Mr. Ciardi, you heard everything I stated today.
As well as everything I stated at the earlier hearing.
that is correct and is it true and correct everything you stated was true and correct
and to answer the chairman's question i know that 1900 spruce street is a lawyer
is a law firm um and it still is and i was a little more uh interested in knowing the other
properties i assume they're not corners the other prop the other six properties are not
corner properties i don't know the answer to that okay yeah so i actually had the addresses
mr chairman yeah i meant to take a ride there and i completely forgot i wanted to go do a visual for
myself but i completely forgot to do so so according to public record the addresses which
have a commercial component are 1900 spruce street 1911 spruce street 1913 spruce street
1915 Spruce Street, 1919 Spruce Street, 1925 Spruce Street, and 1929 Spruce Street.
And I just limited it to the 1900 block.
I mean, if you look at both sections, you know, there's, and by the way, Mr. Ciardi,
and I don't remember if I asked you this question, so I'll just ask it again.
Do you adopt everything I stated today as your own testimony?
Mr. Ciardi, do you have anything to add that I may have missed?
Look, as I think, as you indicated, I purchased the building to put my firm here.
We wanted to keep everything in the city.
We thought with the pandemic, it was easier for us to spread out within the building as opposed to being in one of the high rises.
so the purpose of what we're doing is to try to put my seven full-time employees really
spaced over two floors as opposed to squeezing them in on the second floor of the building and
it really doesn't allow that much room for expansion or you know if I have it but it really
there's not that many more people I could add I would only have one more floor to add them
so our use is is pretty light um and i believe we would be good neighbors and we are we are
i think doing what we need what we're supposed to do and and i'm keeping everybody here um in
the city where uh i think it benefits everybody and you know had we done i think and i i have to
you know confirm with my architect but if we couldn't use this for offices and we had to use
it for residential our use would be much greater because you could get a lot of units in here and
our use would be much greater because you could get a lot of units in here and potentially there'd
be more parking issues and right now the only person that parks here is me and I use the garage
everybody else is on public transportation yeah members of the board if you may remember there
is an accessory parking garage in the rear just for one you know one space but and and just so
you look at the pictures i mean this this property actually was profiled in philly mag um you know
one of the reasons why mr security purchased this is just as a handsome property and he wanted to
you know again close his legal career in such a beautiful property and expand the use to additional
floors which you may need but he's this is not uh you know one of these like hack jobs where he's
trying to you know increase the use to a point where he's just trying to fill it up this is more
of a boutique property with a boutique law firm in there so thank you okay uh question anyone else
alan no no no mr chair uh questions from the board no no no okay anyone else wish to testify
in this case please raise your hand i see a lot of participants i'm going to ask at the onset and
probably have to repeat it. If you have a comment, please do not continue to repeat the same comments.
New and different is okay, but please do not repeat the same statements that prior speakers
may put on the record. Thank you.
Here we have Constance. Constance, you can unmute yourself and wait to be sworn in.
I'm here.
ma'am would you please spell your name for the record first and last name and give us your
address yes my name is constance cone c-o-n-s-t-a-n-c-e last name cone like an ice cream cone
c-o-n-e and i live at 1910 spruce street thank you swear and affirm to tell the truth the whole
truth and nothing but the truth i do thank you please proceed um i think i'm going to start by
saying we are not our neighborhood group that is protesting this is not concerned with density as
Mr. Malcolmson talked about but with the nature and we are concerned that it's being turned into
completely commercial space you agree to that variance and then one after another building
might go that way that's our fear for also when Mr. Malcolmson talked about the buildings that are
commercial in nature I think he's miscounting we have a dry cleaner on one end on the north side
and we have food and friends convenience store which I hope reopens on the other end on my side
of the block we have 1900 which we talked about and we have the AVA and that's it there are no
other businesses on our block I've spoken to many of the neighbors not just the ones that were at
the meeting that we had with Mr.
Knocklinson and Mr. Chiarity, and
they're not happy, and I think a number of them have
written letters to
the ZBA.
We do have
numerous letters, yes.
I think that's basically what I would like to say,
and I think there's some other people who would like to
speak as well.
So, Mr. Chair, I would actually
object to the introduction of those letters
into evidence, just because, like, again,
we've been completely forthright.
We've given more than enough notice, more notice than we even required under the law.
So if people actually gave letters to the ZBA, I think I'm entitled to actually see them.
Well, I'm sure, Sharon, we can provide them.
Or Tanya, I'm sure we can provide them to you.
But what I read on the few that I read, they're all pretty much the same as what the last witness spoke to.
We have a host of letters.
Alan, I can provide them to you.
Thank you.
So, Wade Alpert, you can unmute yourself and wait to be sworn in.
Good afternoon.
Good afternoon, sir.
Please identify yourself with a record.
Sure, my name is Wade Alpert, A-L-B-E-R-T.
I am counsel for the Center City Residence Association, and I'm with Sobel Law Group,
and my address is 1845 Walnut Street, 23rd floor, Philadelphia PA 19103.
And do you swear and affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Thank you, Wade. Please proceed.
Thank you very much.
So I just, I'm only speaking, I spoke when this came to a hearing a few weeks ago,
and just reiterating what happened at the CCRA's public hearing on this matter,
that we heard several neighbors who were in opposition
specifically to the use of this property.
specifically to the the use of this property as a as a commercial property and the civic association
believed that a um an adequate adequate way to hopefully remedy this situation would be to
require a proviso that the use only be um for a um and i want to read this so i get it absolutely
correctly the business operator the premises is a law firm and the purpose of that was that um
we understood the the zoning committee of ccra understood that uh a law firm use uh would probably
not be um problematic necessarily for the community um given the the light use that was
discussed by the applicant in this case and that in the event that a future owner comes in and
wants to use this property for a different commercial use it would require them to go
through the zoning process again and almost allow this to be considered by the neighbors on a case
by case basis and if they there are if there is a potential use in the future uh that would
more greatly impact the neighbors, then perhaps CCRA would object at that time and the neighbors
would have another opportunity to provide their opinions. So again, I'm just sharing that concern
and having spoken to the applicant after the zoning committee made his decision,
it's my understanding that the applicant agrees with this proviso. So thank you very much.
thank you anyone else something new and different sure we have irene irene you can unmute yourself
and wait to be sworn in hi i'm mrs irene baker uh miss baker please uh identify yourself with
the record spell your last name and give it your address i live at 1908 spruce street my last name
is baker b-a-k-e-r i just wanted to correct someone mentioned um i'm sorry i need to swear
you in do you swear and affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
i do please proceed someone mentioned that there are nail salons restaurants and doctor's offices
on our block and i just wanted to confirm that she has remembered incorrectly there are no nail
salons doctor's offices or restaurants on the block of swiss 19 and 20. i didn't hear that
i don't know if anyone else did but i haven't heard that yes someone on the committee said
she knew the block but she didn't know the block not during these hearings okay yes yes earlier
five minutes ago at exactly 2 30 someone mentioned that lisa something perhaps
No, Carol Tenere.
Carol.
I think you're thinking of the wrong block, Carol.
I may be a block down, but there is commercial.
Okay, Carol.
I'm sorry.
I just wanted to set the record straight that this is not a block that has those kinds of
businesses on it.
It's a residential block, other than the few that Connie Pohn mentioned.
Understood.
Thank you.
Thank you.
anyone else
there we have susan susan you can unmute yourself and wait for this morning
i just did i don't know if you can hear me just making sure i can hear you now so uh full name
i believe we sent a letter in but give us your full name and address please oh it will do uh
Chairman, Susan Satkowski, S-A-T-K-O-W-S-K-I, 1907 Spur Street.
We're in a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Thank you.
Just a few points, Chairman and other members of the board, and not to repeat.
The history of the property is this.
In 2014, the prior owners sought a variance to operate a second business,
which was related to the husband and wife that owned the property.
So it was a second business and a design firm and also a law firm on the first floor.
The proviso from Center City Residents Association at that time was that it remained husband and wife
related and that did not work. It expanded well beyond that and owner
occupied. The problem is at the time CCRA voiced the problem that they were
They were concerned that the use could become inconsistent with the residential character of the block.
concerned that the use could become inconsistent with a residential
I'm going to object to the test one because I think she's saying what CCRA was saying.
So we have Wade Albert.
I'm saying back in 2014, and I have that as an exhibit that I sent to the board.
I don't see a share button here, and I can put that into the record if I have the opportunity.
Yeah, again, I'm going to object because I believe it's not just on the applicant to share all documents, but also anyone who submits anything to the Zoning Board in advance of the hearing.
I did not see that in the instructions, but I'm happy to, and this has all been discussed on that call with you and previously, so it's really nothing new.
um secondly the the two properties that were listed as the seven commercial several of those
people um have sent in letters voicing opposition so they're certainly not commercial use they're
condo owners so that may have been a historical overlay but everything on this block residential
with the exception of the corners um also presented to ccra i was at that meeting um was the idea that
there'd be one firm in this building. We only learned that it was going to be one firm on two
floors and then rented out to two other floors for other firms end of the year or whenever COVID
ends, and I hope it ends soon, but that's not what was presented to CCRA. Thirdly, that meeting
was not well attended. Many people on the block hadn't even heard about it. And since then, we
have at least 15, if not more, surrounding nearby neighbors objecting to this use. I don't know how
many it takes to sway the board in terms of neighborhood opposition, but clearly it's against
our own neighborhood association. We're in that usual situation. Last, as I
understand the law, a variance is granted if it will not result or it will be
granted to prevent an unnecessary hardship to the owner and if it will not
adversely affect public health, safety, welfare and presents a condition that's
unique to the property and the applicant didn't create the hardship himself. This is a recent
purchase. When Mr. Ciardi purchased it, he knew that it was only zoned for businesses on the
first and second floor. He knew that it had to be related to an owner occupancy. So those features
of the law are not met here. I would respectfully request for those reasons to have the variance
denied. I still don't see the exhibit button or the share file presented, but I would like to
submit those documents. Thank you. I think it's a general question. If the board were to deny this
application, which would limit the use of the law firm to the first and second floor,
what would the community, I mean, what do you do with the third and fourth floor? They could be
converted into residential units. I don't know how many units you can get up there legally
without getting a variance. Doesn't that create a little bit more of a hardship, meaning
the density issue, as opposed to a law firm where people come and work 8 to 10, 8 to whatever the
hours are, and traditionally maybe not on a Saturday and Sunday. That's the confusing part
for me. And the other thing I just want to say for everyone who's listening, I understand everyone
concerned if the board were to approve this that it's a slippery slope that's not how this board
operates we look at each case on a case-by-case basis uh there's no such thing as well if the
neighbors are more uh inclined if the number of residents are against something that the board
will generally go that way we look at each case uh you know people obviously um you know can take
exception to what we do but we look at these cases on a case-by-case basis so again i just was i'm
curious as to what what happened to the third and fourth floor they're going to stay vacant i don't
think so and mr knockam so maybe you can help me do you have any idea what he what the number of
units residential units could be uh uh occupied his third and fourth floor well just from the
dimensions Mr. Chair I mean you're easily going to be able to get a few per floor at least at
least and that's that's what we don't understand instead of like you know nine to five versus five
you know, nine to five versus five to nine. Like I live in the city too. And by the way,
to nine like I live in the city too and
I don't have a garage. And, you know, the worst thing is when you go home is you're fighting for
parking spots. When you have a law firm, you know, people are leaving nine to five. And again,