how we interact with the neighborhood and partners. David mentioned briefly, we have an
AmeriCorps 450 community service hours component of our program so in conversations with the RCOs
the Uptown and the 37th Ward the block captain on nearby streets we talked about opportunities to do
street cleanup and service that was exciting to the neighbors and all parties as you see young
people are participating in both academic training on site in the school building proposed at the
site and the new vocational workforce training at job sites around the city so we're enrolling
young people, but young people are doing a mix of academic and vocation trades across the city.
So we think that the unique combination of academics, vocation, and service is both a
benefit to young people and our community partners, and have enjoyed conversation with
neighborhood partners and the RCOs about the ways that we might connect to help bring energy and
service into the community. And again, as David mentioned, this is our coming up on our 30th year
of operations. We're moving about a mile north from our current operations at 1231 North Broad
street great thanks very much scott and i can very briefly have sam olshin come up
Great. Thanks very much, Scott. Then I can very briefly have Sam Olshin come up.
Thank you, David.
Would you please spell your last name and I'll score you in.
It's Sam Olshin, O-L-S-H-I-N.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Thank you. Please proceed.
Thank you, Sam. Just as with Scott, do you agree that my testimony was accurate as you heard it?
Yes, it was. And agree to adopt it as your own? I do. Thanks very much. If you could just very
briefly run through our visuals here, that'd be great. Sure. Briefly, just about our own
credentials as architects, four years of doing renovation, restoration, historic rehabilitation
work including the met philadelphia 3000 seat concert hall at broad and poplar fluffy museum
of art working academy music etc this is a fantastic project to take a 1920s pico building
former showroom and office which is completely gutted now and take it and restore the facade
and give it a new purpose and the nice thing for us here is that it talks about electric company
but we're actually putting solar on the roof, having a garden terrace, as you can see here,
really making this a beacon on North Broad Street for some underserved youth, using recycled
materials, making this a real destination, and serving a community to learn a trade, which is
really not taught so much in high school anymore, mechanical, masonry, carpentry, etc. This is the
front living room onto North Broad Street, and is really a fantastic opportunity to kind of give
back and as mentioned this is a block and a half from the susquehanna dolphin subway stop which
was one of the reasons we chose this site to uh to put the building and very appreciative of
the community and the councilman for supporting the project thank you very much sam that was
very quick and efficient i appreciate it um i can just wrap up um by concluding that as you've heard
denial of the variances would result in an unnecessary hardship not created by the applicant
We're asking for the minimum variances necessary to afford relief.
There will not be a substantial increase in congestion in the public streets or any danger related to the public health, safety, or general welfare.
And really, in general, as you've seen, in fact, it would be a great benefit to the community to be able to revitalize this long vacant structure at a prominent location on Broad Street and provide a significant benefit to the community.
So thank you all for your time.
Thank you. Any questions from the board?
anyone else like to testify in this case if so please raise your hand
no hands share thank you planning commission thank you chair Nicole Ozdemir with the city
planning commission the comprehensive plan recommends a zoning change from the existing
cmx 2.5 to cmx 3. the proposed zoning district permits this application's use including the roof
deck as well as parking accordingly we recommend that the requested variances be granted thank you
mi 2021-001 497 2309-13 north broad street my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote
is yes. Number four on our list MI 2021-001570-3161-67 Market Street. Mr. Klein is the attorney
of record Pelton Village Civic Association sends a letter of support. Chair we also now have a
letter and support from um councilwoman got the actually an email in support thank you thank you
good afternoon mr chair members of the board can you put your name and address on the record and
spell your last name please absolutely uh jared klein k-l-e-i-n from black roms 130 north 18th
street in philadelphia do you swear tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do do you also
agree to waive the reading the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy i can waive the reading i
unfortunately can't step to the accuracy but it's a fairly quick clarification okay have you emailed
an exhibit packet with the required documents consisting of proof of ownership tax compliance
photos and or plans um copy the refusal or referral all five days in advance of this hearing
and have you met with the rco and do you have a letter yes to all of the above okay great you may
proceed and yes you may share your screen thank you very much sure um so as as we said this is
Thank you very much. Sure. So as we said, this is for 3161 Market Street. I'm here on behalf of Drexel University that owns the property. And this is the site of the old Firestone Tire Center. It's zoned I-2 and has been an industrial lot for quite some time.
The application that is before you is for the retail sale of food, beverages, and groceries.
The idea here is to create a farmer's market on the exterior portion of this lot.
There is no interior use of the existing structure that's proposed as part of this.
And part of the application is to have food trucks park on the lot and be able to serve food to people who are attending this farmer's market style business.
The reason I couldn't stick to the accuracy of the refusal is that right now there's a zoning permit for the site that is for a community-supported farm, which then would allow the accessory sale of the food, beverages, and groceries.
The intent of the application was to seek the non-accessory sale of food, beverages, and groceries at the site.
And so we believe that there should have been two refusals, one for the takeout restaurant via the food trucks and one for non-accessory retail sale of food, beverages and groceries within the I-2.
We did explain that to the RCO. And as I'll mention, as we go through, they were very supportive of that concept.
Just to orient the board to the site, this is the site here in an aerial view to give a better sense of where it is.
This is the structure here. You can see I'm circling it with my mouse.
As I mentioned, only the exterior portion of the site is going to be used for the farmer's market and the food trucks.
This building will remain vacant.
This is a street-level view of the site as it sits now.
And the food trucks will be parked in this area here, completely within the meets and bounds of Drexel's lot
and not at all encroaching on any of the public right-of-ways.
As I mentioned, we do already have a zoning permit that is for the market or community-supported farm.
The farm's being done in conjunction with PHS, Philadelphia Porticultural Society, and so they're the ones who are taking care of the growing of things, and Drexel's really partnering with them to provide some space and other logistical needs.
Here's an overview of the site.
You can see there's going to be some additional installation of landscaping.
the food trucks would go here in that area. And this is just a colorized view to give the board
a better sense of what we're talking about. These food trucks will be located here and there will
be seating for people to get things and then visit the farmer's market on the remainder of
that site. We met with Palton Village Civic Association. Their letter of support is up on
your screen now. As you can see, they did note in their letter that I had explained that there was
a second refusal that we believe we should have gotten, and the Palnton Village civic
notes that they support all the variances that would be necessary to allow this farmers
market use. So with that, I will see is either Rebecca Lasher or Don Liberty from Drexel
on if you can raise your virtual hand.
and if we don't see any virtual hands i'll be happy to uh stipulate to the accuracy of my
expected testimony yeah i was about to say no hands at the top okay um and as an officer of
the court i will represent that they would have adopted my testimony thank you questions from the
board? No. Anyone else would like to testify in this case? Please raise your hand.
Okay. Deborah, can you just please? Deborah McCarty from Pelton Village. Yeah. Deborah,
please spell your full name and I'll swear you in. D-E-B-R-A-M-C-C-A-R-T-Y.
We're a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth.
Thank you.
Please proceed.
Good afternoon.
I just wanted to reinforce our letter of support from Pound Village that we sent to Chairman
DiCicco and the board stating that we support these variances and we believe it's a creative
use that enhances the location while the future development for the site is explored.
and we very much look forward to enjoying this space in the coming weeks. And that was it.
Anyone else like to testify in this case?
no hands at the time chair planning commission thank you chair nicole ozdemir for
your planning commission thank you chair nicole ozdemir for city planning commission
the comprehensive plan recommends a zoning change from the existing i2 medium industrial zoning
to cmx5 high density commercial mixed use the proposed addition of food trucks at this location
would support the surrounding institutional as well as commercial uses in this section
of Market Street and in the neighborhood accordingly we recommend that the requested
variants be granted thank you MI 2021-001570-3161-67 Market Street my vote is yes
my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes very much thank you Mr. Klein is up
Next, MI 2021-001622, 3201-29 West Clearfield Street.
There is a letter of support from the RAH Civic Association.
Mr. Klein, can you put your name and address on the record and spell your last name?
You're already under it.
Certainly.
Once again, Jared Klein, K-L-E-I-N, from Black Rome, 130 North 18th Street, on behalf of the St. James School.
Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed an exhibit packet with the required documents, proof of ownership, tax compliance, refusal, referral, photos, and our 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 the above.
Okay, you may proceed.
And yes, you may share your screen.
Thank you very much.
So this is 3201-29 West Clearfield Street. It's currently the home of the St. James School,
and this application is seeking to expand the footprint of that school to erect an addition
with a cellar and to expand the existing educational use to create additional classrooms,
administrative offices, a library in the in the mezzanine area, art room, gymnasium, etc.
We received a number of refusals because as with many schools throughout the city of Philadelphia, it's zoned RSA 5, despite not being used as a single family home for some time.
And so we have a collection of refusals for the use as an educational institution and for the fencing, the location of the fencing, because we are a corner lot.
To give the board again some context, this is the site here.
And as you can see, it is most of this block of Clearfield Street and is zoned RSA 5 along with the rest of its surroundings.
These are the photos of posting on the existing fence line of that property.
And we are at the corner of 32nd and Clearfield.
Some additional photos of the surrounding area.
It is residential surrounding us, but not on the site itself.
Our zoning site plan shows the area where this addition is going to go.
located here. And this is the entry-level floor plan. We'll be having a new accessibility ramp.
This is the existing building over here. I will quickly run through some of the floor plans just
to give the board a sense of how this will look when it is completed. But because we had very
widespread support from the RCO and surrounding neighbors, I won't spend too much time.
this is what the second floor plan of the added space will appear to be and some exterior
renderings to the board can have a sense of how it would look it's styled with a modern design
that we think will fit in well with the community surrounding it and with the school that is there
now and here are the north and west elevations from the existing schoolyard
We did, as the chair mentioned when he started this case, met with the RAH Civic Association.
Their letter is up on the screen now.
It was 30 yes and zero no's in support of the proposed collection of variances for this
And the St. James School has a long history of working with the community and they certainly
intend to do so going forward. If I could ask is John Stetson on the line and might he raise his
virtual hand. Did you say John? Yes, Stetson.
Stetson.
Yes, you can unmute yourself.
Yes, you can unmute yourself.
Good afternoon, Mr. Stetson.
Please spell your full name and I'll swear you in.
J-O-H-N-S-T-E-T-S-O-N.
You swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
John, did you have the opportunity to hear my brief presentation this afternoon?
Yes, I did.
do you agree with my statements and adopt them as your own testimony yes thank you very much
Mr. Chair we do have as I said Mr. Stetson on the line if the board has any questions about
the operation of the school but with that we will rest our presentation thank you any questions from
the board no no one else would like to testify in this case if so please raise your hand
no hands at this time chair thank you planning commission thank you chair
nicole ozdemir for city planning staff the comprehensive plan recommends no change to
the existing rsa 5 single family residential zoning at this location however the accessory
uses including the library art room gymnasium and administrative offices are all supportive
functions for the school facility accordingly we recommend that the board grant the requested
special exception thank you mi 2021-001622 3201-29 west clearfield street my vote is yes
my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes you number six on our list mi 2021-001571
3600-90 walnut street there are letters of support from the 27th ward republican rco
and the west philadelphia economic development council chair we also heard from councilwoman
got the aid today that she supports the project i'm not sure if i have it on the summaries the
attorney is ira clutter yep we have that ira one ira's name is on the list
um hi mr calder can you put your name and address on the record and spell your last name
Sure. It's Ira Carterwood, K-A-U-D-E-R-W-O-D, 3101 Walnut Street, Philadelphia PA, 19104.
I'm an Associate General Counselor for the University of Pennsylvania.
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?
Yes, also, I do.
And is the exhibit packet mailed in with 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, to all of us.
Okay, great.
You may proceed.
Thank you.
Thank you, Chairman DiCicco, members of the board.