family zoning at this location the city rezoned this neighborhood in 2012 and a council requested
map change there's no unique physical condition or circumstance of this property that would prevent
conformance with the zoning code city planning commission recommends the board deny the proposed
use variance for visitor accommodation thank you um mi 2025 007 631 76 35 east roosevelt boulevard
I vote yes, with proviso.
Temporary variance expires 9-24-29.
First and second floor only, and commercial trash pickup.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes, with provisos.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes, with provisos.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes, with provisos.
Ryan McAdams, my vote is yes, with provisos.
Ryan Wynn, my vote is yes, with provisos.
Thank you, counsel.
Thank you.
That concludes my business.
may have excused most certainly thank you thank you mr chair all right um number number we're
going to call this number five mi 2025 007 852 2167 north 29th street sean whalen is the attorney
and i'm going to recuse myself chair and i noticed there's a letter of non-opposition
from Council Member Young, and the applicant gave us 11 signatures, but we don't have an RCO letter
because there's a complex meeting about there was no meeting. He showed up, but there was no meeting.
Correct. All right. You do the follow-up question. Sean, could you please state and spell your name
for the stenographer of course sean sean whalen whalen here on behalf of 2167 llc the owner of the
property and the applicant all right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing
but the truth yes i do our board secretary has a few questions for you a good afternoon council
did you submit your documents and exhibits 14 days before this year uh to make sure that ian's here
AND IS LISTENING I DID SUPPORT MY SUBMIT MY REGULAR EXHIBITS AND FOR ONE TIME I MISSED
SOME SUPPLEMENTAL EXHIBITS THAT WERE NEEDED THOSE WERE NOT SUBMITTED 14 DAYS BUT THEY WERE
SUBMITTED I DON'T KNOW A WEEK AGO SO YOU KNOW THAT IAN IS ALWAYS LISTENING I JUST I GET THAT SENSE
THANK YOU AND UH DO YOU UH WAIVE THE READING OF THE REFUSAL AND STIPULATE TO ITS ACCURACY
yes i do thank you then you can uh share your screen and begin your presentation
thank you very much so this is the first of two properties for
the same underlying owner
can the board see my screen now we can okay um this is 2167 north 29th street and
just quickly an atlas map to show you where this is this is one one parcel in from the corner of
west susquehanna avenue and north 29th street again this is looking south now at the property
we are not the corner property we're the next one in you can see there's a large mixture just on the
other side of west susquehanna of property types and with regard to this property
uh the condition is about 50 50 on the block of vacant lots and vacant buildings
to occupied uh built structures um you are you generally have about half of the
uh buildings that are built and occupied are multi-family uh you can see on our side of the
street the east side of the street all the buildings are three stories the multi-families
on that side are all triplexes as indicated in numerous photos and whatnot by three mailboxes
numerous photos and whatnot by three mailboxes three trash cans out in front of the properties
three trash cans.
as well as in the city records on the west side which would be the side of this photo closest to
us all those properties that are occupied are two stories about half of them again are duplexes but
not triplexes. So we are seeking today to turn this existing three-story building right
here into a triplex. And as you can see, this is RSA 5. It's a built structure. We're not
adding any height or new construction as part of this project. And we only have the one
refusal which is for you know multi-family three three dwelling units being prohibited in a rsa
five zoning district you can see here where the property on the right it is existing we have
multiple vacant lots to our to the right hand side in this photo and as you can see going down
And again, this is the general condition of this entire block is sort of this toothed building versus non-building vacant lots.
And about, you know, even some of the existing buildings in place are also still vacant.
This is a photo looking north.
Again, as I said, as you go north of, this is West Susquehanna, running east and west here, you have a large church.
there's also a daycare up there you have some businesses on the left so there is a variation
of property type and use as you go up this is what's directly across from us this is
i believe six part six separate parcels that i could find out by deed they have been vacant long
enough to have beautifully grown trees in them and it is well manicured and used kind of as an open
park for the neighborhood um but as far as i could tell the condition of the vacant lots
uh is pervasive and has been there for decades um again this is the same with the property where
we're talking about 2167 is right behind where this red car is off screen and this is just
looking down so again you can see the three-story buildings on the left and the two-story buildings
on the right these are the floor plans as it's laid out there is no basement living just
mechanicals in the basement the first floor has a one bedroom with rear access into the rear yard
the rear yard is approximately 10 and a half 11 feet deep and there is a three foot alleyway
running north and south between this this property and the properties on the other side on the other
side of the block. In the second floor, you have a two-bedroom unit, and on the third floor,
you have a two-bedroom unit. This property was actually built in this condition. The client
actually purchased this in March of 2023. It was already set up as a triplex. George Ponzo will
come on and adopt my testimony and answer some of this a little more directly for you.
What he purchased, this property, it was almost fully rehabbed already when he bought it.
And he actually, this and the next property that we're going to be talking about, 3024
West Dauphin, which is the same owner, George Ponzo, these were the first two multifamily
properties he's ever purchased. The next one that we're going to talk about is essentially a shell
with framing inside this one was fully rehab so he was excited to have this one basically done
and only need to work on one of the two so i'll show you some interior photos um
and the property owner he did walk the property beforehand and it is in the current condition
that he bought it in uh already set up as a triplex um next we did attempt to have an rco
meeting we worked closely with pastor tyrone williams he was very helpful helpful set us up
a meeting in late july and he showed up as did a non-coordinating rco head and we all just looked
at each other for about half an hour because no one from the community showed up it was a
very lovely july evening and he said that there were a couple other community events maybe going
on in the area, but there were all the notice letters sent out. I believe Pastor Williams
had originally told me he would get on and, you know, say that this is what happened and
say that this is what happened and had no objection to us proceeding without a meeting
had no objection to us proceeding without a meeting because, you know, we did.
because you know we did appear and we did serve the notices to all the properties
so because this happened the owner george ponzo went forward and went door to door and he'll talk
about you know that experience went door to door trying to see if you know we need to know what the
community thinks again it's mostly vacant sites but he did find and you can see from some of the
addresses as you're looking uh even the immediately adjacent property was in support
and he found no opposition
so with that i would say that we have a clear hardship here in that first and foremost the
property has dramatically changed there's been a sea change in the neighborhood from
the rsa 5 zoning district this was actually remapped some time ago just
the entire neighborhood in all directions this property has been a long-standing vacant building
there have been vacant lots all up and down but this is like I said about a 50 percent
50 percent of the buildings that are occupied are multi-family either triplexes on the east side or
duplexes on the west side and there is no detriment to the health safety and welfare of the public
quite to the opposite this will put eyes on the street get a much more active building take away
a vacant building and vacant lots that you know we all know the trouble that those bring in the
neighborhood and lastly this is the least minimum variance because we are seeking simply one unit
per floor we're not trying to add basement living and this would be the natural configuration of
this uh property in fact as it was already set up um so with the photos inside oh thank you yeah maybe
so i'm at the bottom i'll just go from the bottom up um
So, as you can see, this is, like I said, mostly rehabbed. It wasn't ultimately finished. Yep.
You know, everything will have to be, you know, make sure that it's fully permitted meets all code requirements and everything going forward.
But as you can see, most of the work is done. If you can tell the electrical boxes and isn't finished out there.
Um, but this is the condition in which, uh, Mr. Ponzo purchased the property.
Why do you bring your client on?
Of course, uh, George Ponzo.
He says he's on.
Mr. Ponzo.
Mr. George Ponzo, you are allowed to speak.
Can you hear me now?
Yes, I can.
could you please state and spell your name for the stenographer george ponzo g-e-o-r-g-e
p-o-n-c-o do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
yes i do counsel thank you very much chairman uh mr ponzo you are here as a member of the llc
that owns the property correct yes have you heard all the testimony that i already provided in this
matter yes do you believe that all of it to be true and correct to the best of your information
knowledge and belief yes would you adopt my testimony as your own yes okay now to clarify
some things for the board you purchased the property in march of 2023 correct correct yes
uh and you walked the property before you purchased it yes i did and you just saw the
condition of the interior photos that i uh just showed to the board uh was that the condition
that it was in when you purchased it? Yes. And it was already set up as a triplex? Yes. Okay. And
was it in part because it had been mostly rehabbed that you, in fact, purchased this property?
Yes. Okay. Did you believe it was approved for a triplex at the time that you bought it? Yes.
okay and had you ever handled uh multi-family units before multi-family triplexes before with
the city no but you have other properties that you have that are single family houses correct
yes okay um how did you learn that this was not approved to be a triplex uh when i tried to get a
um after fixing it up and well after doing a little bit of work uh
i went to i forget exactly the um the step behind went
but i tried to get information on it and noticed that it wasn't zoned for a triplex
but i tried to get information on it and noticed that it wasn't zone
okay and that's when you learned you needed to get a variance to yes triplex use okay yes
and now did you also hear what i testified to with regard to our rco meeting and process yes
okay uh did did anybody from the community appear when you went to the meeting no
Okay. Uh, and then did you then go door to door with a petition for support?
Yes, I did. Okay. And how was the reception when you went door to door?
Uh, I didn't get no nasty looks or anything like that. All of them was very informative,
uh, wanting to know, uh, exactly what was going to be the outcome of it. And most of them was
delighted to uh to to hear that something was being done okay was there anybody that told you
they were in opposition to the project no uh and lastly um if you were to rent the properties
what would you rent the units for well i was looking to keep it affordable for the neighborhood
um and maybe look into uh um section eight housing okay and you understand that there's
no basement living correct yes and you would be accepting of a a qualification on the zoning
permit from the zoning board that no basement living is permitted correct yes all right and
Can you also finally understand that you'd have to meet all city zoning codes and building codes and fire codes to occupy the building?
Yes. No further questions from the board.
Yeah, I just want to walk through some of the history here at the property, because it does look like you started doing work.
And I just want to understand what work have you completed since you became owner in 2023?
because it does look like there were some plumbing permits pulled and there's been a number of
violations that were some that are open some that were closed out so i just want to understand
like what work has happened since purchase uh well the plumbing i believe uh on the second
you pulled it huh well in 2025 you believe no i'm not i'm not saying that okay i'm not saying
that i didn't i'll take that back but the plumbing issue was one of the toilets
that were i don't know why something might have got in it uh during uh the previous person um
fixing it up i'm not sure what it was but uh it clogged the main drain going out to the uh
street. So I had to get Roto-Rooter over there to fix it. I believe they pulled the permit.
That's why I was not sure. So I just want to walk through, because I understand that you're
saying there was already three family when you purchased that. What work have you done since?
I haven't did any work really because of it needed to fix it up a little bit. So I just
like what no no no no fixing up means and just cosmetic i might have painted a little bit
and um that was basically it because i needed the variance and i didn't have the money to
pursue with fixing it completely or at all okay i just want to check because fixing it up
could require a permit i think a lot of people don't understand the interior no no i'm fully
aware of that okay there's that's why alteration permit which is why yeah no that's why i stopped
that's why i stopped and then pursued to get the the variance because that was lengthy also okay
and then i think my my next question is just around like the management of this property
like what's your if you don't have any other multi-family what's going to be your plan
for the management of this property and i guess this question will come up for the next one as
well but like this is it's a very different ball game well um i'm uh a plumber by trade uh i also
have um my own construction business so either i or the team that works with me would be doing
most of the work i'm not asking about the construction work i'm asking about the property
management once you have a tenant well they would they would be over it also i'm sorry
leases in this building right right yeah people and trash and like what's your property management
yeah people and trash and like what's your property management plan yeah i'm aware of that
been playing.
and yes uh we will be handling all of that yeah but how my question is like it's the like what is
your like do you have a plan in place are you going to hire a property management company
are you going to manage it yourself no they they will have my number to call
to uh handle any situations that happen okay and then what's the plan for trash
uh well i can get uh the city to come by and pick trash you mean well there's multiple ways the city
can pick up the trash so are you thinking like you're gonna just write into the leases and have
your tenants put it out with the regular trash pickup that comes yes yes okay and then where
are you planning to put the trash receptacles for the building uh it uh like he said is a
little area behind the house off to the side um that could go back there and all tenants will
have access to the rear yard yes through the they're gonna have to walk around and go in from
the from the side isn't this yes until how are they gonna get to the well either they can walk
it around i haven't really came to that point technically legally i mean yes i understand that
there's a faking lot next to your property now so like currently that yes they can well no that
wouldn't I wouldn't I wouldn't allow them to do that because that wouldn't be right
um so how are all of the tenants getting access to the rear yard
well it would be under lock and key so they would have a key to it if they walk around the building
but if they choose to I'll figure something out with maybe putting it to the front of the building
okay i have no problem i mean i haven't really with respect real quick wait a minute any other
questions questions for attorney um just a question of counsel uh we never received those