We were brought on from Woodmere Art Museum from work we did with them a couple years ago.
Previously, our company, Maliora, we've done stormwater and civil engineering for Woodmere.
They recently installed new walkways in their property.
And a few years prior, they had originally done additional work there.
So my experience has been just that.
Thank you.
Can you please confirm that you heard my testimony?
And would you agree that it was true and correct?
And would you adopt it as your own?
Yes, yes, I have.
Thank you. Is it correct that your firm's affidavit regarding the steep slope variance for this property is located in Exhibit 6?
And that there's additional information in Exhibit 7. If you could please very briefly describe what's happening here with regard to the steep slopes.
Sure. So because of the steep slopes being so close to the existing building.
Excuse me, sir. Can you show the plan of the site plan?
you just have the elevation of the building sure we could um i think maybe go back to the image of
go back to the image where you had on that side there yep there you go thank you yep
so because of the building's uh steep slopes being so close to them uh we are assuming that
there's going to be approximately 510 square feet of steep slope right up against the building that
is going to need to be disturbed in order to build that addition you can see on the right there
and in addition we have 79 square feet that has been messed up just because of irrigation issues
and drainage issues that we're going to try to restore adjacent to the building thank you
can i answer your question what percentage of the uh steep slope are you going to regrade
mark do you know the answer to that uh percentage wise no i don't i can give an estimate based on
i want to just to make one point of clarification so the property actually it's a very large
property and it has many steep slopes kind of throughout the property and so the project team
worked very hard to limit any disturbance at all of any steep slopes so we're actually talking
about this one very very small area that's less than 500 square feet that's located near the
middle of the property and so percentage wise for the entire property it's going to be actually a
very small percentage we don't know the precise number of that percentage but it's actually in
the scope of the whole property it's a very small area mark that one particular spot there can you
estimate there well in total we have 5889 square feet from what we're looking at right here
so the property as a whole is about four acres to give you a feel so we're talking about 500
square feet relative to four acres so yeah thank you thank you so as you all probably know in the
zoning code there are three very specific criteria for the granting of a steep slope variance so i'm
just going to ask mr de monte questions about each of those criteria uh mark is it correct that the
proposed earth disturbance will not result in an increase in storm water runoff yes that's correct
that's because during construction the applicant is going to have the installation of silt fences
or compost socks to help catch anything that runs off of that hill. And as you can see from this
photo, the steep slopes are right in the middle of the site, so it's going to be very easy for
them to set them up and for them to be monitored by anyone passing by and any inspectors that will
catch any sort of runoff. Great, thank you. Next, is it correct that the proposed interventions will
not result in the shifting of soil to adjacent buildings or property? Yes, that's correct. And
that's because in addition to what they're going to be doing during construction, after this is all
done they are going to be restoring meadow grasses that are going to help with the stormwater runoff
so that in addition to the compost socks being so visible from the street we're not going to
have any soil that's going to leave the site let alone this area great thank you and is it correct
that the interventions will not increase the likelihood of loss of property yes that's correct
and that's similar to what i said just previously in that all this work is being done in the center
of the site with none of it going towards the extra uh the exterior thank you and finally is
uh the exterior thank you and finally is it uh correct that the earth moving plan shown in
to correct that the earth moving plan shown
exhibit five is fully code compliant yes that is correct great thank you um that's all i have for
mr de monte so the only two other people were teresa ball and william valerio teresa ic is in
mr valerio may still be trying to get in but we could move on to miss ball
miss ball can you please unmute yourself or wait for the chair
I'm unmuted. Hi, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Teresa Ball, T-E-R-E-S-A-B-A-L-L. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth,
the whole truth, nothing but the truth? I do. Proceed, counsel.
Thank you. I note that Ms. Ball's CV is at Exhibit 24, and I will be introducing her as
an expert in architecture. Ms. Ball, if you could please briefly describe your role in this project
and summarize your professional background?
Absolutely.
We are the design architects.
My office is Matthew Baird Architects.
We are the design architects for this project.
And we've been working with Woodmere for 10 years
on their master planning goals.
And I have been at this office for 17 years.
Great. Thanks very much.
Can you please confirm that you heard my testimony,
that it was true and correct,
and that you agreed to adopt it as your own?
Yes, I do.
Great. Thank you.
is it correct that your firm's affidavit is located in Exhibit 7? Yes, that's correct.
Thanks. I just have a few brief questions for you. Will the requested variances harm
the neighbors' use of their properties or impair any adequate supply of light and air to those
properties? No, they will not. We are not exceeding any of the existing heights of the building with
any of our modifications or new proposals. In addition, any of the modifications and the new
auditorium are all located greater than 100 feet from all frontages um additionally we designed
the auditorium which is the only proposed freestanding building to be sunken below grade
to minimize its impact on any sight line great thank you um and can you explain briefly the
reasoning behind the location of the cafe restaurant that we can see here that affects
the steep slopes? Yeah, absolutely. In the beginning, we explored several locations for
the cafe, and one of the favorite ones, which would have necessitated no modification to the
steep slope, was in this open-air porch that you see. But after meeting with the community,
it was determined that there was a strong desire to preserve that porch and restore it to its
original open air condition. And so we moved the cafe back to the least visible portion of the site.
Great. Thanks very much. And finally, is it correct that the variance for the auditorium,
which is the separate building, will represent the minimum variance required to afford relief
and the least modification possible? Yes, absolutely. That's, as I mentioned,
we sunk that into the ground so that really the only part that protrudes is necessary for access.
and it's also located towards the center of the site.
So to minimize impact from any of the surrounding roads or properties.
Great. Thanks very much.
And I think, Devin, you can go back to the site plan slide just for context
or actually maybe to the artwork slide because we do have Mr. Valerio here
and he will round out our presentation if we could just very briefly speak with him.
All right. Could you unmute yourself, sir?
i believe i did okay all right uh could you state your name please and spell for the court reporter
my name is william valerio that's v-a-l-e-r-i-o first name william w-i-l-i-a-m right do you swear
for him to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth i do proceed counsel thanks very
much uh mr valerio's cv is at exhibit 28 i'll be introducing him as an expert in museum
Administration. Mr. Valerio, if you could please describe your position at Woodmere and briefly
summarize your professional background. My position is Director and CEO of Woodmere Art
Museum. I have a PhD in Art History, an MBA, Master's Degree in Business Association, and I've
worked in museum administration for 30 years of my professional life. Terrific, thank you. Can you
please confirm that you heard my testimony that it was true and correct and that you agree to adopt
it as your own i do thank you so very briefly um you know we've already gone into the detailed
variant standards but just to round out our presentation and give the board a feel for
uh what the project is if you could just very briefly explain why woodmere purchased the
property absolutely uh woodmere's art collection is one of the great collections of american art
80% of it is in storage and having the extraordinary gallery.
80% of it is in storage and having the extraordinary gallery space at the new building, McGuire Hall, allows us to show the art in our collection, which is the mission of the institution.
The building also allows us to expand our outdoor sculpture experience, so we will install
sculpture across the four acres, and we will expand education programs in new facilities
like auditorium, like children's art studios.
Great, thank you.
And then just really briefly, you kind of touched on it just now, but if you could just
elaborate slightly on the need for the auditorium and the need for the cafe and restaurant.
Yes, the auditorium is an education facility that is associated with being able to expand
education programs. The cafe restaurant is an amenity that visitors to museums expect
and it will be an accessory used to the museum.
Terrific, thank you. I was just going to confirm that it would be an accessory. And
just finally, if you could speak very briefly about the kind of the level of community engagement
that you and the Woodmure Art Museum
have gone into during this process?
We have had seven public meetings.
We've advertised these meetings in the local newspaper.
We have posted videos of some of these meetings
on our website, and we've worked on a one-on-one basis
with nearby neighbors and have engaged openly
with an open door policy as to the development
of our ideas and plans for the building terrific thank you very much and that concludes our
presentation thank you questions from the board yeah i just have one um it may not be significant
the francis mcguire hall is within the woodmere museum correct um the the new property is is
renamed francis mcguire hall it was previously named saint michael's hall when it was a convent
for the Sisters of St. Joseph's.
It was a lead gift from the McGuire Foundation
that led to the naming of the building
in honor of Francis McGuire.
Thank you.
Thanks.
Any other questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Mr. Chairman.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Chair, we have someone by the name of Christopher Hull.
Mr. Hall, please unmute yourself and wait for the chair.
Hi, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Chris Hall.
C-H-R-I-S-H-A-L-L.
Right.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Are you a neighbor?
Okay, proceed, sir.
and and bill and his team have been terrific as they've represented to the board they've been
absolute delights to work with they have agreed to make some restrictions and i'm i just have a
a technical question do those restrictions uh need to be part of this record
we only make restrictions that are enforceable by lni as part of the the variance record
Is that right, Hillary?
That is correct, Mr. Chair.
So, may I?
Go ahead, Mr. Guest.
Thank you.
Mr. Hall, it's good to hear you.
Yeah, I don't know if you're on, but I did state for the record that the restaurant parameters that we all discussed are in our exhibit book.
They're going to be part of the zoning board's archives, and we've stated on the record here, and it'll be on the transcript that we are agreeing to all of those parameters.
as negotiated. Thank you, Mr. Guest. That answers my question.
I appreciate it. Anyone else in the virtual audience?
Chair, I see no other hands at this time.
My Planning Commission. Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman.
David Vecto, City Planning Commission. That's F-E-C-T-E-A-U.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Yes, sir, I do. Proceed, David. Thank you. Mr. Chairman and members of the board,
the comprehensive plan recommends a change in the zoning of this property from residential single
family detached three to residential single family detached one the expansion of this property would
require disturbance of a 25 slope however the plan keeps this disturbance to a minimum and proposes
to stabilize other steep slopes on the property so the city planning commission recommends that
board grant the use and steep slope variances thank you mi 2022-003-931-9101 germantown avenue
0-0-3-9-3-1-9-1-0-1, Germantown Avenue.
I vote yes.
Harold Tenere, my vote is yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Shmell Shahid, my vote is yes.
Thank you, Mr. Guest.
Great. Thank you all so much. I appreciate it. Have a good day.
Right. So number two on our regular list,
MI-2022-003-867-3517 North 23rd Street.
Alan Nockamson is the attorney.
Letter of support from Allegheny West.
Letter of support from Swamp Poodle Neighbors Parcels Association with Provisos.
Also, Councilwoman Bass has taken a position of non-opposition.
Mr. Nockmson is coming back in as a panelist now, Chair.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair, members of the board.