um nothing in the basement okay so the first floor would be an apartment second floor is an
apartment correct yes so there's one bedroom on this on the in the front and one bedroom in the
back um on the um first floor a living room in the middle uh bedroom and kitchen um here and then on
the first floor a large living room beautiful um with a dining room in the middle um and and a
bedroom in the back so it's really a nice setting um um you know designed for um so we're just trying
to say we can get the approval to move forward with the process um you said that the board approved
no the board um i met with um priscilla t bennett several times and i don't know what's
going on there um no i mean this board the zoning board approved uh the property adjacent to it
yes they did um i have a variance on that yes 1955 55 okay thank you all right questions from
the board no no no what else would anyone else like to testify in this case if so please raise
your hand mr chair i have mary jones with her hand raised thank you good morning ms jones
please identify yourself and we'll swear you in
good morning mary jones from council president daryl clark's office
we're in a firm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
i do thank you mary please proceed um at the moment i just i do have a question to the
applicant about um which rco they met with and what feedback if any so yes so that's a problem
i'm having i don't know what it is i met with the community i met on the block but one person is the
only person that was against me doing that and i forgot her name i think her name is um i think
she's the block captain um but she's not there i think she probably moved back down south and i
don't see her anymore um so it's very it's kind of very difficult for me to be honest with you um
i've been going on with this for quite some time and it's like i'm not getting any positive feedback
from anyone. Email, nothing. Mr. Williams, on the prior application, 1955 North 25th,
you met with the RCO at that time? Yeah, on North 24th Street, yes, I met with RCO several times.
um which rco was that the fifth this i think um the rco board right there at 23rd and um berks
um what was the name of the building um it's priscilla t bennett um the building that priscilla
t bennett works out of the project home building i think you have the name of the rco i think
that's what miss jones is asking um name of the rco um i think it's sue susan um tanya hold on
when the planning commission gave you a list mailing list yes um first give you a name of
the rco or our facility bennett okay that's that's project home project home yeah that's
that help you miss jones it it it does at least i know who he has been talking to we haven't i
haven't heard anything from them about this um at this point but um i just want to make sure that
he met with with them yeah i did i'm twice according to his testimony i'm sure you heard
they did have an application for the adjacent property and apparently there was no opposition
i'm not suggesting they wouldn't oppose this one but i don't know okay um
i i would at least like to i mean i want to try to reach out to them to see if they
have a letter or something um they don't
No, they don't.
They don't?
No, they don't.
The first time it was so easy, but this time I agree.
But this time I don't know what's going on.
I think the COVID -19 has really put a dent on everyone.
I'm not saying it's frustrating, but I'm doing the best that I can.
So, you know, I don't, you know, the back of the building, you know, I'm trying to get better proof so that we can stucco, I can't do anything after the, you know, the make safe permit was put in place.
So pretty much I'm just set on hold for the past two years.
jones do you have someone in that neighborhood that you can reach out to i yeah well now that
i know the name of the person he's been talking to i can reach out to to her and i can reach out
to the other person in 32nd war just to double check it um it just for whatever reason this one
had been difficult to reach someone about which i normally do prior to every you know hearing um
And that's why I was curious.
I was going to suggest, and Tanya and Sharon, correct me if I'm wrong,
could we hold a vote on this until later today?
Maybe it gives Ms. Jones time to reach out to the RCO.
If you could hold it until the end of this session, I guess, or?
Would that, Ms. Jones, would you be able to reach out to them that quickly?
yeah i can call them now and try to and try to get a an understanding what's happening and um
and so yeah by the end of the session i'll try to so we'll hold off and you'll let us when you
get back on you know you'll let us know okay okay we'll hold off till the end thank you uh mr
williams just hang in there uh there's a door i'm sorry mr dwyer just hang in there we'll get back
you uh in the next within the hour okay i'm here thank you okay
calendar number
i'm gonna wait till the screen clears calendar calendar number 2680 2061 east ontario street
there are no exhibits with this and it's a first listing
Anyone here for 2061 East Ontario?
No hands at this time, Mr. Chair. Thank you.
20 MI 2020 -002 -680 -2061 East Ontario is continued.
calendar number 2700 2710 latona street the attorney is steve masters
it on their oath from earlier thanks
mr masters has been promoted to panelist again sir
hi mr masters do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to
its accuracy? I do. Have you emailed your exhibit packet with proof of ownership tax compliance,
copy of the refusal or referral, photos and or plans of the property five days in advance of
this hearing and have you met with the RCO and do you have a letter? Yes to all of those. Okay and
now can you put your name and address on the record? I did it backwards. Sure. Steve Masters
from the law firm of Just Laws, 621 West Mount Airy Avenue in Philadelphia.
Okay, you may proceed.
Unfortunately, my computer just started to act up earlier this morning.
So I'm on my iPad and I don't believe I can share my screen with my exhibits.
At this moment, my computer may be feeling better in a couple minutes.
So if there is a way that the board could put my exhibits up and share that, then that could work.
Otherwise, if I could be called, if we could call another case person, then I should be able to share my screen.
I'm not sure which one you would prefer.
That'll be the chair's call for Tanya.
Excuse me, sir. I did find some instructions on how to share your iPad screen. Are you running iOS 11 or higher on your iPad?
Are you running iOS 11 or higher on your iPad?
I am. Yeah, I just I just got onto my iPad and I haven't located my file that I can share.
That's the issue.
I missed that earlier. I'm sorry. What was what was going on?
Oh, my computer decided today was a good day to malfunction while I was waiting for our case to be called.
so it's in the process of of um getting rebooted with diagnostics and i can't i can't share my
screen you need you need a few minutes we can go to the next case and come back i do yeah you could
skip that's what he suggested okay thank you i'm sorry i got distracted i didn't hear that comment
oh okay all right thank you okay calendar number 2679 2630 north 11th street the attorney is henry
Clinton.
Mr. Clinton has been promoted to panel, sir.
Hi, Mr. Clinton. Can you put your name and address on the record, please, and spell your last name?
Sure. Henry Clinton, C -L -I -N -T -O -N, Queen Memorial Building, 1313 South 33rd Street, Philadelphia,
UPA 19146. Do you swear or affirm to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth? I do.
Do you also agree to wave the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy? I do.
Have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership, tax compliance, refusal, referral,
photos, and or plans of the property five days in advance of this hearing? And have you met with
the RCO? And do you have a letter? Yes to everything except the RCO letter. I wasn't
able to send until two days ago but the entire package is in in the hands okay you may proceed
can i share my screen sure you may
is that large enough to see sure is all right good morning mr chairman members of the board
henry clinton for the applicant 2630 north 11th street llc the principal is rafi r -a -f -i balk
B -A -L -K, and he's on the call with me. This is my exhibit presentation, table of contents,
including AA through A11. Appearance statement, the refusal. Refusal concerns the square footage
of the lot and the square footage of the property. So this is a zoned RM1, which permits multifamily,
And this is in the overlay district. We are requesting three dwelling units. And we're just about over 100 square feet short of that. But as you'll see, as I work through the presentation, there are numerous other triplexes on the property. And the community group understands that and has supported us unanimously.
This is a letter of support from the 37th Ward RCO that we did present, and the only
issue that was raised was we were asked would we include under -the -counter trash compactors
to the second and third floor, and we certainly agreed with that.
And here's a summary sheet indicating there was 11 in support and no opposition.
These are photographs of the block, the 2600 block.
All these properties to the left are triplexes and I will show you with a screenshot that
takes in the front elevations of each of those. Our house is right here. There's a vacant lot
to the south as well as to the north. This is the view looking north. These are the five
triplexes that exist already on the 2600 block and our property is a vacant lot long vacant lot
from what i understand here at 2630. here's the elevations about a combination of brick
and hardy board cement siding on the front the basement is a family room on the first floor
there would be one bedroom the second floor is unit number two that will have two bedrooms
the kitchen and one bath third floor is a replication of the second floor again two bedrooms
kitchen a bath and living area with access to the roof so the third unit has access to the roof
the first floor has access to the yard and the second floor does have interior trash on all
units actually the interior closet for trash but the community group did ask that we put an under
counter trash compactor to help alleviate the accumulation of trash. The rest of the exhibits
to help alleviate the accumulation of trash.
The rest of the exhibits,
I don't know if they're large enough to see,
are the pro forma documents,
the deed, the tax certification,
our appeal,
as well as a zoning map
indicating that that entire area is RM1.
I can blow that up if...
So this whole row on the 26 -under block is RM1.
RM1. This is our notice letter indicating we gave everyone heads up about the meeting.
And this is a history of the property as per the zoning records. This used to be a three -family
dwelling back in the day, 1967, many moons ago. So we're kind of restoring it to what it was then.
And then I just wanted to include for the board the use zoning permits for the other properties
on the street that I pointed out in the photograph are actually triplexes and they are legitimate
triplexes. This is 2618. 2620 is a three family dwelling. 2622 is also a three family dwelling.
So with that I conclude my presentation and ask if the board has any questions of me or my client
who is on the call. Thank you. Mr. Clinton, do you want your client to adopt your testimony?
Sure, I would like that. Mr. Balk, can Mr. Balk be unmuted?
Mr. Balk, can you unmute yourself and raise your hand?
yes hi could you hear me yes hi uh please identify yourself for the record first and
last name spell your last name yeah roslon bulk b -a -l -k
we're in the firm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
yes thank you mr clinton thank you mr chairman mr bulk you've heard my testimony today before
the board? Yes. If you had the opportunity to testify, would you adopt my testimony as your
own and would you find it true and correct? Yes. Thank you, Mr. Ball. Mr. Chairman, I have nothing
further. Thank you. Any questions from the board? No. No. No. Thank you. Anyone else like to testify
in this case? If so, please raise your hand.
I see no other hand at this time, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Planning Commission.
Good morning, David Fecto, City Planning Commission.
Mr. Chairman, members of the board,
the comprehensive plan recommends this property
for residential multifamily use.
There is documented history of three units
for this property.
The applicant could build two units by right.
We don't believe the additional unit
would have a negative impact on the block.
Accordingly, we request the board approve
this requested variance. Thank you. MI 2020 -002679. 2630 North 11th Street. My vote is yes with the
proviso. Under counter trash compactors to be installed in second and third floor units.
My vote is yes with proviso. Yes with proviso. Yes with proviso. Yes with proviso.
So, is Steve Masters available?
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the board.
Have a great day.
Thank you, you too.
Excuse me, Chair, this is Sharon Saleta.
Before you call the next case, I sent a text message.
Thank you.
I got it.
I'll read it in.
Is Steve ready?
I am ready now.
Okay, just give us a second, Steve.
All right.
case number mi 2020 -002561 100 -102 ashdale street uh if anyone's waiting to hear the
vote on this case it will be announced at the beginning start of the two o 'clock session
all right thank you all right carol that's okay um i'll just start from the beginning name and
addressed for the record? Steve Masters, the law firm of Just Laws, 621 West Mount Airy Avenue in
Philadelphia, on behalf of the applicant. Do you swear a firm to tell the whole truth and nothing
but the truth? I do. Do you also agree to wait the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its
accuracy? I do. And have you emailed the exhibit packet with the required documents, proof of
proof of ownership tax compliance refusal referral voters and plans of the property five days in
ownership, tax compliance, refusal, referral, voters, and plans of the
advance of this hearing and have you met with the rco and do you have a letter yes to all of
your questions thank you you may proceed thank you and my computer apparently lets me proceed
as well so that's uh that's great news yeah um all right i am now sharing my screen are you seeing
that? Yes. Okay, great. This is a single -family home project on 2710 Latona Street. It's a
very small lot, and the only refusals we have are dimensional refusals, primarily because
we're required to have a nine -foot rear yard depth, but we only can have seven feet, as we
will explain in a moment. And the size of the rear yard and the size of the open area is below what
the code requires because it's such a small lot. These are very close near neighbors who
um signed a petition in support uh there weren't that many but mr um merlino my client will
explain uh his difficulty in just finding folks uh home when he was going around there
uh plans
And this is the lot here.
The fenced -in area is actually two lots.
Our lot is the one to the right.
To the left is a long -time garden that will remain because we are only building on this
lot here.
This is our site drawing.
Our zoning is RM1 and we are proposing just a single family.
Here is the backyard that has the two feet of variance that we are seeking.
Some elevations.
And we do have our architect, Magnum Alanis, on the Zoom also for the board to inquire.
this is our rear elevation there's going to be a um a spiral staircase um to access
the roof for a roof deck here you see the roof deck area the spiral staircase in the rear
the setbacks are with uh as required by the code
the floor plan
The basement will be part of the living area, and for that reason, we are required to have an egress from the basement, and we were not able to put the egress at the front, whoops, at the front of the property.
And as a consequence, we put the egress at the rear yard, and that's why we needed to push out the extra two feet and weren't able to accommodate the nine -foot rear yard setback.
First floor is the kitchen, living area, dining room.
second floor we have two bedrooms
whoops
and sorry about that
sometimes when I blow it up too much
then I can't maneuver it around
I think we get the general picture.
You can summarize.
That would be helpful.
At the RCO meeting, there was just a few community folks who appeared at the RCO meeting.
At the RCO meeting, there was just a few.
There were a number of concerns that were expressed.
And as a result, we created a list of five provisos to address all of those concerns.
And I'm going to get to those.
There we go.
There was a concern that we maintain the single family house. So that's proviso number one, a concern that we'd not have any Airbnb short term rentals. That's number two. There was a concern for the property 2712 that we include that property owner on the general contractor's insurance in case there was any possible damage from the construction.
we agreed to that uh there was also a concern to restore the next door garden to its original
condition and we agreed to that and then for the generators um to power the the um construction
we agreed to put those in the rear yard on the advice of our council apparently none of those
are enforceable that would be more or less i guess a community benefits agreement yes that's that's
That's fine. Mr. Mr. Molino is is quite willing to enter into that with with any of the of the neighbors in the RCO.
These are all of the other pro forma documents as part of our exhibit packet and the RCO letter was supplied to us late last night.
do you have it in your record or do you want me to uh to access it and put it in the record now
tanya and or sharon
i'm sorry sharon it was called away for a minute what was the question do you have a copy of the
a letter from the rco steve said it was mailed out last night if not he'll send it now thank you
i'll just send it in any way steve just send it and we'll that way or the rco took a position
of non -support um there were eight people voting at the rco meeting four voted no two voted
um yes and two voted abstaining um and as uh just to conclude in this case we're talking about an
extremely small dimensional variants for a single family home of the rear yard and the concerns that
were raised by all of the members at the rco meeting were addressed in those five provisos
so we the rco letter doesn't really discuss at all the reasons why some people were opposed versus
some people were in favor. And our sense was that there was some conversation about a desire not to
have their taxes raised by having new construction in the neighborhood. And that's something that
is way beyond the scope of a zoning permit. And in our case, we did not hear anyone at the RCO
meeting express any concerns about the rear yard setback being seven feet versus nine feet all
right good enough do you have your client with you yes um mr merlino can you raise your uh raise
your hand so you can get get um sworn in mr merlino has been allowed to speak sir good morning
mr merlino please identify yourself for the record spell your last name
Anthony Merlino, M -E -R -L -I -N -O.
Do you swear and affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
Mr. Merlino, you've heard my testimony this morning.
Do you accept it as true and adopt it as your own?
We also have our architect who we can...
I think we're okay on that.
I'll check with the board.
Let me ask the board.
all right did the board have any questions no okay no no no questions do anyone else
like to testify in this case if so please raise your hand mr chair france pierre has his hand raised
mr pierre good morning please identify yourself and i'll swear you in
Good morning, Mr. Chairman and fellow board members.
mr chairman and fellow board members this france pierre f -r -a -n -t -z last name p -i -e -r -r -e
This is Franz Pierre, F -R -A -N -T -Z.
from council member johnson's office you're swearing the firm to tell the truth the whole
truth nothing but the truth i do thank you please proceed appreciate it uh due to the letter of
opposition from the rco the council member at this time would have to uh support the community's
opposition to the appeal. Thank you. Excuse me, Chair. This is Sharon again. I have a list of
the provisos requested by the RCO, but I do not have a copy of the letter. All right. Well,
Mr. Master's testimony is, and Mr. Francis' testimony is that the neighbors are opposed
to it, but in any event, Planning Commission. Good morning, David Fecto, City Planning Commission,
Mr. Chairman, members of the board. The comprehensive plan recommends this property
for residential single -family use. We believe these are the minimum variances required
to enable the applicant to derive value from the lot. We recommend that the board approve
the requested variances. Thank you. MI 2020 -002 -700 -2710 Lacona Street. My vote is yes.
My vote is yes. My vote is yes. My vote is yes. My vote is yes.
Thank you. Thank you very much, members of the board. Thank you.
um hey this is the court reporter may i question the um he mentioned an architect's name and i i
need spelling on it just in case there's ever this ever comes up
uh yes um get you the spelling it's a little unusual
first name is m -a -g -d -a -l -i -s
last name is m -e -l -o okay thank you very much you're welcome have we heard back from miss jones yet
i'll take that as a no all right she's online she's there oh okay were you able to uh make a
contact with him i was able to reach out to miss bennett who is um at saint elizabeth's rco that's
the project home um so apparently she said they they met about the previous project but did not
have any record of and that the one of the um the captain um had um expressed some opposition
it just all seems a bit muddled unfortunately but it doesn't appear that there was
um a official rco meeting for this particular yeah and the owner did testify that he was not
able to for whatever reason not able to get that together um i'm just curious because apparently
there was no opposition to the thing the adjacent property all right we'll vote that at the end um
so we'll move forward with the rest of the cases and we'll take that up at the end of this list
thank you thank you
so we are
on number
nine was
continued
number 11
calendar number
4320 -22
Germantown Avenue
the attorney is Vernon Anastasio
this was the one we were trying to figure out
by continuance
of course the third the applicant wanted to go forward
yeah working something out with
on the date
carl let's go to the next one and we'll come back to that i think they were trying to work
something out on the date mr chair yes i'm sorry mr anastasia was on was online now
okay all right verne hi mr chair uh i have not heard back from miss sunkett as of yet with
respect to a continuous continuous uh date versus um the other sort of date that uh i don't know if
i don't know if they're the same if they are the same then i think it's six of one half a dozen of
then I think it's six of one half a dozen of the other uh if if uh if they're not the same
the other, if, if
then I'd prefer this the one that's sooner of course but I don't know I don't haven't heard
from uh Ms. Sunkit as of yet all right um well we do have another let's hear another case and
we'll come back to you give it a few more minutes are we going to do a resumption with this well I
I think the, if I recall correctly, we were trying to get an earliest date possible.
And I know you said nothing was available until June or July.
So it depends. Is it a continuance or a resumption?
Excuse me. This is Sharon.
Tanya, that's the choice they're trying to make.
It's that they could do it today and limit a resumption only to testimony regarding the results of the second hearing, or they can continue it entirely.
um we're leaning towards resumption if i recall correctly march 31st at night if if march 31st
is the resumption and the continuing the continued uh hearing would be in june or july then of course
let's uh if it's okay with everybody i'd like to do the resumption okay all right we'll we'll do
that all right so mi 2020 -002681 4320 -22 germantown avenue is continued to march 31st
you're right i apologize i think this hearing will be resumed on march 31st at 9 30 a .m at which time
the board will consider any feedback related to the rco's position yes but you're going to hold
hearing now the main hearing right right okay thank you thank you
so mr anastasio yes name and address i'm already on the record and i've asked you about the exhibit
packet and all that you have okay you may proceed thank you i for whatever reason i lost my
material that I want to show you so if you just give me a minute it looks like everybody's having
some technical issues today but that's okay I can get it up pretty quickly here
Mr. Anasajo may I promote the panelist
yep could you please so I could share my screen
you've just been promoted to panelist sir
Thank you, sir. Let's do some screen sharing.
There it is. Okay. So this is 4320 -22 Germantown Avenue. The application is for a three -family
dwelling. It's a double -wide property, a zone CMX2. There's only one single refusal. It's not
that it's because it's CMX2, the building must contain 100 % of ground floor frontage of commercial
use. That is not what we're proposing here because this is a, physically you'll see,
this is a multifamily dwelling, just like every other property on the block. This portion of
Germantown Avenue is not a commercial corridor of the two dozen or so pieces of real estate on the
block. There's only two commercial uses on the first floor. One is a home health care office
and the other is a daycare. So it's not a viable space for commercial use. I'll take you to the
plans, which my client was kind enough to draw up to scale. It's a double wide property, as you'll
see in the photos forthcoming and you enter the property through a gate on the side all of this
is side yard which is very big runs the entire length and there's a large backyard as well
the first floor has a door right here onto the to the left with common area hall that goes up to the
second and third floor apartments another door takes you into the living room kitchen area
and two small bedrooms then we have the second floor apartment
that comes up from the stairwell you have a living room full bath and two bedrooms you go
up again to the third floor and it's two bedrooms nice size living room there is plenty of space
for three trash receptacles because as i said it's a double wide property and it's
for three trash receptacles because as I said it's a double wide property and it's a very large
side yard and rear yard this is the property in question there's the gate that I referenced
for entrance there's proof of posting this is the interior of the property as you can see
it's not commercial at all and neither is any other property on this block but for two
and one is on the corner and this is in the middle of the block
and this property has been falling in on of itself and my client would like to rehab it
here's proof of mailing 74 pieces went out neighborhood notification for the rco meeting
which was in fact held on February 23rd at 6 p .m.
And the Zoning Board hearing, which is this morning, March 3rd at 9 .30,
although we're coming up on 11 a .m.
And given the physical uniqueness of this property,
the fact that it is in its current condition,
not commercial on the first floor,
which is consistent with just about every other property on the block.
This is not a commercial corridor, and therefore we respectfully request that this unit right here remain a unit for residential purposes.
And with nothing else, I'd like to call my client, Haim Bahameen.
Haim, if you're there, could you please raise your hand?
Good morning, sir. Please identify yourself with a record, spell your first and last name, and I'll swear you in.
Mr. Chair, I do not see the client's hand. He may have left.
Okay, well, as an officer of the court, we'll stipulate that your client would adopt your testimony.
I appreciate that. Thank you. And with that, I'm going to rest my principal case.
Any questions so far from the board?
Anyone else?
I'm sorry, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Charles Richardson has his hand raised again.
Do we allow him to speak?
Yes, please.
Mr. Richardson, you're still under oath?
Good morning, Mr. Chair and board members again.
Point of clarity, though, with regard to this block, the other properties that are on the block are all single -family homes.
The only one that is 4310 has three apartments that was converted, but it's an illegal conversion.
And it's being under investigation right now by L &I.
But the rest of these are all single -family homes with the mailboxes and things along those lines for single families.
that's how they were constructed and that's how it should should uh at least at least remain uh
as far as the councilwoman's concerned um other than that we're looking forward to having a
resumption and uh hoping that the community will be get involved in a meeting that will take place
within the next week or two okay thank you mr chairman i just want to address that one point
That's a very good one. We also look forward to the resumption results.
As far as this particular property is concerned, it is not, nor has it ever been, zoned for residential single family.
As the refusal that we've submitted clearly states, it's CMX2, which means, and especially given the size of the lot, three units is a matter of right.
it's just a matter of whether or not that first floor unit is either commercial on a block that
has no commercial use which the council members liaison just you know reiterated or if it's going
to be a residential use that's the only question before the board not whether or not this should
be single family it's not single family whether the only question before the board is will these
three units be one commercial on the first floor and two two residentials above or will this be
simply a residential property thank you thank you for clarification on that all right well you're
going to have some time to meet with the councilwoman and the community of planning commission
good morning david vecto city planning commission mr chairman members of the board the comprehensive
The comprehensive plan recommends this property for commercial mixed use.
However, there is a documented history of single -family use of the property,
however there is a documented history of single family use of the property dating to 1981.
dating to 19...
we do not believe it would be reasonable to expect the applicant to convert the
ground floor from residential to commercial we recommend that the board grant the proposed
variance thank you thank you as i said earlier this is resumption hearing we'll see you back
here on march the 31st at 9 30 a .m thank you sir thank you
Calendar number 0276812 East Schiller Street.
I have Mr. Pablo Mata.
i want to go on to speak if that is okay thanks mr mata identify yourself with a record spell
your first and last name and provide us with your address
morning can you guys hear me yes yes okay good morning my name is pablo manta
P -A -B -L -O
that's my first name
my last name is M -A -T -A
and please allow
you swear and affirm to tell the truth
the whole truth
nothing but the truth
yes I do
sir have you mailed the exhibit packet
with the required documents
consisting of proof of ownership
tax compliance
refusal or referral
photos and or plans of the property five days in advance of this hearing and have you met with the
rco and do you have a letter yes you may proceed um so first of all um i'm sorry allow i'm sorry
mr hand can you promote him to panelists please
He's promoted to panelists, Ms. Duncan.
You may proceed.
All right.
So please allow Bedixta Cadillo, who is my expediter to share the screen as I go along
with the explanation.
That's fine.
So I'm the owner of property located on 812 East Chiller Street, Philadelphia PA 19134.
And the original application was for a change of zoning from a single family to a duplex.
and can you please
can you please put your exhibits up
excuse me
so vice chair
he's going to have the Dita put the
screen up so she's just been promoted
and then he's just going to talk through
it so she's been promoted
she should be preparing now
thank you
but Dita you can
share your screen but keep your mute on
please
Can you see the screen?
One second.
Let me know.
Got it now?
Coming up now.
Okay, we have it.
Okay, if you can zoom in in, please.
So, as you can see, this application, so the original application was in September,
So it's been more than a year ago.
So attached, you will also find the refusal, the appeal,
the projection form, the CBA hearing date,
community meeting.
We also have pictures,
tax clearings, plans, and we have the RCO letter.
plans, and we have the RCO letter. So originally it was refused, obviously because this property
is designated as a single family, but it's obvious that the area is changing.
um so we have other multi -unit properties in the area for example uh there's a multi -unit
property on g and chiller street just around the block there's another one on rossel and g street
and less than 200 feet from the property in question there is a building with 30 units
specifically on I Street and Tioga. So the original purpose was to provide a space
for myself and to provide a service for the community. So the prices in the area are going up.
Not everyone can afford a $1 ,200 rent. So besides providing service, as I said,
that I was planning to live in one of the units,
which I haven't been able to do,
because it's been almost two years
since the initial application.
During this time, I've had to stay
at somebody else's property,
regardless of the fact that I've been paying tax
for this property, I've been keeping it
clean but um i haven't been able to proceed with the next step because uh you know there's
being a lot of postponing um so as you can see uh we follow the procedure we hired an architect
who was gonna make sure that the dividing of this property was gonna meet code
We met with the community organization, specifically, the name is Impact Services, and only one of the members opposed to it.
And then in the most recent, in the meeting, in the last meeting, no one from the community organization attended.
and uh you know we've been waiting for a long time and we've tried to do everything by the law
we send hundreds of letters to people that actually live in the community and no one
opposed to it and if that is necessary um i am right here um in the in the neighbor's house
someone who actually lives across from the property in question, who may serve as a representative of the neighbors in the area,
to share with you what her thoughts are on this project and what it would mean for the community.
When we first purchased this property, it was full of garbage.
uh drug addicts were using it you know to do their thing
you know we feel that this project actually brings more benefit than it does harm to the
community and obviously we have demonstrated that we want to do everything according to the law and
we follow every procedure and we've waited patiently
until the conclusion of this matter.
Any questions from the board?
No, no.
I would like to testify in this case,
please raise your hand.
Mr. Chair Sloan, folks has his hand raised.
i can allow him to speak if that is all right and good morning again mr folks you're still under
earth just identify yourself please morning chairman chico members of the board sloan folks
office of councilman maria quino sanchez 50 city hall uh the applicant having met with the rco
on november 21st 2019 and having received um a letter of opposition our office does not support
this very request thank you anyone else yes um so um i have as i said uh
Yes, so I have, as I said, someone who lives in the block, and I would like for her to testify if that is accepted by the members.
Please have her identify herself, spell her first and last name, and provide us with her address.
Ipec King, my name is spelled Y -V -E -T -T -E, last name is K -E -Y.
address
your address
807 East
Chiller Street
do you swear and affirm to tell the truth
the whole truth nothing but the truth
please proceed
I've been
here for 15 years
and the house
been sitting over there for a long time
there was a lot of junkies and drugs
and stuff over there for a long time and it's been tore down nasty in and out there shooting
up drugs and staying in there squatting and the people that bought it fixed it up really nice
and it looks nice on the block and it looks better and i appreciate them being over there to take care
anyone else
that's it thank you uh planning commission
good morning david facto city planning commission mr chairman members of the board the comprehensive
plan recommends this property for single family use we do not see any characteristics of the
property that would prevent it from being used for single family use we request that the board
deny the requested variants. Thank you. MI 2020 -000276812 East Shiller Street. My vote is no.
My vote is no. My vote is no. My vote is no. My vote is no.
Thank you. Thank you, guys. Does that complete the morning list, the 930 list?
yes it does okay thank you i see everybody back at two
we'll give everybody a chance to get on and we'll start the hearing
everyone's on chair you can go forward thank you pardon me good afternoon everyone my name
is frank de chico i'm the chair of the zoning board of adjustment i'll be participating in
today's hearing, along with our Vice Chair, Ms. Carol Tenneri, Board Secretary, Confessor Plaza,
and Board Members, Mr. Thomas Holloman and Mr. James Snell. Jason, you're still running this
afternoon? Yes, I am, sir. Board Administrator, Mr. Jason Hand, and our Board Attorney,
Ms. Rebecca Cole, are also in attendance. For those of you who haven't yet participated in
one of our virtual hearings, I'll go through some of the basics of what you can expect.
First, we will be administering oaths to individual participants prior to their testimony.
Second, we'd like to advise everyone that this proceeding is being recorded and that by participating, you acknowledge your agreement to be recorded and that the recording will be available to the public on the web or otherwise.
Third, for anyone participating by phone, if you wish to testify, you must raise your hand by hitting star 9 and then star 6 to unmute yourself.
I'll repeat, for anyone participating by phone, if you wish to testify, you must raise your hand by hitting star 9 and then star 6 to unmute yourself.
Finally, to enter an appearance statement, call Google 267 -270 -5548 and leave your email address and the address of the property at issue.
I will repeat, to enter an appearance statement, call Google 267 -270 -5548 and leave your email address and the address of the property at issue.
And I'll also like to remind everyone, please do not attempt to testify in the chat.
Any comments should be directed to our board administrator, Mr. Han, Mr. Jason Han.
I will now go through a list of cases that have already been requested to be continued on the two o 'clock list.
the two on our list calendar number uh two excuse me mi 2020 -003288 1225 north third street
also mi 2020 -003355 1231
0 0 3 3 5 5 1 2 3 1 north 3rd street and i believe those are the only two if anyone objects
to those cases being continued please raise your hand at this time
mr chair miss rachel pritzker has her hand up okay miss pritzker please identify yourself
with the records where it was where you win okay uh good afternoon rachel r -a -c -h -a -e -l
pritzker p -r -i -t -z -k -e -r 16 where the firm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the
truth yes i'm sorry i interrupted you this is going to put the address on my address on the
record 1635 market street suite 1600 philadelphia pa 19103 um i uh represent the applicant for both
the cases that you just mentioned um they are to be continued and then i'm just wanted to add to
your list uh 5138 gainer road uh we'd be requesting a continuance as well thank you so for that's
number nine on our list mi 2020 that's a zero zero two seven one one five one three eight gainer
road is continued thank you thank you are there any requests at this time for continuance or
withdrawals mr chair i see no further hands at this time okay uh before we begin carol we have
an add -on for two o 'clock. Yes, to vote. It's an add -on to vote, I think. Yes, but there's some
proviso, so I got to read it in. MI 2020 -002561, 100 -102 Ashdale Street. My vote is yes with the
following proviso uh two -year temporary uh two -year temporary lease hours of operation no later than
9 p .m that's monday through sunday i believe commercial use limited to areas shown in floor
plan approved by the zba page one single family dwelling to continue in remainder of building
and the last one is no service of hot food my vote is yes on all those with those provisos
my vote is my vote is yes with proviso my vote is no
my vote is yes with proviso yes with proviso
ready to begin calendar number zero zero six six one zero one north independence mall the attorney
is jared klein
good afternoon mr chair members of the board good afternoon can you put your name and address
on the record please and spell your last name absolutely it's jared klein k -l -e -i -n with blank
rome 130 north 18th street philadelphia 19103 you swear or affirm to tell the whole truth and
nothing but the truth i do you also agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate
to its accuracy yes i do last but not least have you emailed an exhibit packet with the required
documents proof of ownership tax compliance refusal referral photos and plans of the property five
days in advance of this hearing and have you met with the RCO and do you have a letter? Yes to all
those questions. Okay and finally you may proceed. Thank you. Sure. I'm going to share my screen and
make sure everybody can see it. This is a very basic signage application for 101 North Independence
Mall. Better known as the building that's on the corner of Fifth and Market. I'm here on behalf of
tenant the american bible society which is opening their uh faith and liberty discovery center on the
ground floor and the signage that we're asking for is accessory to that uh the refusal that we
received um as you can see we're only allowed one freestanding sign per street frontage
so some of the signage at the site is already existing we're seeking a variance for uh two
additional freestanding signs that what is allowed by code we did meet with the old city district
their letter of unanimous support is up on the screen now and light of that broad -based
Their letter of unanimous support is up on the screen now, and in light of that broad -based
support, I will keep my presentation brief in consideration of the board's agenda.
Here is the property here that we're talking about.
It's zone CMX4, so the use is completely by right.
We have some photos of the property just for orientation.
This is the building in question here.
You can see that it already has some signage for the Faith and Liberty Discovery Center
that's been erected on the outside of the building at that ground floor.
The signs that we're proposing that require variants are freestanding informational signs
that are going to be located here and here, and those are going to give some information
about the offerings inside the Discovery Center to passers -by, so they will be rotating in
terms of their content but fixed in terms of their location to give the board a sense
of what these would look like. This is a rendering and these are the freestanding signs that we're
speaking about here for a little bit closer context. You can see here these will be you know
similar to what you'd see outside of the Franklin Institute or Natural Science Museum. They would be
sort of placards that it would identify information about what's taking place inside. How many signs
are there there are a total uh of five freestanding signs we're allowed one per street frontage
okay there's a and there's a variety of signage that's already existing and previously permitted
such as the banner sign and and some of the identification signage for the american bible
society um we do have uh the sign location plan this is just giving you some additional
area context. These updatable public programming blocks are located here, here, and here. And
Ms. Tenere, to answer your question, the existing signs here is the header above the main entrance.
And there's a logo sign and so an institutional identification signage
that's located there. I have a full set of the signage plans in my packet if the board has any
questions about those but I won't take your time to go through those in any great depth. I will ask
my client Patrick Murdoch to virtually raise his hand so he might adopt my testimony. Pat if you're
there can you hit the raise your hand button? The witness has been allowed to speak. Good afternoon
sir please identify yourself with the records spell your last name yeah my name is pat murdoch
m -u -r -d -o -c -k we're confirmed to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
yes sir thank you mr klein thank you uh mr murdoch did you have an opportunity to listen
to my presentation a few moments ago yes i did and do you adopt my statements as true in your
own testimony yes i do thank you very much um mr chair as i said i have some additional sign
detail the board wants to see it but at this point we will uh cease our presentation thank
you any questions from the board no no anyone else uh like to testify in this case if so please raise
raise your hand and there's no further hand at this time Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Planning Commission.
Ron, we can't hear you.
you're muted now try it now
give me a thumbs up if you're okay with it just go give me a thumbs up
if you're the other way go thumbs down so we have ian litwin
all right ian please identify yourself for the record uh ian litwin planning commission staff
i swear and affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
yes and ian spell your last name for this uh court reporter please win l -i -t -w -i -n thank you
uh this property is indicated for center city commercial on the city plan we have no objection
of the grant and the variance. Thank you. MI 2020 -000066101 North Independence Mall Unit E.
My vote is yes. My vote is yes. My vote is yes. My vote is yes. My vote is yes. Thanks very much.
Have a great afternoon. Good luck. Calendar number 3266 -1600 -36 North Broad Street,
The attorney is Ron Patterson.
is Ron Patterson.
Mr. Patterson has been promoted to panelists, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Patterson, can you put your name and address on the record,
please, and spell your last name?
Yes, I can.
Good afternoon.
Ronald Patterson, P -A -T -T -E -R -S -O -N, Clare Harrison Law Firm, 1835 Market Street,
FWPA 19103.
Go ahead. Sorry.
Do you swear a firm to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Do you also agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Do you emailed an exhibit packet with the required documents consisting of proof of ownership,
tax compliance refusal referral photos under plans of the property five days within five days in
advance of this hearing and have you met with the rco and do you have a letter uh yes to all
with the exception that uh we did not receive a letter okay you may you may proceed great thank
Thank you.
I'll share my screen.
You can view my screen?
Sorry, a lot of pictures here.
and they're tiny yeah i'm trying
okay they're good this uh application regards this property here that's on north broad street
on the west side, 1600 North Broad Street,
located between Oxford Street and further north,
Cecil B. Moore Avenue.
There's a La Cour Center here.
It's, I'll say, owned by Power Investment.
Mark Blatstein and Tina Roberts is here as my witness.
We can admit her later.
It's with a long -term ground lease with the RDA.
and beach. So on the first floor you'll see it's an array of commercial uses as we go up the street
along here. The second floor is occupied partially by the AMC movie theater but predominantly
was occupied by a fitness center which is now vacant. This property and the vacant area is about
12 ,000 square feet, 20 ,000 square feet, sorry. So the property is located in the CMX4
commercial zoning district. We applied for assembly and entertainment use there.
to make it more like a, I wouldn't say an arcade, but like a lounge with sports related
activities. This is for entertainment of patrons, amusement arcade, billiards, pool hall, et cetera,
et cetera. The refusal was issued for the pool hall use, which the code defines as a place that
has three or more pool tables. It's actually is and still a regulated use and as we know regulated
uses also include adult cabaret strip clubs, adult massage powers, tattoo powers and pawn shops
and so that's why we're here. You know pool halls aren't the same as they used to be and that's why
they were regulated. There were, if you read the preface to the code and why it was originally
put there, was to prevent the secondary effects that come with regulated uses, whatever they may
be. A lot different than when I used to hang at Moscone's on Oregon Avenue. So, as a matter of
fact, there's a bill that was introduced and there's a rules committee hearing on the 9th of
March, number 210078, which is actually removing pool hall from a regulated use, as well as
from a regulated use as well as assembly and entertainment as requiring zba special exception
assembly and entertainment as requiring ZBA special.
approval from the cmx floor so this is going to make this as a matter of right if indeed it passes
nonetheless um it's been difficult to rent re -rent the second floor as tina will tell you
we thought it would be a disservice to put a non let's say public available use there such as
an office or some other maybe telemarketing type of facility so this we found was a way to activate
the space as well as providing benefit and activities to the local community especially
you know students that were there at temple may have more to do so therein we believe lies the
hardship and we feel that there's not going to cause any adverse impacts especially supported
by the fact that there is a bill now to remove pool hall from being a regulated use.
We, and let me go down here, we did meet with Beach Community Services on February 18th.
There was one person in attendance who was the director of the community association.
So with that said, I'd like to admit Tina now as a witness.
Good afternoon, ma 'am.
Please identify yourself with the record.
First and last name.
Here you'll see just a basic out, a floor plan or a space,
the space above.
Tina, are you there?
Yep, I'm here. Can you hear me?
Yeah, we can hear you now.
Hi, Tina.
Hello, Tina Roberts, 1719 Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia, PA.
So, hi, Tina.
Let me swear in, Rod.
Do you swear in the firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Thank you, Tina.
Tina, could you tell the board, your name and address, please, again?
Tina Roberts, 1719 Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia, 19103.
And what's your affiliation with the applicant to our investment?
The applicant is actually 1600 North Broad Associates.
That's the leasing on the ground lease with the RDA.
And I'm the executive vice president.
And you've heard my presentation testimony.
Would you agree that it's true and accurate and you would adopt it as your own?
Yes, just one point.
It's going to be focused on Temple University.
It was the Temple Fitness Center previously.
And the thought is to have a place where Temple students and employees have a place to kind of commune.
So that's the idea behind that, because they are used to going there when it was a fitness center.
And the renderings I've shown you is depicting what we envision it to be on the second floor.
Yes, the concept, yes.
And you thought about, could you describe what activities would be in there and especially how many pool tables you may have?
Approximately two pool tables.
There'll be arcade games.
There'll be places, sections of lounge areas.
You'll see tables, chairs, some comfortable cushions and couches, a place where someone could, in between classes, could maybe go and meet with a team or do some work or just play on the game, such as the shuffleboard and pool tables and the arcade games.
Okay, thank you. That's all I have.
Thank you.
Questions from the board?
Yes, Mr. Chairman.
Go ahead.
are they proposing any sale of food or beer alcohol well beer and alcohol a little different
or alcohol but i meant to say or alcohol
they require a separate license anyway right yes there will be um food and beverage available for
purchase um as far as a liquor license not sure what we're going to do about that right now
Is this limited to the Temple students? Well that's what we're focused on right now
is Temple students and employees. And that would determine whether or not
we'd seek a liquor license or not if it's not. Thank you. Okay Tom anything else?
So the public is not invited?
no our our fit our focus is on temple university like it was uh previously with the fitness center
so are you saying it's not a private club you're just focusing on the temple students
Let me ask it this way. You're not excluding the public. You're not excluding the public.
let me ask it this way you're not excluding the public you're not excluding the public
It's more geared to the temple student, correct?
Correct.
But if the public, someone who's not a student wants to go in, they'd be permitted?
Okay. I think that's what you're asking, Tom?
Yes, Mr. Chairman.
All right. Any other questions?
planning commission hello do you hear me now yes i'm sorry chair yes yeah i gotta ask the public
i'm sorry is anyone else like to testify please raise your hand sorry ron that's right
no further hands at this time mr chair thank you now ron planning commission identify yourself
right my name is ron bednar i'm with city planning commission ed and i are that's correct b -e -d -n -a -r
please proceed excuse me um one of the members is kicked off and can't get back on mr snell
uh mr nary does he have the link do you know i don't know okay if he um does it please just
sorry for the background if he does it please um just send me his email address and i can
resend it to him well lean can you hear me yes i have a screen that came up out of nowhere
leader in the 2020 gardner magic quadrant of meeting solutions oh that's me no
let me try to get jim's up there i i'm back you're back i'm back jim is here
jim you're back okay ron yes hi so uh this property is indicated for uh center city
commercial on the city plan. Based on the site's history and established history and
locational context, we have no objection to the granting ordinance. Thank you. MI 2020 -003266.
1600 -36 North Broad Street. My vote is yes. My vote is yes. My vote is yes.
my vote is yes
Jim where are you
he's going again
you guys can continue
so we have four yeses
number five
MI 2020 -003283
2100 -02 Ruffner
R -U -F -F as in Frank N -E -R Street
Letter of Opposition from the 13th Ward R -C -O
Anyone here for Ruffner Street?
Mr. Brett Feldman is here. He had his hand raised. I've just now promoted him to
panelists, Mr. Chair.
Mr Feldman can you hear us? I can. Hi put your name and address on the record please and spell
your last name. Yes Mr. Chairman members of the board good afternoon Brett Feldman 1835 market
suite suite 1400 Philadelphia Pennsylvania 19103. Do you swear or affirm to tell the whole truth
to nothing but the truth? I do. Do you also agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate
to its accuracy? I do. Have you emailed the exhibit with the required documents consisting
of proof of ownership, tax compliance, refusal referral, photos under plans of the property
five days in advance of this hearing, and have you met with the RCO, and do you have a letter?
Yes. I'm working together with Augusta O 'Neill, co -counsel on this matter, who is
who has satisfied all the requirements and she'll be joining me on this presentation as well
we've split this case up okay you may proceed uh if i may uh share my screen now yes you may
again good afternoon um as you said this is a property on ruffner street um we've passed up
exhibits, virtually one through 14, which I'd ask be incorporated into the record.
I represent the property owner, 2100 Ruffner LLC, and its principals, Josh.
2100 Ruffner LLC, and its principals, Josh Friedman and Guy Halpern, who I believe are on
this call as well. Our project architect is Ray Rolla, who I believe is also on this call.
Ray has appeared before this board many times, and his specialty over the last number of years
we've worked together is the type of adaptive reuses that you'll see today, taking old church
buildings, vacant church buildings, vacant industrial buildings. This is an industrial
building, and really just trying to find a way to repurpose the building for residential. And
that's what this application is for today. So I'll get right to the exhibits. The refusal
is right here at tab one. And this is a classic, I think, mis -zoned type situation. It's a CMX2
property. So in this situation, almost the entire first floor has to be used for commercial.
and then it allows 11 units as a matter of right. So you'll see here, the commercial space,
the ability to use and lease this commercial space is impossible. And we've got letters from
brokers to say that. So what we're seeking is instead of being forced to use the first floor
for commercial, which is almost the entire first floor because the way the building's laid out,
We just want to take that, you know, 2 ,500, 3 ,000 square foot of commercial space and use that instead for several additional dwelling units.
We saw 15 initially.
We did meet with the RCO and in a way to attempt to accommodate them, we've redrawn the plans to reduce the number of units to 14, and I'll show you that.
Here are the photographs of the site.
This is Ruffner right here.
This is about a 8 ,600 square foot, really kind of classic, beautiful, but decaying industrial building.
It was a machine shop.
It was a brass foundry.
And unfortunately, it's now empty and the condition is getting worse and worse.
You'll see Hunting Park Avenue is over here, a long block away from our property.
And again, this is owned CMX2.
So CMX2 requires that much of this first floor be used for commercial. And I think you would agree this is not a commercial space. These are residential homes here, residential homes here, not a space that should be commercial, that is leasable.
And frankly, a space that if it was used for the type of CMX2 uses, whether it be a catering hall, a restaurant, probably would be more of a impact negatively on the neighborhood than just having a couple additional dwelling units and the 11 that are allowed as a matter of right.
So I'll just go to the pictures here. Again, this is us at the basically at the dead end of the street.
Here's Hunting Park Avenue and here's all the residential behind us.
And this is what it looks like inside. It's primarily two stories, just a beautiful old industrial building. Here's the two stories from the outside.
It fronts on three streets. This is Blavin Street right here, which is a two way street. These are recent pictures.
This is Yellen Street right here and then Ruffner Street which is back here.
Again just going through the pictures here. This is Ruffner. These are the
I think single -family homes that are on one of our sides. Again this is not a commercial area,
not a commercial area, not a commercial area as you can see. This is the second floor.
there's a septa bus depot we're right next to really great mass transit this is a photograph
from yesterday just kind of showing I know one of the neighbors concerns was parking I think this
was taken yesterday afternoon late afternoon I'm not saying parking is perfect here but
you know there is there is parking that can be available it's not one of the refusal grounds
but we wanted to show that we've taken a look at that here's the zoning notices and then here
Here's really, I guess, the case. Again, I'll get right to it here. This is, if we had to do a code
compliant plan, CMX2 requires that the first 30 feet of frontage be commercial. So on this first
floor, it's almost the entire first floor of this building. Almost 3 ,000 square feet would be
commercial. And then the balance of the first floor and the second floor is these allowable 11
dwelling units. This is a significant hardship. As you saw, this is not a spot that should be
commercial, that is viable commercial, and it's really kind of in, would negatively impact the
community here. So all we're asking to do is we've got 11 that can be done in the building as a matter
So all we're asking to do is, we've got 11 that can be done in the building as a matter of right, is to take this almost 3 ,000 square foot portion and use it for basically an additional three dwelling units.
Again, we had 15. We brought it down to 14, which we thought was, you know, we're trying to meet the concerns of the community, but it would be basically three additional units within this 2 ,900 square foot commercial space, which would, the revised floor plan would get us to what you see right here, which is 14 dwelling units on the two floors with an average size of about 593 square feet studios, one bedrooms and two bedrooms in this building.
We would have most of the units would exit and enter right onto Blavin Street.
We have openings right on the street here, which is kind of the least impactful side.
So we would be able to have most of these units, again, right on Blavin, the main street that we're located.
We did talk to brokers.
And as you'll see here, we have several brokers who looked at this for commercial.
um and and and as you'll see here did not even pre -covid didn't think this was a good commercial
space and uh obviously now uh it's even more challenging uh those are those are in the
exhibits here uh that'll show you um hey we also looked at uh unfortunately you know we looked at
whether you know this would be a situation where maybe you would you would you know tear down and
you could i think i think we're only i think we max out in height at like 28 feet on this
uh cmx2 would allow us to go to 38 feet um at roof decks and and basically uh mr friedman and
mr halpern and the design team said you know what we've got this amazing building here it's
beautiful let's just take you know let's just take what we've got um and just do a straight
up adaptive reuse don't put a restaurant in there don't put a catering hall just a nice
adaptive reuse which is right mr roll our architects um you know his is really his forte
okay, don't knock it down, don't make it higher, don't add roof decks, don't seek, you know,
all the different bonuses to go up to 45 feet. And so, you know, this is about as, you know,
we think least impactful, you know, as far as the code and the least minimum variance
that you can imagine. You know, we heard some concerns from the neighbors, and I'm sure they'll
express it. There was some stuff about, you know, sewage line, we talked to the water department,
it's a public sewer line, we're obviously going to do any repairs that need to be done, you know,
working with the water department. But we really thought that this was a really just least impactful,
smart, adaptive reuse of a building that I think at the Preservation Alliance or some of the other
historical preservation groups looked at this. I'm sure there's probably a historical, there's
probably a building that could be designated historic because of its industrial use, which is
really kind of a hot topic now. So with that, I would just, I guess, Mr. Roller, Ray Roller,
Our architect, are you on the line?
Can you raise your hand?
Mr. Roller has been allowed to speak.
Good afternoon, Mr. Roller.
Please identify yourself, spell your full name.
Raymond Roller, R -O -L -A, 1518 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA.
I'm sorry.
You're swearing for him to tell the truth, the whole truth,
nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
uh ray um i i know i kind of stole your thunder on this but if you could just briefly tell the
zoning board um you know really what was the goal for this you know in that it was basically just to
come up with a nice adaptive reuse don't add anything um and and just um i think we get that
part of it i do have a question though uh on the yeah sure the three addition i'll call them three
extra units you're looking for from the 11 right are they one bedroom two bedroom studios what are
they um those those are i believe one bedrooms
yes predominantly we do have one bedroom we have one two bedroom and we have i think uh three or
four studios right the average size was about 600 square feet that's correct yeah
all right why don't we do this uh let me let's see if the board has any questions about this
first any questions from the board no no no no right is there anyone else you have do you need
anyone to adopt your testimony yeah well i guess ray you you've heard my testimony correct
yes i have was it uh true and was true and accurate yes it was uh and do you adopt it as
your own? Yes. Okay. And obviously, if there's any questions that come up, we'd like to reserve
the right to have Ray come back and explain it. But that really is the hardship in a nutshell here.
to have Ray come back and explain it but um that really is the hardship uh in a nutshell here as
far as um again as I said what would happen here you can't because it's well right as far as CMX2
can you just briefly show what would be um you prepared this plan but as I understand it when
we talk to city planning the first 30 foot feet of frontage on on um Blavin Street here right here
this required cmx2 commercial that's labeled this would all have to be commercial correct correct
yes okay i have no further questions for mr rollo okay thank you i asked the board anyone
else have any questions please raise your hand if you like to testify if yeah i'd like to ask
josh friedman who's one of the um principals in 2100 ruffner uh if you could raise his hand uh and um
just ask him several questions
Mr. Chair
I want Mr. Friedman to speak right now
Good afternoon Mr. Friedman
please identify yourself with a record
and I'll swear you in
are you out there josh yeah can you hear me yes i do now okay josh friedman uh you swear
and affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth yes please spell your
last name for the court reporter? F -R -I -E -D -M -A -N. Yes, Mr. Friedman, you've heard my
testimony, correct? Yes. And is it true and accurate to the best of your knowledge? Yes.
And do you adopt it as your own? Yes. And just as a reminder, you and your partner looked at
this property and then were informed by City Planning and Mr. Rolla that it was zoned CMX2
commercial and would require most of the first floor to be used for commercial, correct?
Correct.
And then you went to several brokers whose letters are attached within the exhibit package
in terms of seeing what was the viability of commercial on a dead -end street surrounded
by residential, correct?
Correct.
And what did they advise you?
That best usage would not be commercial.
Because commercial really was not viable at this location?
Not viable in this space over here on a dead -end.
Okay. I have no further questions at this time, but again, I'd like to reserve Mr. Friedman to answer any further questions that the board might have, or that anyone else who's participating might have.
Thank you. Is there anyone who'd like to testify in this case? Please raise your hand.
Mr. Chair, I have a Ms. Alicia Eubanks, whom I can allow to speak if you want.
Good afternoon, Ms. Eubanks. Please identify yourself with a record, spell your name, and provide us with your address.
Alicia, are you there?
Hello?
Good afternoon, ma 'am. Please identify yourself with a record, spell your full name, and provide us with your address.
Good afternoon. I'm Alicia Eubanks. My first spelling of my name is A -L -I -S -H -A.
The last spelling of my name is E -U -B -A -N -K -S, and I am a resident of 2100 Block of Ruffner Street.
My address is 2128 West Ruffner Street.
Thank you. You swear and affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth.
yes please proceed ma 'am um my concerns is i have two concerns for the actual neighborhood
now we are a private sewer line so we have a lot of issues with that if like if they're
planning on bringing in 11 units and want to add four units how is that going to go against as far
as like if someone come in and work um if someone comes in i should say and flush it all it is we're
private sewer line so if any issues as far as with the plumbing or anything they have to call
the plumbing the um philadelphia water line and we all get built to it because it is a private line
and another additional question is parking that's a that's two of the major concerns within
them wanting to build this actual unit space uh and can anyone answer the sewer system mr chairman
No, we can. We actually have been in touch with the Philadelphia Water Department.
Mr. Roller, can you answer that?
Because you actually, after the community meeting, reached out to confirm that our building actually connects directly to the city line.
that our building actually connects directly to uh the city the city line and is not part of
um uh any any private sewage um arrangement correct can you explain that to the board
after the community meeting and and hearing the concerns of the residents on ruffner street in
regards to the sewer line i reached out to the water department and asked them to clarify what
water lines were in the sewer lines were in the area and which were private and which would be
public and they sent me a diagram that indicated that the sewer lines in Ruffner Street were indeed
private however the sewer line along Blabon Street and let me just for the board I just
want to explain this is Blabon right here with my cursor everyone can see that yes and this is
Ruffner here so these these apparently are on some type of private line as the neighbors are saying
but there's a line out here on blabbing correct yes that's correct okay and that that line is is
the public and that would be where your project gets connected to correct we would connect to
that line i would ask mr feldman if you have some time could you make a copy of that report
and distribute it to the neighbors on ruffin absolutely we we actually have um we got the
diagram put on saturday uh mr rollo whenever if you can get around to it soon i'd appreciate it
Yes, please. Absolutely. But we realized that was a major issue last week and immediately
addressed that issue. So that should address that issue. Parking is parking. Anyone else
would like to testify in this case? Mr. Chair, I have a call in user to, yeah, call in user
to whom i can allow to speak at this time thank you whoever the caller is please identify yourself
with the record name and address hello hi good afternoon ma 'am please identify yourself with the
record name and address oh yes my name is adrian fernandez i'm swamp little neighborhood parcels
association rco and we are one of the affected rcos for the reference street address
we're in the firm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
yeah please proceed okay uh we submitted a letter of opposition um to support our community
for the reasons that were explained at the uh hearing sorry at the community meeting
We had a conflict and could not attend that meeting.
However, Mr. Karn did submit a meeting summary form to everyone.
The first issue we have is that there is no hardship.
All the hardships that were explained are being imposed by the applicant party.
I'm not sure who the owner is or if they attend the meeting.
We did submit written testimony with provisos and as affected RCOs and affected neighbors.
We want the property to remain as 11 units and not be increased.
What are the provisos?
Okay, I'm just going to pull up my letter. Sorry, I had to turn it off for a minute.
Can I come right back with my provisors?
I think Mr. Karn is going to testify.
Can I come right back after he testifies with my provisors?
Does Mr. Karn have the provisors?
Mr. Karn?
I have a provisor.
Let's hear from Mr. Karn.
Okay, can I come back afterwards?
Mr. Karn, you can unmute yourself.
I'm here.
Thank you.
Please identify yourself, sir, by your last name and provide us with your address.
Charles Karn, C -A -R -N, 3853 North 19th Street, 13th Ward RCO Chairperson, who chair the meeting
for 21002 Ruffner Street.
Mr. Kahn, do you swear and affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, sir.
Thank you.
Please proceed.
Good afternoon, board and guests.
A couple of things during the meeting.
We did get the package about the design.
We did talk about the proposal and what was allowed.
The community had no issue with the allowed 11 units, the over usage of the proposal, we have some opposition with.
The community had no issue with the allow.
Basically, I'm looking at the code based on what is defined as the frontage and within 30 feet.
we felt as though
during the meeting and it was
quite a full meeting
of the block of the people
who live on the block itself
the frontage
that's what was that issue
what is the frontage is it
Ruffman Street or if it's Blabin Street
it's Brett Feldman
it's Blabin Street right here
I know sir I've been living right here
for 45 years
I just went as far as in zoning I'm sorry
okay I'm sorry okay then great great great great
right. But we were talking about our community right here thrives on residential and commercial
business. That's why we would like to keep it CMX and have mixed use for it. A couple
things were said that I just, maybe I missed, I didn't hear it during the meeting and I
was the chairperson. Someone just stated it was a dead end block for some odd reason.
I didn't understand that.
And it stops right here.
I'm sorry.
Well, I'm not going that way.
Actually, sir, if you're coming down Blabin Street, you're going to make a turn onto Ruffin Street.
So, right, if you're running straight like you're pointing that now, you'll be running to the track.
So I don't think you want to go that way.
That's what he meant by dead end.
Okay, okay.
It's not a commercial thoroughfare.
It's not a commercial. Okay. In other words, it's not running through that grass lot there.
I'm just trying to get it right. Right. Okay. Okay. Dead end. Can't make a laugh. Again,
we feel as though the design can be changed. I'm a bit of an architect myself,
a different design and maintain the CMX for that building. The owners brought the property in 2019
absolutely knowing that it was a CMX to building and around residential. We feel as though
it'd be overused by going to 15. Again, I did not hear, now this is the first time hearing from
anybody about 14 units no one has came back called talks and emailed or whatever about
consideration on this so this is something it's part of the test it's part of the testimony and
it's part of the plan that's being submitted that maximum would be 14 units yeah we have a plan
change form that we submitted um i spoke to miss saletta about that i'm sorry chair when was that
submit it. I don't know. Brett? I think we got the revised plans yesterday, sent them either
yesterday or today. We've been trying to, since the meeting, Mr. Karn, we've been looking at this
and trying to see how we could redesign the interior because of the windows and the layouts,
and we were able to finally get that done yesterday. We thought that would be well -received
to, you know, try to bridge the gap because, you know, your concerns and us still trying to make
this viable. So my concerns, my concerns are the, the residents on Ruffner Street concerns. Those
are the ones that were at the meeting. It was a lively meeting for Gussie who was online and the
owners. We were like, in our letter, we have some opposition and we're asking for this to
stay at um 11 units well are you are you aware of any provisos that um that's coming from um
swamp poodle um uh that's that's one of the affected rcos they couldn't attend i i know
so my my question to you mr karn are you aware of those provisors
those provisos we say they'll support the yes or no with the following provisos
no so let's hear the provisos sure thank you
is adrian
adrian please unmute yourself
Adrienne, please unmute yourself.
Adrienne, are you there?
Adrienne, are you still present?
don't like her to just leave and i'd just like to know what the provisors are because generally
provisors mean we'll support it with the following provisor i don't i don't know she is here and
she's unmuted i'm not sure what the problem is maybe she needs to leave again as well and come
back in. She's on the phone. Oh, I'm sorry. Two o 'clock list, the bewitching list. Yeah, I would
just add Mr. Chairman, we actually thought that, you know, the concerns about parking and overuse
that three additional units would be so much better than a 3 ,000 square foot restaurant or
any of the other CMX2 uses here. Let me ask you, Brett, are you aware of any of the provisos?
Uh, I know, I know, I know so much of the focus was on this sewer issue.
Um, you know, I don't know if it had something to do with, you know, us, us having to tie
it, make sure we tie into a public sewer, um, which we certainly would agree to that.
That's what will happen.
Um, you know, we don't have any roof decks here.
Um, we're not looking to do anything other than just, uh, just nice, nice adaptive reuse,
uh, with a couple of units here.
Um, it's really, you know, minimum impact.
um you know if there's street trees if there's street trees we're certainly willing to look at
that the trash is stored inside maybe that's a proviso typically we're willing to do that
we've got a bike room inside um any of those tanya
um chair um can you hear me okay yes so i do have the list of provisos that in the letter
that was sent if you wish i can relay them please
limit of 11 unit occupancy no basement living all trash and recycling stored inside building
no roof deck collet house or roof structures all bicycle parking structures installed inside
property lines all financial slash monetary contributions to sewer and other shared
infrastructures. Calculate this address as 11 separate addresses on this 100th block.
Certificate of occupancy in 12 months. And just so it's clear, this letter was submitted,
but it is opposition, but those were the provisos. Thank you.
We certainly would agree to no roof deck. We would certainly agree to trash
storage inside that's that's we we created a trash storage room inside we agreed to a bike storage
room inside um the again the sewer is is public it's out on lab and street it's not on ruffner
it should have no impact on them it's a separate line um we we we we will agree to as a proviso
the number of units being reduced from 15 to 14 um i think what else was in there i i know they're
what they're saying is we should just not have any additional units that seem it sounds like
that's the only still that you guys can't address uh we gotta we have to we have we're gonna have
to redo all the sidewalks here street trees i mean there's a um but i know you know we made
sure we initially had the trash outside trash is now inside let me ask you about the trash is that
commercial pickup or is that uh commercial commercial yeah all right uh what i'd like
is i'd like to get a copy of uh the provisos that tanya has uh and unless there's any other
questions from the board i'll i'm going to go to the planning commission no no questions
any commission uh ron bednar city planning on bednar city planning uh while this property
currently indicated for commercial mixed use on the city plan given our recommended draft nice
town remapping bill envisioned residential reuse therefore we support the granting of the variance
okay i'm uh i just want to make a statement i'm going to close this uh because i'd like to see
those provisos the understanding everyone is if they if we only limit it to 11 and they keep that
If we only limit it to 11 and they keep that first floor as a commercial space, I heard that there was concerns about parking.
first floor as a commercial.
You might want to think about that because a commercial space will generate a lot more traffic.
So having said that, I'm closing the record on this for the time being, and the board will make a decision at next Wednesday's executive session.
okay thank you come across everybody hear me yes mr chairman the only mr chairman can i just add
one more thing yes the only thing i would add and it's in our plan change form um which maybe i can
i can submit to uh again submit to uh mr letter but um we wanted to make sure that um they there's
the second floor there's a portion of the second floor that we wanted to make sure it's documented
as as existing and if it's not to have it be reconstructed okay but you'll send that revision
over to uh sharon or uh tanya please okay okay we'll we'll do it we'll do it that way but uh
well that way the board will have a little more time to digest some of these provisors okay great
i just want to make sure that ellen i you know however whatever happens with the case we wanted
to make sure that that that there's no confusion in that that's good thank you yes if i could
mention i'm sorry um charles richardson from the council person's office what i'm here with
the pra sorry if we could allow him to speak yep sorry about that mr richardson
please identify yourself you're still under oath from this morning i was i was gonna get a complex
here i'm sorry i'm sorry uh charles richardson from the office of councilwoman cindy bass room
312 City Hall. The councilwoman is supporting the community in their desire to have 11 units
and, you know, and have commercial on the first floor. Commercialism is very important to the
community. You know, they could create jobs, things along those lines. And that's, you know,
one of the major things that the RCO have brought to light. So the councilwoman does support the
community, the RCO and their desire to have 11 in the community and their desire to have 11 units
only and to remain with commercial on the first floor. Again, we will, the board will review this
and make a decision next Wednesday's executive session. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for
your time and consideration. Be well, everyone. Thank you. Also, Mr. Chair, if I may, there was
also, I'm sorry to being able to appoint, but there was also a Ms. Jackie Williams with her
hand raised. Oh, okay. I apologize. I got ahead of everybody.
We'll hear from Ms. Williams and then we'll move on.
There's something new and different, please.
Ms. Williams? Yes, I'm here. Can you hear me?
Yes, please identify yourself, name and address. My name is Jacqueline
Williams. My address is 2117
Ruffner Street. I'm the block captain for the block.
Do you swear and affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Thank you, ma 'am. Please proceed.
Okay. And I heard what you just said. So a couple of the concerns that we had as neighbors, you're already addressing the sewer, though I still don't understand.
I'd like to see that myself because this block has tried to get connected to the main sewer for the 40 years that I've lived here, and we've been unable to do so.
So I would like to know how that's being done.
You heard the board direct Mr. Feldman to get a copy of that to you and or the other residents on Ruffner Street.
A copy of what the water department's decision is.
Okay, I hear that.
And I'm not going to go into parking.
Everyone deserves a place to park.
That's fine.
But what I do want to make note of those pictures that were taken up that Blayvon Street at this particular time, that's because of COVID -19, and that's because of the huge bar that's on the corner has been closed through COVID -19.
Now, when that's open, that parking situation is totally, totally different.
So to say that a commercial place could not be there is not true because the place that's up the street right next to it is a commercial place.
And people come in there all the time.
The other hardship is Ruffin Street is a two -way street, even though it's only one lane.
So, you know, Blade Line Street is used for a number of different services.
It's used for the police to park down there.
It's used for firemen to park down there.
They've been parking near where they are because bars are closed and they have parking lots.
But as soon as COVID -19 is over, that whole situation is going to look different.
that whole situation is going to look different and so yeah and i respect that and i think you
and I respect that
and I think
you know
you may have heard me i just said sometimes you know it's kind of like be careful what you wish
I think
for commercial space could generate a lot more traffic is all i was trying to say yeah and i
and i agree but that would be nine to five and not overnight well we don't know you don't know
what kind of commercial it is that's true that's true okay i'm not making the argument for the
developer i'm just making that case for us uh it could be a not maybe not a 24 hour it could be
uh 9 to 10 p .m who knows depends on that all right okay thank you for your time i apologize
for not recognizing you sooner yeah this is our transportation map that we put together also just
showing the hunting parks right here the bus goes right here to broad street right all right uh so
don't mess up again anyone else would like to testify in this case we will send we we will
send the just just just so there's no confusion we will send a the correspondence and the map
of the sewer line to uh the rcos that attended that meeting um i'll have mr rolla do that and
uh miss o 'neill um just so we're all on the same page because apparently that that is a major issue
and we want it to get to the bottom of that.
We'll have that done today.
Okay, thank you.
Chair, we do have Guy Halperin as well,
who has not testified yet.
He's part of the development team.
I think we're fine.
Okay, we don't need him on then, right?
Anyone else?
No one else, Mr. Chair.
Okay, Carol, move on.
Okay, yes, sir.
calendar number 3388 -2220
frankfurt avenue the attorney is joe consul
mr consul has been promoted to panelists mr chair
okay mr consul
mr consul are you available i'm here yeah name and address name and address on the record please
and spell your last name, please. Hi, everyone. Joseph Consol, that's C -O -N -S -O -L -E, Consol
Madison, LLP, 1 West 3rd Street, Suite 204, Media, Pennsylvania, 19063. Do you swear
or affirm to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth? I do. Do you also agree to
wait the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy? I do. Have you emailed the
exhibit packet with proof of ownership tax compliance refusal referral photos and plans
of the property five days before this hearing and have you met with the rco and do you have
a letter yes we met with them and we have a letter okay great you may proceed hello everyone
again joe console here on uh 2020 3388 uh i'm here on uh the property at 2220 frankford
avenue that is this property right here let's see the applicant is bolt back bolt brow llc
and is represented by evelyn ramos she is on this call and will be available in a minute
she's seeking to use the property as a beauty parlor with a microblading cosmetic tattooing
component, along with traditional beauty power services, including hairstyling, waxing, et cetera.
The, it's Miss Evelyn. Here are some examples of her work.
microblading is considered a form of body art which gets a similar refusal as a tattoo
power does there is no traditional tattooing occurring here
we have a layout showing how her collar is going to be set up
currently she has a three -year lease that ends in march of 2024
she has an option to renew uh it's expected that at max she'll have four employees
four stations uh with at most eight total people in the room four employees four customers uh
uh miss ramos has four uh five years experience the hours are going to be nine to four uh she's
miss ramos has four five years experience the hour
arranged for commercial trash pickup and uh we met with the fishtown rco uh fishtown neighborhood
association rco and we got unanimous support for her to use the property uh as as that use
uh with that i'll uh ask miss ramos to raise her hand so she can adopt my testimony
Good afternoon, Ms. Ramos. When you get on, please identify yourself with a record, and I'll swear you in.
Hello, my name is Evelyn Ramos.
Where am I from? To tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
I swear.
Thank you, Mr. Council.
Ms. Ramos, did you hear the testimony that I just gave regarding your property and your lease and
your intended use? I did. Do you adopt that testimony as your own? Yes. Do you have any
questions or concerns? I'm not going to do hairstyling. That's the only thing.
I apologize. I see in my notes that you asked me to remove that once and I didn't do it. I
apologize. With that, we'll, we'll close our testimony.
Questions from the board? No, no, no.
Anyone else would like to testify in this case, please raise your hand.
no hands at this time thank you uh planning commission uh this property is indicated for
commercial business use on the city plan you have no objection to the grounding
thank you mi 2020 -003388 2220 frankfort avenue my vote is yes my vote is yes
my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes thank you board
calendar number 3390 2316 south street the attorney is rachel pritzker
Ms. Pritzker has been promoted to panelists, sir.
Good afternoon.
Good afternoon.
Rachel, you're still under oath from earlier?
Carol?
Do you...
I know it's somewhere else.
Can you put your name and address on the record and spell your last name, please?
Rachel, R -A -C -H -A -E -L, Pritzker, P -R -I -T -Z -K -E -R, 1635 Market Street, Suite 1600, Philadelphia, PA, 19103.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Do you also agree to wait the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed the exhibit packet with the required documents, proof of ownership, tax compliance, refusal, and or referral, photos, plans, five days in advance of this hearing, and have you met with the RCO, and do you have a letter?
You may proceed.
Thank you.
So this is 2316 South Street.
The property is owned RM1 and is located on the 2300 block of South Street.
It's currently a three -story building on a 1 ,336 -square -foot lot.
We're proposing to partially demolish the rear of the structure to erect a new rear addition,
include a roof deck at the rear second floor and a roof deck with an access structure on the third floor.
We also intend to convert the structure from a triplex to single -family
and utilize the existing curb cut to service a parking garage for one accessory off -street parking space.
our project was refused as you can see from the refusal on the screen because off -street parking
is not permitted for any one family use located in the residential parking control area of the
center city overlay district unless accessed by a shared driveway rear alleyway and park and for
this project that's not an option there's a pre -existing curb credits this location as i'll
go into in addition there's no on -street parking allowed on this side of the block
so the property's use of the curb cut does not cause the loss of an on -street parking space.
Additionally, according to the Planning Commission's Central District Plan,
the availability of on -street parking in Center City is severely limited,
which may deter visitors from visiting commercial districts such as nearby portions of South.
which may deter visitors from visiting commercial districts such as nearby portions of South Street.
The provision of an off -street parking space at the property would lessen the degree to which the property's inhabitants would contribute to the on -street parking congestion.
In addition, the proposed garage fits in the context of the block as the properties at 2312, 2320, and 2322 South Street on the same side of the property's block also have off -street parking in the form of front -loaded garages.
i'm just going to quickly go through our application um the deed
um as i mentioned this is uh where the property is as you can see it's rm1
along the cmx2 commercial corridor i'm sure the board is very familiar with this
part of the city it's a very small block the 2300 block so not a ton of people but
most of which we've sent in letters of support as the board can see this is a photo back from
I believe 2009 it shows the existing conditions of the garage it still looks this way as far as
the interior of the building is concerned it's been sort of retrofitted a little bit on the
outside it's also a lot of damage to this property so this will help rehabilitate it
it is it does have steel interior and things of that nature as far as the garage is concerned
is concerned and as the board can see um had sort of this front the frontage similar to these other
neighboring properties that all have front -loaded garages on south street as well um zoning posters
as i said it was sort of retrofitted given the damage um additionally as you can see from the
property it has a long -standing history of uh garage this is back from 1976 where it was a
four family dwelling garage for storage of uh one car um we're reducing it from three units uh to
a single family home we met with sasna um i'm sure the board has seen this letter and essentially
what i want to point out um although sasna was in opposition was that you know the near neighbors
where there was two were in support and none of the near neighbors were in opposition mostly those
in opposition were from um the sasna zoning committee although one was in support none of
them are near neighbors of this project um and the community at large um none of the opposition is
from any of the near neighbors the reason i point that out is because those who are actually uh
living near this property we have over 20 letters of support from those who actually live on this
block and who live nearby so none of those who actually voted in opposition at size's meeting
live on this block were considered near neighbors i appreciate that a lot of their concerns were
some broader planning things however um you know this is we're talking near neighbors specific to
this property so 2310 south street 2312 south street 2312 south street 2316 south street unit
2, 2316 Unit 3, 2318. He commented that he's been renting this location since 2005. He also
owns a private home in the neighborhood, and this property had a garage at the first foreign
existing curb cut when he moved here back in 2005. 2322 South Street, 2326 South Street,
2315 naudane uh 600 south 24th street 2311 south street apartment 203 2324 south street
2300 south street i believe uh mr nussbaum is here to speak and support the project as well
2217 to 2225 South Street, 2201, 502 South 24th Street, 510 South 24th Street, 2311 South Street
apartment 301, 2318 South Street. So I mean, the point of this is just to show that those who
actually live nearby and on this block are in support of this project. And those who voted,
i guess six people who voted in opposition none of which were the two neighbors who voted in
support and actually who live on this block and and live nearby um that that's sort of all i i
have on my end i i'm happy to have our um architect speak as well um and then you know i think there's
a bunch of people in addition to the owner of the property who's here to speak in support of this
project want to get the owner to adopt your testimony then we'll move on with the questions
Yes, Mr. Chairman. Jason, do you see a Ryan McManus?
Jason, do you see a Ryan McManus?
I see you made sure I will talk.
Thank you.
Good afternoon, Mr. McManus.
please identify yourself with the record spell your first and last name please
hello my name is ryan mcmanus r -y -a -n -m -c -m -a -n -u -s do you swear in the firm to tell the truth the
whole truth nothing but the truth thank you uh rachel ryan have you heard the testimony that i
provided for the board i did uh in your opinion is it correct and accurate and do you adopt it as
your own? I do. Is there anything else you wanted to add? I know that maybe you've prepared
something for the board. Sure. I'll keep it brief. In essence, we're simply reactivating
the former use of the property. It has a steel platform on the first floor. It has a curb cut
on the street. There are garages, multiple garages on the same side of the block,
as well as across the street where my family currently park right now so the ability of
having a parking garage in a building that we're going to create for ourselves is of extreme value
to me as a homeowner as it would be to anybody else who would buy this house not to mention we
are drastically improving the streetscape through the overall curb appeal of a brand new house we're
to tear off the stucco, replace the original brick, and simply reactivate the building as it
used to be. It's the reason we bought the building in the first place, because it had the support
for a garage. And there were examples of other garages on the street. And as Rachel pointed out,
all of my neighbors on the block are in support. Some of them are even here on the Zoom to support
us. And it's simply a house that I'm building for my family. With the convenience of parking,
we went from two cars to one as a family because of having this garage. So now you have
one less car on the street. As a result of going from two cars to one, and as a result of turning
the building from a triplex into a single family, you'll now have two less families living in the
building that are circling the block looking for parking on the street every day as well as
uh two less households of trash going out on sunday nights etc so less density it's a residential
block um and uh that's all thanks okay uh any questions from the board no no no no no anyone
else like to testify in this case if so please raise your hand so i have a daniel mcglone i can
if you want i may i can allow him to speak yes please good afternoon sir please identify yourself
in the records by your name and provide us with your address hi everyone my name is daniel mcglone
address 2030 Webster Street last name spelling m -c -g -l -o -n -e you're swearing the firm to tell
the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth yes I do thank you sir please proceed good
afternoon everybody as I said I'm Daniel McGlone I'm co -chair of the South of South Neighborhood
Association Vision Zero Committee I'm also a member of the board of directors we work to make
our streets safe for all users an emphasis on pedestrian cyclists and those who are mobility
impaired. South Street is a major thoroughfare for bikers riding from the University of Pennsylvania
in Penn and Chop with over 1 ,200 riders per day. The sidewalk is also an essential way to cross
the river, sees volumes as high as 6 ,000 per day on each side of the street. This applicant claims
near neighbor support that may be relevant on a small block, small alley in the neighborhood.
It's not relevant on a significant city arterial used by thousands of people per day, many from
outside the neighborhood as well. A driveway might only be used two times a day or so by the
owner, but others will undoubtedly pull into the driveway or the space in the bike lane
in front of it for quick drop -offs, as is very common on other blocks with intermittent driveways.
Blocking the sidewalk interrupts the flow for pedestrians who would need to access the bicycle
lane and avoid cyclists. The change in elevation of the slope is uncomfortable for walking and is
challenging for people with mobility and eyesight issues. The vertical delineators, which we have
currently installed are meant to keep drivers
are meant to keep drivers from pulling into the bike lane but we see this happening in intersections
from pulling into the bike lane.
But we see this happening in intersections where Delinda
where delineators are removed and delineators will have to be removed for this project that
wasn't they weren't showing them in the photos that you saw um from from rachel but there are
currently delineators that were installed on south street which would have to be removed because of
this project removing a delineator or two to accommodate one person's access puts many more
people in danger when there's no enforcement the applicant claims there's a pre -existing curb cut
but that is not its current use. Right now there are delineators blocking the curb cut which as I
said would have to be removed. In the future we want a bike lane on South Street that's completely
separated with a concrete buffer similar to what you see in other cities. If we allow this curb cut
we can never get that critical permanent protection here. The bike lane was installed as a connector
between the center city bike lanes and 22nd street. It's an essential way to cross the
Schuylkill River and use the neighborhood. It's our neighborhood's prime pedestrian and bicycle
transportation connection to university city and we should not sever that with a new curb cut
finally the parking argument is irrelevant taking one vehicle off the street with this garage does
not outweigh the negative externalities this curb cut and garage creates for the entire neighborhood
we strongly oppose this project with its ground floor garage and curb cut thank you just want to
point out for the board mr mclone mentioned he lives at 2030 webster um which is several blocks
away from this i am these buddy speaking over here coalition i'm just curious sir uh what do
you what do you say about the curb cuts that exist for uh the curb cuts that um handle the
existing garages well this property does not currently have a current support the other ones
on the block there are other garages on that block aren't there there are two other garages on that
block and right now the delineators are spaced so that they don't block those but what this would
require is removing additional delineators and it's a problem as cars pull over yep go ahead
sorry i'm just i'm gonna interrupt you understood but you talked about what your desire is going
forward about a concrete barrier was it that's right many other cities and philadelphia is
working on this as well is installing a concrete barrier we would never be able to get that on this
block um well would you be able to get it with the two existing curb cuts for the two existing
garages we would be able to get it partially on this block but not in front of the garages so
adding an additional garage means we have to take away additional space that we could never get that
permanent protection installed in okay understood thank you just so the board knows it's 20 it's
23 12 23 20 and 23 22 that all have uh garages so it's kind of contiguous it's not yeah it's not
it's not it's it's not separated it's three of them together thank you anyone else would like
to testify in this case mr chair and nicole uh kodiker has her hand raised i can allow her to
speak if you wish he's from sasna as well hello hi please identify yourself spell your first and
last name and provide us with your address sure uh first name is nicole n -i -c -o -l -e last name
Kodeicher, K -O -E as in Edward, D as in David, Y -K -E -R. I'm the Executive Director for South
of South Neighborhood Association. Our address is 1901 Washington Avenue, Unit B.
I'm sorry. Go ahead. Do you swear and affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the
truth? Yes. Thank you. Please proceed. So SOSNA zoning committee and the community wrote a letter
opposition to this project due to the input heard at our community meeting on february 25th
some of the concerns stated were the strong concern and strong opposition to the curb cut
and garage which is counterproductive to the work that our neighborhood has done to implement the
bollards and delineators that daniel had been talking about and the protected bike lane
and the future of transit in the neighborhood
that's used by thousands of people every day.
There was also concern from nearby businesses
about the reduction of a single family
from a multifamily to single family for density reasons.
More people usually means more businesses.
Mostly the concern was not around the project as a whole,
the building is fine and works the way that it is. Single family is fine for most of our zoning
committee. There was a strong opposition to the garage for the reasons, many of the reasons that
Daniel, my colleague, had mentioned a little earlier. And while the people in attendance to
our meeting that night may not be next door neighbors to the property, this is an arterial
road in our it's a border to our neighborhood association and
road in our it's a border to our neighborhood association and to say that it's isolated and
the curb cut only affects the neighboring properties doesn't apply to this situation.
We have people from all over the city including all of the people that live on that block and
all the way down to Washington Avenue in our neighborhood that use this block including
seniors and people with disabilities who would have difficulty and be more unsafe walking on
this sidewalk if there is that curb cut and potential for a car to back out from that
from that garage or for bicyclists or for bicyclists who pull up who have to go into
traffic to navigate around parked cars in front of their in the bike lane and as a personal
bike rider, I use this, I use this arterial every time I'm going into the office and going into the
neighborhood. And I know that people park in between the bollards anyway, especially when
there is an interruption in them because of garages, there's more room for FedEx trucks and
UPS trucks to use them rather than the loading zones. So another interruption of the delineator
posts uh makes me have to ride out into traffic where south street people are coming off of the
interstate at a very high speed on south street um so that was uh the reasons that we the zoning
committee wrote our letter of opposition um and we had uh the neighborhood uh business association
and our vision zero committee also uh in opposition to the project thank you anyone else to testify
Mr. Chair, there is a William Berger with his hand raised. If you wish, I may allow him to speak.
Thank you.
Good afternoon, Chairman.
Good afternoon, Mr. Berger. Please identify yourself, spell your last name, and provide us with your address.
My last name is Berger, B -E -R -G -E -R, and my address is 2318 South Street, apartment number two.
do you swear and affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
i affirm so thank you please proceed um so i i want to um um add to what mr mcglone said
um we've already lost bollards on uh the bike lane um due to construction at uh 2322 and 23
uh 20 um this would further erode the bollards on uh south street um that um i'm an active cyclist
um and use the street um uh use this this arterial uh frequently um so that's that's the first uh
concern i have um and secondly the application description on the website i wasn't at the
meeting i apologize um but it it asked for an erection of an additional uh rear uh with a roof
deck. And I just don't know how that's going to affect the ambient light that gets through to
the property next door. There's already been construction at 2320, which is to the west of
2318, which has diminished the amount of ambient light that 2318, where I live, gets. And I would
I'd just like to raise concern that if the addition to the east is similar, it will substantively diminish the amount of ambient light that the middle unit owned by Patrick O 'Connell, and to which I am a current tenant, will receive.
Thank you.
Anyone else to testify?
I have a Ms. Julie Nemeth, whose hand is raised.
if you wish I can allow her to speak, sir.
Please, thank you.
Good afternoon, Ms. Nemeth.
Please identify yourselves by your last name
and provide us with your address.
My name is Julie Nemeth, N -E -M -E -T -H,
and I live at 2312 South Street.
And do you swear and affirm to tell the truth,
the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Thank you.
Please proceed.
Both my husband and I have lived in the neighborhood for over 10 years, and we've known Ryan since he's lived here and worked in the neighborhood and building up our neighborhood.
And he's done stellar work that not only benefits the community, but also increases the safety to have a single family on our block versus three apartments.
a single family block versus three apartments makes it a little bit safer. I understand the
business concern, but at the price that someone would be paying for the single family, I'm sure
they will do lots of business in the neighborhood. And both my husband and I are avid bikers. We also
park on south street and i would say that you know we're all very careful and we love having
the bike lane and that whoever lives there is going to buy it based on understanding that they
are backing into a bike lane and i'm sure they're going to be conscientious of that
um as far as the speed on south street the the light that was put in on 24th and south has really
slowed down the traffic and so people are coming off of the highway but once they stop and start
again on the 23rd block it's much slower and so my husband and I are in support of
the renovations and the variants and particularly allowing Ryan to convert it into a single family
home with a garage. Thank you. Thank you, ma 'am. Thank you. Anyone else? And we're going to ask
it something new and different. Mr. Chair, I have a Marcus Ferrero with his hand raised.
Good afternoon, Mr. Ferreira. Please identify yourself with a record. Spell your last, Marcus, first and last name, and provide us with your address.
Hello, Marcus Ferreira, F as in Frank, E -R -R -E -I -R -A, 1620 South Street, Unit B, Philadelphia.
1620. You are seven or eight blocks away.
Yes, I am.
I'm also chair of the South Street West Business Association that I could reference.
Do you swear and affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Please proceed.
So one thing I want to reiterate is, or not reiterate, but emphasize, is we fought tooth and nail to get the South Street Bridge to be pedestrian and bicycle friendly.
and and then this bike lane was recently added as an extension of that and it basically feeds
right into the western node of the south street west businesses there's the uh pedestrian triangle
there um which has it's a pedestrian epicenter and what we want to do is cultivate more of that
and do less interruption of all the good work that's been happening in terms of uh bicycle
pedestrian friendliness over the past few years. Approximately 11 ,000 pedestrians go through this
block. And then to have a curb cut with a sloped sidewalk, no street tree, a garage, instead of
potentially a ground floor apartment, which would be eyes and ears on the street, all these things
vitiate the overall pedestrian and safety experience on multiple levels. And yes, while
Although it would be nice to have one wealthy resident who can, you know, afford a more expensive meal out or whatever, having three or four apartments where people just need to buy necessities overall is going to be better for the business climate.
So I just wanted to address those points. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Chairman. I just would want to mention that single families permitted by right and RM1.
Thank you. Anyone else?
Mr. Chair, I have a Mr. Neville Strumpf with his hand raised.
Good afternoon, Mr. Strumpf.
It's Ms., but that's okay.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Can you hear me?
Yes. Please spell your first and last name and provide us with your address.
Yes. The first name is Neville, N -E -V -I -L -L -E. And the last name is Strumpf, S -T -R -U -M, as in Mary, P as in Paul, F as in Frank.
And your address?
2310 South Street.
Where I'm from to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth.
Yes, I do.
Please proceed.
Yes, I've been a resident in this building, in this house for 20 years. I am outside a lot because I spend a great deal of time at 10.
side a lot because I spend a great deal of time attending to my window boxes and my tree well and
the gardening in the neighborhood as well as for my neighbors. I think it's really important to
keep in mind that we on this block are very attentive to the fact that we have a lot of
pedestrian foot traffic, we have bicycles, we have cars, and we have an extraordinary number of
delivery trucks. And really nothing is going to change the number of delivery trucks who pull
onto the side to make deliveries. There's an Amazon pickup and delivery right next to me.
There's also a bus stop. To my knowledge, we have not had any disastrous episodes with
pedestrians or bicyclists. I think we're all very committed to making this work.
The McManuses are excellent neighbors, very committed to the beautification of this block
of South Street, which was not as beautiful 20 years ago when I moved here. And I do not think
in any way their plans will negatively impact bicyclists, shopkeepers, business, or safety
in the neighborhood. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else?
Mr. Chair, there are no further hands at this time.
Thank you.
Planning Commission.
Ron Bednar, City Planning.
The property is indicated for residential multifamily use in the city plan.
believe the applicant has not demonstrated hardship regarding the specially enacted
center city parking control requirements of the code standing policy of the city planning
commission is not to support unnecessary front loaded off -street parking on high volume pedestrian
and bicycle lane urban corridors we recommend the quest for Vance not be there all right thank you
rachel yes mr chairman i'm going to cast my vote i'm going to cast it in the affirmative i'd like
to have a proviso okay some sort of a non -audio warning device you know when you come in out of
a garage if some of them had a light or something that um alerts someone that a car may be exiting
or entering that garage absolutely mr all right all right so mi 2020 dash zero zero three three
nine zero two three one six south street my vote is yes with the proviso installation of a non -audio
uh traffic uh alert device or something like that i'm sure he has a technical name but you know what
i'm talking about yep absolutely my vote is yes proviso yes we're proviso yes we're proviso yes
we're proviso but for the fact that there are other garages on that street my vote would have
been no but there are other garages understood thank you chairman members of the board thank
you calendar number three three one six three six eight five richmond street
is that um is that no let's not continue
joe console is the attorney
i'm here i raised my hand
can you hear me i can hear you but uh it says my videos stop not on true oh i gotta step i gotta
step away for a few minutes all right okay i see you now joe name and address on the record please
and spell your last name hi everyone joseph console i'm back it is console madison llp
1 West 3rd Street, Suite 204, Media, Pennsylvania, 1 -9 -0 -6 -3.
You're still under oath. Do you also agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate
to its accuracy? Yes. Have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership,
tax compliance, a copy of the refusal or referral, photos and or plans of the property
five days in advance of this hearing, and have you met with the RCO, and do you have a letter?
Yes to everything but the tax clearance. We submitted a couple things that were not in compliance and we haven't gotten the thing back. So if we could hold this, we should have it in a day or two.
The thing back. So if we could hold this, we should have it in a day or two, hold the, you know, the issuance of the approval that we're expecting to get here for that. That would be what I'd like.
Okay. I'm looking to see. Okay. So we'll hear this and hold for the, Tanya, are you there?
yes i'm going to look it up on revenue right now and then um come back if not we can always use
it to um close the record and then wait for the supplemental document of the tax cert only
okay i'm sorry rachel do you agree with that wait rachel's not on this joe console yes i agree
no no Rachel is our attorney
no we're on Richmond Street
I understand
but Carol Rachel is the attorney for this afternoon
no Joe is
sorry you mean Rebecca
sorry Rebecca I'm so sorry
Rebecca
I knew it
Rebecca
I'm sorry do you agree
yes thank you
thank you so much Carol I apologize
that's okay you had me believe in there were two
Rachel's
okay joe you may proceed all right hi everyone uh i'm gonna make this quick it's 3685 richmond
street uh it's 3685 richmond llc um mr stephen fox is a representative of that llc uh we're
seeking to use uh this property as a personal vehicle repair and maintenance uh in an existing
structure. The property, as you can see, was used this way until it ceased being used. It was bought
by my clients and they're seeking to reestablish that use. That's what the property looks like
right now on the outside. They're going to spruce it up a little bit. They have a master mechanic
called Gori Auto Repair that is going to be in there. The hours of operation will be Monday
through friday 8 a .m to 7 p .m uh there'll be one mechanic at any given time and then one uh what
they're calling the front desk personnel a maximum of two cars in the bays at any given time and
actually we were able to um yeah you can't really see it but there was an old layout of the property
on file and ours is going to match uh this whole layout with two with two car bays they're not doing
any uh structural work on can you go back can you go back to the previous picture because i want to
know uh if there are two cars being worked on where are the other cars going to be and how many
will there be in that parking lot oh the parking lot i don't know let me call mr uh mr stephen fox
he can he can weigh in on that because we don't like an overload of cars okay outside of these
places and does he have tires in there i don't believe there are tires they're not they're not
doing any sort of fume related work or anything that they need ventilation for it's going to be
so no spray painting and no gathering of tires requiring okay it's going to be uh just mechanical
internal work on the vehicles okay great
you've met with the rco oh yes we did yeah um what what is the rco's name the rco is propac
we met with them uh in january yep in january and we received full support 15 in favor zero against
they were fine with the property just uh re -establishing its use used to be called
port richmond auto repair okay i don't know if my client raised his hand or not
hello oh hey steve fox yes how you doing can you put your name on the record please uh yes steven
fox do you swear if i'm to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes i do okay the
question i'm asking is you have two bays in there what will you do with the other cars and how many
of those other cars will there be if they have appointments on that day will they be in that
parking lot number one and number two most importantly how many will be there and then i
have a third question um what's the maximum number of cars because sometimes people don't pick up the
cars on time. Right. Um, I am one of the owners of the actual property. I am not one of the will
not be one of the operators of the actual said business to go in the location, but we have been
had some discussions with them, um, about approximately how many cars.
had some discussions with them um about approximately how many cars they would have
parked outside um at any one time and they assured us about maybe four to six cars max at any given
time okay yeah if there's a max proviso the board would like i'm i'm sure we can work that in
okay do you want to ask him if he'll adopt your testimony yes uh mr stephen fox did you hear all
the testimony i gave regarding your project i did do you adopt it as true and accurate to the best
of your knowledge i do do you have anything you'd like to add i do not okay thank you
Thank you. Does the board have any questions?
Hi, Vice Chair.
Hi, Tanya.
Hi. I looked it up on Revenue's website.
The taxes are current to 2020 and 2021 are just becoming due.
So they are tax compliant.
Okay. So that's good. We don't have to hold this.
Great.
okay calendar planning commission carol's rank again before you you're going to gerard avenue
um i'm on richmond street now oh okay i'm sorry all right that's okay
all right i'm bed in our city planning property is indicated for commercial use on the city plan
given you given the established use history of the site we have no objection to the granny
my vote is yes with um a maximum of six cars on the lot
yes yes yes with proviso yes with proviso thank you thank you good luck carol before we begin
it's almost four i don't know if this does the court reporter need a break we only have one
more case on this list and then we'll break for the three -third. I'm fine. Okay, this is the last
case on the two o 'clock list and then we'll have a break. Thank you. Okay, calendar number 3385 -701
East Gerrard Avenue. The attorney is Sean Whelan.
Mr. Whelan has been promoted to panelists, Madam Chair.
you're still under oath can you put your name and address on the record
actually madam vice chair I'm not under oath from earlier today this is my first case today
really yeah I know you're just so excited to see me you feel like I know I just think that
you're always there on the screen okay name and address
Sean, S -E -A -N, Whalen, W -H -A -L -E -N, Vintage Law, 6 Coulter Avenue, Suite 1000, Ardmore, PA, 19003.
Thank you. Do you swear or affirm to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Do you also agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
I do, with the caveat that there is one typographical error on the refusal, that it does not result in any kind of confusion.
It's it's just a typographical error where it says CMX three at one point instead of CMX two.
But the refusal is correct with that typographical error.
OK, have you emailed the exhibit packet with the required documents, proof of ownership, tax compliance, refusal or referral, photos and plans five days in advance of this hearing?
And have you met with the RCO and you have a letter?
Yes, Tal. Thank you. You may proceed.
All right.
Hopefully you're seeing my screen.
This is 701 East Girard.
These are the zoning exhibits, which were, as we said, emailed around.
The project is a large, approximately 50 ,000 square foot lot.
it's going to be consolidating three smaller lots at the corner of gerrard and burks street
it's right off of the aramingo avenue exit on 95 to give you some context
i'll get into it in more detail but we have two refusals one is we're proposing 53 units and 43
units are by right and we are proposing 45 feet in height and 38 feet are by right this right here
if you can see where I'm circling is the one typographical error on the refusal. It correctly
states that this is in the CMX2 zoning district in the main portion of the application identification
main portion of the application identification, and one of the two refusals cites CMX2, and one
and one of the two refusals.
of them just by, I'm sure, stroke of a key cites CMX3. If we want to agree to CMX3, it'd be by
right. We wouldn't have to be here, so I'm happy to agree to that if you like. We have a letter
from the Fishtown Business District. They voted in full support of the project as it is. We also
went before FNA. FNA has sort of a confused opposition, I would say. They support and oppose
the exact same aspects of the property at the same time. Essentially, the community is in favor
of multifamily use along Girard Avenue. They like the fact that we're including almost 8 ,000 square
feet of commercial space, which would actually be an additional 2 ,000 square feet of commercial
space at this property. But yet they say that we failed to demonstrate a hardship and that the
additional density will cause vehicular and traffic and parking issues, even though they
support the density and massing and size. We also have a conclusion letter from CDR.
We actually received fairly overwhelming support from CDR, and we just have a few issues from CDR
that we are looking at. There are two loading zones for the project. One is off Burke Street.
That's going to be limited to the residential use to keep the commercial use off of Burke's
and out of the neighborhood. The loading zone on Girard will be limited to the commercial use,
again, to keep that commercial use on Girard without having it turn on to Berks. We were
asked to increase the size of the tree pits, which we did, and we were asked to look into some of the
design aspects which the design team is doing. So we've addressed all the CDR comments. Again,
that was largely in favor. So here's the project. Again, here's 95, the Aramengar Avenue exit,
right to the right. As you can see, right on Girard Avenue, this is a large, almost square
shape with this sort of jagged edge along one side and Burke Street going one way off of Girard
in that location. Again, here's just kind of an overview. I think this view gives a better sense
of it. Presently, this is a beer distributorship right here. This is a Dunkin' Donuts, and there's
a laundromat right in the middle. As you can see, this is an underutilized spot with extensive
parking in the front, a lot of car traffic. Most of this frontage here along Girard is actually
already chopped up into multiple curb cuts. So cars are just going in and out, in and out,
and really carving up this sidewalk. There's also a very overlarge curb cut on Burke Street
carving up that sidewalk as well we will be having no curb cuts as part of our project
there's no parking offered and that is not a refusal and so we are significantly improving
the pedestrian landscape here this site also or this picture also shows you our height will be
in line with the adjacent buildings which are all built up newer buildings you can see behind us
and really kind of encompassing us all the way around.
As I said before, we are entirely in the CMX2 zoning district.
This should cart all the way over like that.
I'm not sure why it didn't, and hence we have our two refusals.
So here's the picture just to walk us through Beer City, Beer Distributorship,
the cleaners, and the Dunkin' Donuts.
you can see almost everything is curb cut. There is no curb here, and cars just zip in and out,
which is a condition that we intend to correct. This is directly across the site if you're
standing on the sidewalk. Again, larger warehouse right across the site. Contextually, I think
everyone agrees that large multifamily works here and is the appropriate use here. In fact,
this larger building with first floor commercial. It is actually multifamily with the residential
access off of Berks. This again is just across Berks. Girard is right off to the left here.
As you go down Berks, again you get into the residential neighborhood.
That's why it's our intention to have to limit the Berks loading zone to only residential and keep all the commercial traffic out of the out of the neighborhood and try to keep it only on Gerrard with access solely off of Gerrard.
That's why it's our intention to have to limit the Berks.
Pardon my fat thumb, but here's we're right across the street. So here are the trolley tracks, the subway tracks rather going both ways.
so we have extensive uh bus sand trolley um usage right here at our site
and then again and then this is uh 95 right there in the distance
so the proposed project i don't know that i really need to to go into it this is the um
Sorry, here's the proposed project. What you see is, here's Gerrard Avenue, here's Berks, and you have a very large sized commercial space. This is actually significantly larger than is required by Wright.
And as I said earlier, we have two refusals.
uh the refusals are actually um caused by what everyone in the community enjoys about the site
specifically the increased height is due to the fact that we're putting in you know the significant
first floor commercial space um as i think everybody is aware modern commercial uses require
an increased height you know they don't want uh nine or ten foot ceilings um you really got to
put a 14 -foot ceiling in, which is what we're doing here, and hence the increased height
why we're going from 38 to 45 feet.
We also have, as I said, we're requesting 53 units instead of 43 units.
The basis for that is really that there are 17 units per floor.
There are no, in our proposed plan, there are no residential units proposed on the first
floor.
We really want to capture all of that as commercial space. However, there are 17 units per floor on the upper three floors.
This is actually using larger one -bedroom units. The neighborhood has a lot of smaller units, which the developer here wanted to capture the really good tenant clientele for larger units.
So these units are going to be 625 to 790 square feet each.
So, you know, in order to build fewer units, you would, in the first instance, have to lose an entire floor and all 17 units on that floor.
And it would cause, you know, cause the site to be underutilized and inappropriately used.
That buy right plan would also create an undesirable condition on the ground floor because the commercial would then get pulled towards the front.
It would get shrunk in size.
You would have lower commercial heights there, which bring in a less desirable commercial tenant.
and you would have a couple of first floor residential units in the rear, again, which is
not a desirable condition. Although it would allow for a buy -write plan, it would
kind of flummox the site. The other alternative would be to lose just the 10 units. This would
result in, and you'll hear the developer and architect testify, losing the just 10 units to
get down to buy right number as far as units would mess up the layout and create oversized
units, which would be impossible to rent and sort of awkward for the neighborhood and the building
in this site. So a lot of thought and consideration went into this design as far as
the height being contextual to what is around us, the changing neighborhood requiring and almost
demanding that that nicer commercial space and and the larger nicer residential units above
um and you know that that would be our uh um our basis for a hardship and the uh you know
addressing all of the concerns and considerations of of the community stakeholders so with that
unless you have any questions for me i'd be happy to call my client and the architect to adopt my
testimony. I have no questions. Okay. Is Ori Fibush or Jose?
Is Ori Fybush or Jose Hernandez on the call?
Mr. Fybush has his hand up.
If you may, I can allow him to speak.
Good afternoon.
And I do see Chairman DiCicco speaking,
but I think he may be on mute here.
okay um mr feybush can you put your name and address on the record of course ory feybush
1936 washington avenue philadelphia pa and do you swear or affirm to tell the whole truth and
nothing but the truth i do okay you may proceed sorry can we get him to give a name spelling
please for the course in our course sure can you spell your last name mr feybush of course
It's F as in Frank, E -I -B -U -S -H, and the first name is Ori, O -R -I.
Thank you.
Are I back on?
Yes, you're back on.
Thank you.
All right, Mr. Fibush, you're here on behalf of the equitable owner of the property, correct?
Yes, sir.
Okay, and did you hear the testimony that I just presented?
I did.
And do you believe it to be true and correct to the best of your knowledge?
I would only add that we really approached this project trying to design what we believed made the most amount of sense.
We've spoken to both immediate neighbors and stakeholders and really tried to mirror both the needs of the development team and the community.
And so while it doesn't fit perfectly within the underlying zoning, it very much does meet the spirit of what the neighborhood is trying to accomplish on this corner
and corrects some small mistakes and improvements from past projects in the area and really hopeful
that ultimately this will be a good development for the area. The neighborhood was largely
supportive and really was excited to see. We have 14 -foot high ceilings on the first floor as
opposed to traditional 8, 9, or 10 feet here. We're really setting up this building with the
hope of creating opportunities for the best potential commercial tenant and similarly for
the apartments upstairs. So I certainly recognize it doesn't fit fully within the code or we
wouldn't be here. But in the same breath, given a vacuum, this really is something that I think
was designed by consensus and really designed in a way that took into consideration both
immediate interests and larger stakeholders. Thank you, Mr. Feibusch. And just to tie it off,
would you adopt my testimony as your own? I would.
uh does anyone of the board have any questions i'll ask that question now but someone has a
radio or a television on the background we're getting some feedback uh any questions from the
board no no no no thank you anyone else would like to testify in his case if so please raise
your hand yes chairman i'd like to call jose hernandez from jkrp architects
Mr. Hernandez, can you put your name and address on the record, please?
Jose Hernandez, J -O -S -E -H -E -R -N -A -N -D -E -Z.
Sir, do you swear and affirm to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
And will you put your address on the record?
100 East Penn Square, Suite 1080, 19107.
All right.
Mr. Hernandez, you're the project architect for this project, correct?
And did you hear all the testimony that I presented?
I did.
Do you believe it to be true and correct to the best of your knowledge?
And would you adopt it as your own?
I would.
And Mr. Hernandez, there was one thing that I'd like you to run through
if you could along among anything else you might have to add um is could you just run through the
elevations of the building for the uh the board just to make sure that that was clear yeah so uh
can you pull up uh as as was mentioned this project went through the civic design review process and
um part of our challenge is to make sure that this project fits contextually um within the
neighborhood and respects uh the street edge um and all the other items uh that are required uh
sean can you share screen or should i share screen uh i can share my screen i was actually
just trying to pull up what i'm sure you're going to be asking me to right hello so you should be
able to see the cdr presentation right now as was mentioned um one of one of the items and go back
one the the image the image uh that that's shown there it's basically an area of view of
the image uh that that's shown there is basically an area of view of the building in its context and
how the building is taken to the extent of the street edges to reinforce and reactivate the
street edge and sort of in line with the building directly to our uh west and some of the other
commercial properties that are along gerard avenue right and and uh mr henna as you heard we have
uh 14 foot ceilings on the first floor correct it's it's a it's a 14 foot level to the ceilings
are about uh 13 feet there's a foot of structure there so they are significantly higher and why
did you design that so based based off of the uh commercial space being a little over 7 000 square
feet um it's in our experience in our retail experience that uh spaces of that size require
higher ceilings. They have a larger mechanical use. So a higher ceiling allows mechanicals to
be placed without impacting the overall height of the space. Okay. And I'm showing right now what
the elevations are that you're talking about, correct? Correct. So as was mentioned, you have
a predominantly commercial use on Girard Avenue and you have a residential use on Berks. So what
we've done here is we've basically utilized more of the residential element, which is predominantly
brick along the Burke's facade that have sort of a stepping rhythm that matches some of
the property. There's a perspective that Sean will get to that really kind of illustrates
that use. So this is, you can see the images on the left. You have some of the residential
townhomes that are on the left, and we kind of mimic that with the brick. We've tried
to accentuate the commercial use of commercial by changing materiality to the fiber cement
that's above that area. So above that is or below that directly is the limits of the commercial
space. So this is the view I mentioned this really ties into there's some existing architecture
that's to the north of our property that we sort of mimic this design and this is what was well
received from CDR. There's also you'll notice the two -story piece is actually a gap between the
buildings that goes into a courtyard that actually creates a little bit of a separation
from the adjacent property. So in one of the aerials and in the shadow study, the building
is set back from the edges and in line with this adjacent building. So to not create an adverse
shadow effect on those units. And there's the condition you were talking about? Correct. And
the residential entry where the signage says 701 is is dedicated to Berks again reinforcing that
sort of residential feel to the block this is a view inside the courtyard looking out towards the
gateway on the right so this area is landscaped and again it's separated from the adjacent
property as I did want to clarify there are two units on the ground floor those are our
handicap accessible units so they have direct access um from the street edge and uh direct
access to the courtyard so there's no issue with those units needing to ride down the elevator to
it to access those spaces so there are two units that are that front into the front and look into
this courtyard and those are to the left that you see there that's correct i i appreciate you making
that correction. I misspoke. And again, this is a view looking on Gerard Avenue. Again, we're trying
to have the scale of the residential to the right with the material change and then providing a
little different material and some attention to the commercial use on the ground floor.
And then that's it. So Mr. Hernandez, I mean, obviously you've delved into most of it. Do you
have anything for any last comments before you answer questions from the board i do not
any questions from the board thank you questions from the board no no no anyone else would like
to testify in this case if so please raise your hand mr chair i have a karen javaruski with her
hand up. If you wish I can allow her to speak right now, sir. Good afternoon, ma 'am. Please
identify yourself with the record, spell your name, and provide us with your address.
Hello, my name is Karen Javaruski. My last name is spelled J -A -V as in Victor, A -R -U -S -K -I.
I am here to represent our FNA, Fishtown Neighbors Association. I'm a board member and also on the
zoning committee of the organization we're going to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the
truth yes sir thank you ma 'am please proceed okay so um we did have a large community meeting and we
Okay, so we did have a large community meeting, and we have listened to our neighbors regarding their concerns for the property.
And I just want to lay this out kind of in layman's terms and in practical terms.
So there are some safety logistical and parking related issues that we think are are presented by by way of the density.
If you were to look a little further up the street on Girard, it's a pretty this is a pretty busy street.
Just up the block, we have Aramingo and Girard coming together. So, you know, there's somewhat of a safety issue there at this time. And then as you move on to Berks, Berks becomes a one -way street.
So there is some concern about there not being parking here to accommodate for the additional density.
If you were also to look a little further up Berks, the diagram would show you that there is a property similar to this that's being built.
it's it does not contain residents at this time and it also does not have parking at this time
okay have you concluded yes okay thank you thank you anyone else would like to testify
Mr. Chair, there is someone
by the name of Beer City
with their hand raised
if you wish I may allow them to speak
Yes, please
Hi, sir, your name, full name
My name is Javed Hashim
H -A -S -H -I -M
And swear and affirm
to tell the truth, the whole truth
nothing but the truth
Yes. Your affiliation with this? I am the tenant at the at the plaza right now.
OK, please proceed. All right. I want to thank ZBA for giving me this opportunity to speak today.
I am Beer City, a beloved business in the neighborhood. Beer City has been serving this community for 23 years.
while I have been serving this great community for seven years.
Beer City loves their community and wants to continue to serve them,
but this project is destroying cherished businesses
which provide jobs and necessary services to the surrounding community.
This will create a displacement of the businesses in the plaza.
The businesses are adversely impacted by the variants
as a developer has no hardship to justify the variances.
We have a petition signed by 731 community members
who are opposing the project and still counting.
And the RCO FNA opposes the project
along with Councilman Mark Squilla.
He also opposes the project.
the proposal the proposal is also an overuse of the lot as it is within 600 feet of interstate 95
or i -95 the height of the project is too high which will substantially impair an adequate
supply of light and air to adjacent conforming properties the high density of the project will
substantially increase congestion in the public streets. Let me interrupt if I could. Sure. You
run the beer distributor. Do you live in a neighborhood? No. So all those things that
you're pointing out just now will not impact you personally, correct? Other than the loss of your
business, which I don't minimize, but other than that, you will not be impacted. The community
will be impacted. No, no. You have to speak for yourself. Right. Okay. All right. Okay. I'm not
being flipped with you i'm just saying you would not be impacted other than the loss of your
business which i can appreciate the height and the density will not impact you personally because
you don't live in the neighborhood correct right anyone else would like to testify in this case
please raise your hand mr chair i have a john scott with his hand raised good afternoon mr scott
Good afternoon, Mr. Scott. Please identify yourself with the record.
Please identify yourself with the record.
Because he was like you.
Hi, can you hear me?
Yes, please identify yourself with the record name and address.
Yes, thank you. Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman. John Scott, 456 Moyer Street.
You're wearing a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
moyer street is what just north of gerard it is one block north unless there's a flora street yes
but i'm actually a block to the southwest as well thank you this is the 700 block i'm on the front
block um thank you again uh so i do want to make a couple of kind of technical points here
I was at the F &A meeting, of course. The F &A is the coordinating RCO on this project. And I want
to point out for the record that the Fishtown bid, while they are also an RCO, they don't
represent the residents. They only represent the businesses. So that is maybe why there's
some disagreement there between the F &A's opposition and the bid's support. And I wanted
to make that point clear. I'm familiar with that. Thank you. Okay, good. Thank you. The other thing
I want to point out, I think Karen mentioned it, but this particular block is not really a well
walked area of the neighborhood because of its proximity to I -95. And this building likely won't
change that. We do have some commercial space nearby there that's brand new and it is still
vacant. And I don't think that this building really makes that block any more walkable because
it is right off the highway. It is very loud. You know, there's a lot of traffic right there
to begin with. I want to point out that the neighbors overwhelmingly support the existing
businesses. A lot of our neighbors work there. A lot of our neighbors shop there. You know,
we were kind of ridiculed for it being beer and donuts, but that is, you know, those are
functioning businesses. They've been there a long time. And I agree that there's not really a
hardship. If those businesses are functioning, they don't need to be torn down and replaced
with something that may be vacant for a while. So it is very important to the neighbors to have
those businesses there. We don't consider it to be an underutilized site. We consider it to be,
you know, a perfectly functioning site. It has parking, which, you know, every now and then
people drive to the Dunkin' Donuts. So we don't consider it to be underutilized in its current
form. And we do consider the proposed project to be an overutilization. Notwithstanding that
some of it may be by right, the project as proposed is overutilizing that location.
So I do want to, like I said, I want to reiterate that the neighborhood was overwhelmingly
opposed to the removal of this business and the overuse of this site thank you i understand i
appreciate it but just my two cents there's no guarantee that those businesses will stay
i mean businesses change all the time yes we're not going to be able to guarantee that those
businesses regardless of this project or any other project that may get presented that those
businesses will remain unless unless the beer the beer distributor guy bought the place then
And obviously he can stay there as long as he wants, but there's no, again, there's no guarantees, but thank you anyway.
Thank you for your testimony.
Anyone else?
Mr. Chair, I have a Vanice Whitaker with her hand raised.
If you wish, I can allow her to speak at the time.
Yes, Ms. Whitaker, please identify yourself, spell your last name, and I would appreciate if there's something new and different.
Name and address, please.
Sorry.
This is Denise Whitaker, 1468 East Will Street, Citizen Planner for the Fishtown area.
Ms. Whitaker, could you spell your first and last name, please?
I'm sorry, yes. It's like Denise with a V, V -E -N -I -S -E, last name Whitaker, 1 -T -W -H -I -T -A -K -E -R.
You swear and affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
And I interrupted you.
Please explain who you are.
Sorry.
Besides a resident of Fishtown, I'm a citizen planner.
I'm going to make this short and brief.
I support everything that John Scott had said.
I further on, I stand in unity with Beer City.
It is a longstanding business of color that has been there through the toughest times and the best of times in Fishtown.
Developers, when they're putting new construction in sight, they can make arrangements with existing businesses in our neighborhoods.
instead of driving them out, which normally happens.
instead of driving them out, which normally happens.
So there could be an arrangement made with beer.
So there could be an arrangement made with your city
to make sure he stays in existence
and continues to support the neighborhood.
That's all I got.
Thank you very much.
I concur with your statement,
but that's a decision between the developer,
obviously, and the tenant.
If they can come to an agreement, that's fine,
but that's really not for us at the zoning board.
But we appreciate your testimony.
No, I know, but it kind of just should impact
in some ways that, you know,
So I understand from your decision -making, it can't be.
I just wish that we had developers
that actually wanted to develop in the neighborhoods
and not just come in and come out.
So I just feel bad for this business.
I really do.
But thank you for the time.
Understood.
All right.
Anyone else?
Something new and different.
There are no further hands at this time, Mr. Chairman.
Since there's no one else,
um mr feibusch does have uh 20 seconds to discuss exactly what's been raised about beer city
and i think it highly pertinent to uh to the comments that have been raised okay be extremely
brief thank you mr feibusch are you back on if you can hear me yes yes tremendous thank you so
i have an agreement of sale to purchase the property uh it was presented to me as it was
to be a vacant property. And I've obviously been caught a little bit off guard, both at the
community meeting and here in front of the zoning board with respect to the tenant that desires to
stay. I've been given different information. I'm happy to stipulate under oath here that I would
give your city the first opportunity to lease the space. I'm happy to accept that as a proviso if
it's an appropriate forum. But certainly if there's, I don't have a tenant in mind for the location.
We're designing a space that we hope can accommodate the most robust use here.
But I'd love an opportunity with a tenant that might be interested and viable in the space.
And we're some ways away there, but I'd certainly not only be open to it, but would embrace the notion that I may have a tenant that both the neighborhood supports and that can do well here at this location.
I thank you for that. And I think that's a good gesture, obviously.
see. Were you, when you were, the purchase of this was based on, you said you thought it was
all vacant? Mr. Chairman. The leases are running out, I assume. I have not, I have not purchased
it yet. I'm under contract to purchase it, but that was communicated to me. Yes, sir. Okay.
All right. But I can't, we appreciate the offer and your sensitivity to the community.
I don't believe it's anything that's enforceable though, through the zoning board.
thank you but we do appreciate that and i know you're a developer and you probably want to do
more business up there at some point so it's it's good to create those relationships all right
planning commission uh ron bednar city planning while this property is currently indicated for
commercial use on a city plan additional multi -family residential along this quarter
supports one of our major comprehensive plan goals of directing new mixed use development
to locations that have close proximity
to multimodal transportation facilities.
Project did complete the CDR process
and therefore we support the granting of the variance.
Thank you.
Sean, I got him a little bit later.
Were there any revised plans?
No revised plans, Chairman.
Okay, thank you.
MI 2020 -003385, 701 East Gerrard Avenue.
My vote is yes.
my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes okay thank you it is now 4 30
we're uh we'll come back for the beginning the 3 30 list in 15 minutes we'll be back
you'll give everyone a few minutes
and i believe we should be good to go sir they're all here
thank you good afternoon everyone my name is Frank DiCicco I'm the chair of the zoning board
of adjustment I'll be participating in today's hearing along with our vice chair Ms. Carol
Tenere board secretary confessor plaza and board members Mr. Thomas Holloman and Mr. James Snell
board administrator Mr. Jason Hand and our board attorney Ms. Rebecca Cole are also in attendance
For those of you who haven't yet participated in one of our virtual hearings, I'll go through
some of the basics of what you can expect.
First, we will be administering oaths to individual participants prior to their testimony.
Second, we'd like to advise everyone that this proceeding is being recorded and that
by participating, you acknowledge your agreement to be recorded, and this recording will be
And this recording will be available to the public on the web or otherwise.
available to the public on the web or otherwise.
Third, for anyone participating by phone, if you wish to testify, you must raise your hand by hitting star nine and then star six to unmute yourself.
I'll repeat. For anyone participating by phone, if you wish to testify, you must raise your hand by hitting star nine and then star six to unmute yourself.
Finally, to enter an appearance statement, call Google 267 -270 -5548 and leave your email address and the address of the property at issue. I'll repeat that also.
To enter an appearance statement, call Google 267 -270 -5548 and leave your email address and the address of the property at issue.
and i'd like to remind everyone please do not attempt to testify in the chat
all comments should be directed to our board administrator mr jason hand
with that i will read off the list of the continuances on the 330 hearing list number one
mi 2020 -002744 1507 spring garden street number two on our list
MI 2020 -002721, 1641 Jackson Street.
Number three on our list, MI 2020 -003 -237 -7345 Oxford Avenue.
Number four on our list, MI 2020 -003239, 7347 Oxford Avenue.
If anyone disagrees with those continuances that I just read into the record, please raise your hand at this time.
Only if you object to any of those that I read into the record.
No hands at this time.
Thank you. There's only one hearing left on our regular list. That's MI 2020 -02733. 9721, I'm not sure if it's D -Dacker Street, D -E -D -A -K -E -R. Is there anyone here on that case?
I have a Lisa DiCicco.
Fire away. Lisa DiCicco. Please identify yourself for the record.
Hi, this is Lisa DiCicco. 9721 Dedeker Street. Sold off to PA 19115.
You prepared to go forward with your case?
Yes, sir.
Just let me check. Rebecca, would you happen to know, because the notation on here was there were no exhibits.
I have no additional information, no receipt of additional documents.
Ms. DiCiucco.
Have you mailed in the documentation?
Yes, I did.
I sent an email.
What was that?
And Mr. Hand said that they received everything.
And what was that?
Did you send it to Sharon Simota?
I just sent it to Katina.
Katima and Mr. Hand, they said that they received everything and they will be, they would be submitted. Everything was received.
Okay. The requirement is Sharon Saleta, the attorney of Rutgers, as the RCO ZBA email box.
She has to review all documents before hearings.
but i i did sent them i sent them last week and i asked for um a response and they said yes we
received them they will be they will be submitted well they they probably were received but the
attorney has to review them before we hear the case yeah but i understand she's saying that she
did send them in in due time um i don't know if obviously sharon's not here but sharon did make
the notation there were no exhibits um tanya correct i'm sorry you broke up
so that's why i'm asking because typically you have to review the paperwork that you get and
it tells you who the information has to go through go to correct and i sent it i sent it to the email
correct and I sent it I send it to the email did you send it to Sharon Saletta at gmail
it was it was a couple different emails on the document
so that's why we're asking that's required
Lisa do you happen to know if you sent it to Mr. Saletta
i sent it to mr hand and and fatima and fatima yeah and they said everything was okay they'll
be submitted so it has to be continued yeah this should be continued is there a way we can get
this done like sooner rather than later by the way mr chico is not related to me so
i'm not asking for any special favors here uh apparently there's a mix up
i don't believe this this is happening okay all right it's the world we're living in
unfortunately all right tell me what i have to do just hang in there a minute okay
tanya could we get a resumption or something sooner rather than later
uh we can't do a resumption um because we didn't we're not hearing it right
so we're going to hear it could we hear it and do a resumption
without the exhibits so right we can't do it
we haven't sharon is the only one who released this exhibit i don't have it
and the requirement is to the zba email box not to employees i just want to make sure that's clear
I send it to all three. I send it to Karima, ZBA, and Jason Hand, and he answered. He said,
yes, we received it. It will be included with the exhibits for the case.
Who's the third person you sent it to?
R -C -O -Z -B -A at phil .gov. Karima Quintana and Jason Hand.
Okay. Unfortunately and sadly, the attorney has to receive it, Sharon Saleta.
and that's right I didn't get that I didn't get that's right on the information that you have
why didn't Mr. Hand tell me that Tanya is that correct that is correct there's a requirement
it's on the documentation and that's not for the employees to specify exactly what you should do
that's why the law department drew up the documentation for us you have to follow that
when is this what what can we do here uh we can just continue it here
this would be normally do okay yeah i know i didn't know if it was all right
uh unfortunately who do i send it to i don't have that information for some reason i do not have that
you want to go offline tanya
i'm sorry go offline miss uh the chico is asking who she wants to make sure she doesn't make the
same and not make the same mistake does it wants to send it to the correct people
and she says who she's asking who does she send it to it's in it's in the directions all right
right yes the sharon saletta s saletta at gmail zba at gmail as well as the zba
not to employees do you see that uh mr chico no i don't see it but i'll have to look at my papers
again miss aletta okay and she's a she's the attorney okay yes sorry about that yeah
okay so so what does this mean now we have to wait a continuance what date will it be can can
it can it be soon we will you will get that information emailed to you do it as soon as we
can oh my god all right sorry thank you thank you okay thank you uh with that we gotta go back we'll
go back to the uh add -ons for today mi 2020 -002459 3445 division street my vote is no
My vote is no.
My vote is no.
My vote is no.
My vote is no.
Okay, now we have a resumption hearing for MI 2020 -002 -454, 441 East Mentor Street.
And this was a resumption hearing because I think we were having problems with the presenter
when we last heard this case.
is there anyone here could I ask a question sure
um what did we resolve um Mr. Dwyer's case this morning as he's back on line
case this morning as he's back on line i'm sorry what was your question what was your question
quake craig we had quake why yeah yeah he was on uh earlier in the number
1957 north 24th street did we resolve that yeah that was the one member mary jones wanted to check
to see who the RCO was
and we
I believe we voted in the affirmative
you did vote
okay I'll just let him know
he's back online
yeah Ms. Jones check remember we held it for
we held it for a little bit
then she went and double checked and got the
she was able to find
who the RCO was
okay thank you chair
all right
the add -on
441 East
Mentor Street. Anyone
Mr. Chair, I have
Linda Norris with her hand raised.
And I think it's Jacqueline Torres, right?
Yeah, allow Ms. Torres to speak
first.
What do I do?
Yes, I believe it's Jacqueline.
We can ask her.
She's the owner.
miss torres yes hello good afternoon miss torres yeah are you prepared to go forward with your
case today i think so okay now let me uh spell your full name full name is uh j -a -c -k -e -l -i -n -e
last name is t -o -r -r -e -s you swear and affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the
truth yes and you're here for 441 east mentor street correct okay so if you're ready please
proceed with your hold on carol's got to ask you some questions do you swear for him to tell the
whole truth and nothing but the truth yes and you did put your name and address on the record
yes have you emailed the exhibit packet with the required documents proof of ownership tax
compliance a copy of the refusal or referral photos and plans of the property five days in
advance of this hearing and have you met with the rco and do you have a letter yes you may proceed
okay so um what i'm trying to do into the um 401 east mentor street is i'm trying to extend
a room in front of the house
due to
the house is too small
I have only two
rooms I'm sorry about that
it's outside
Ms. Torres excuse the interruption
do you have any exhibits you can share with us
please if you can bring those up as you're
describing it that would be helpful
are the new PRs green
you want the pictures
I'm trying to see how you
yes give me one second I'm sharing it right now
the pictures of the house
pictures
floor plans
whatever you have any exhibits you have
I don't know if they can see it
how can I bring this
to the chat room
do you have
a computer that you're using
So if you open up your exhibit package, and then on the Zoom screen, look at the bottom, you'll see a green share screen button.
The share screen button is not there because it's up as a Q &A.
Oh, I'm sorry. We'll promote you. Jason, can you promote him?
Jason, you there?
I'm here, please.
Excuse me.
Miss Torres has been promoted to a panelist.
All right, which is good.
Okay, so it's downloaded right now.
It's opening.
So click on this.
Give me one second, we're getting there.
here is the house okay can you see the pictures
yes is your house the one on the right or the left this one is the construction one
yes is your house the one on the right or the left this one is the construction
under construction
right there
okay can you see all the pictures that i just put in there we see a few of them yes okay so in this
one is the one that is the way it was before. Can you maximize it a little bit? Sure. It's
just blurry a little bit. That was taken out from the Google, so that's the way the house
used to be before when did you start do construction on this house we started last year
um sometime in uh probably april or may
and your contractor did he get permits uh that's what we're trying to do right now the uh legalize
i know yes i'm trying to because i didn't know that i was supposed to get these permits
um so the person who's in charge is iv construction
the neighbors on either side of you have they uh are they in support of this yes they have the uh
Also, the papers, all the neighborhood signed.
So, is this going to be a single -family house, or is it multifamily?
Yes, it's a single -family home.
I mean, it's to continue living.
It's to continue using as a house, single -family dwelling.
Do you have any plans
on what the inside looks like?
The plan.
Will it look?
I just had that opened.
That one right there.
Can you see it?
Yes, I can.
Okay, thank you.
That's me.
I just went out of the power.
Excuse me, Chair.
We still can hear you, though.
I'm back, I think.
I don't know.
Anybody have any questions?
yeah can i see a picture of the one you showed with the construction uh the front of the house
with the blocks yeah sure
so this was the before
okay can you see that one right there
yeah so you guys coming all the way up to where that fort used to be
wow that's the whole lot nine time do you see that i see that they have a problem yeah i do too
confessor i see it tom i see it i mean they're blocking light and air
and it's right out to the property line and plus it's without a permit that's insane
that's why I asked about the next door neighbors
I mean they could have
at least just maybe canon
levered the second floor and leave it open
what did the RCO
say you say you guys met with the RCO
who is the RCO
community say
if they give the permission.
I got the paper also signed for them.
Who is the RCO?
I think it says that the 42nd war,
Democratic war.
And who's the council person?
Okay, I'm going to put the letter right now
so you can see him.
Lord, we see it.
Mr. Chair, who would the...
Mr. Chair, who would the, oh, I see Sloan Folks.
Oh, I see Sloan folks.
Is he on? Is Mr. Folks on?
Come on, Lily, let's go. Here we are.
No, it's just me right now.
You don't have a letter from the councilwoman's office?
You do have a letter?
Yes, I do.
From the councilwoman?
Yes, it's Quiñones Sanchez, Maria.
Yes, you have a letter from her?
Yes, right there on the screen.
That's the 42nd Ward.
Can you see it?
Yeah, that's a letter you wrote to the councilwoman.
The ward wrote.
Am I right or am I missing?
I can't see it that well.
no it's a letter from her no it's not it's from the 42nd ward to to the councilwoman
then right it's in the bottom it's a shanty um lindsey lindsey yeah that's the that's
that's the ward committee it's not the councilwoman
um there's there's no way this can be corrected is there um mr chair
i don't know you you'd have to see what how the construction the materials what was built
does it just block i don't know i don't know if it's i mean that's the structural issues there
could potentially be structural issues i'm not aware of that the only way the only way you can
correct it is to tear down i i agree i was thinking maybe that again i don't know what
the materials are holding up the second floor if they eliminated the walls the side walls
you know i'm saying and had a pier holding up the second floor but i don't know if that that's
possible. I have the contractor person right here. And he can explain that for you guys.
The contract, the contract, the contractor who built this without a permit.
No, legal, the legal one.
This probably has to come down.
i think that that'll be an issue most likely for l and i i assume yeah uh but i i don't know
if anybody have any more questions we'll find out what the zoning board wants to do and then
we'll figure it out i mean the planning commission rather uh could you go back to the picture of the
the extension on the building again yeah sure
it's it's really wrong well it's wrong because what happened on both sides and
more so than anything else they're blocking the porches it
porches doors windows i can't believe a contractor would build this without a permit
so it's insane well they they did for a while until they got stopped
it's built with with black um cement and also the bars holding it inside
um i'm i'm going to do this you know what
i i don't know anybody have any ideas uh just to vote it now let's let's say we voted
It's here from the Planning Commission, and then we'll vote.
Planning Commission.
Yeah, Ron Bednar, City Planning.
Property is indicated for single -family residential use on the city plan.
The applicant has not sufficiently demonstrated necessary hardship regarding requirements of the code.
Recommend the request for variance not be granted.
I think no matter what we do, Alan I is going to probably have some issues anyway.
uh mi 2020 does zero zero two four five four four four one east mentor street my vote is no
my vote is no it's no my vote is no
okay i think that do we do we have the do we have the right to do a c -sop
uh we could uh and you could do enforcement no with enforcement you can do code enforcement
Code enforcement.
Yeah, because it looks a little dangerous.
If it meets code, then we still have issues with it.
All right.
okay i think that concludes our business for today is that correct that's correct we do have um
I think that concludes our business for today.
Is that correct?
That's correct.
someone with a hand up i'm not sure sarah aldifer
um i just saw her to um speak yeah she was the she was the first add -on frank and we voted it
Yes, it's done, right?
All right.
Thank you, everyone.
Be safe and all the people behind the scenes.
Thank you again for your assistance.