businesses that may present noise or emissions unwelcome to new residents the city planning
commission recommends the zoning board deny the variance thank you mi2023 003 830 13481
Demar Drive
I vote yes
Thomas Holloman
my vote is yes
James Snell my vote is yes
Ishmael Shahid
my vote is yes
thank you counsel
thank you Mr. Chairman
always a pleasure members of the board
take care
is there anyone in the 2pm
hearings
their case has not been called
i see no hands chair we're going to take a five minute break then we'll come back and
we'll go right through the 330 list okay thank you everyone thank you chair good afternoon
good afternoon my name is bill bergman and i will be chairing the 330 zba hearings
with me is our vice chair ismail shaheed
present mr chairman our board member thomas holliman present mr chairman and our board
member james snell present mr chairman also present is hillary emerson our attorney and
our executive director tanya sunkett is also here here's our virtual format be advised the
proceedings are being recorded. A video will be available by contacting tonyasunkett at phil.gov.
For the benefit of our court stenographer, we ask attorneys and witnesses to identify
themselves before testifying. If you are participating by phone, if you wish to testify,
press star 9 to raise your hand and star 6 to unmute. To enter an appearance statement, call
267-270-5548. Leave your email and the address of the property in question. And finally, the
question and answer box on the screen is not for comments or testimony. All comments should be
directed to our Executive Director, Tanya Sunken. Let's look at our schedule for this afternoon.
Number four, MI 2023-002-415-1941 East Tioga Street. That case is continued, attorney moving party.
number nine
MI 2023
North 32nd Street
that case is continued
we also
is there any other
requests for continuances
I see no hands
at this time chair
thank you
We also have a few cases that have no exhibits. So MI 2023-002-403-3229 Rohrer Street. Madeline Gonzalez is the owner. There's no exhibits. It's the first listing.
chair we have someone by the name of madeline murphy they've been unmuted and allowed to speak
i could you could you state your name please and spell for the court stenographer
my name is madeline murphy gonzalez okay i may spell your name please for the court reporter
Madeline, M-A-D-E-L-I-N-E, last name Gonzalez, G-O-N-Z-A-L-E-Z.
We're referring to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Ms. Gonzalez, we do not have any exhibits.
This is the first listing, but we do not have any exhibits from you.
I did mail, I did email the exhibits.
I emailed them to the RCO, I mailed them last week.
um the rcozba i did send them and i did
um the rcozba i did send them and i did speak to the young lady at the office
who stated that she has received them okay um
why don't we do this why don't we take take a look to see if we can find that we'll get back to
you okay hillary or tanya could we see if we we do have these yes chair we're right on it all right
Thank you. So, Ms. Gonzalez, we'll be back with you shortly. Okay?
Okay. Thank you.
All right. And number eight, MI 2022-004-360-10960 Dutton Road. This is the fourth listing.
Mr. Ward is the attorney. Mr. Ward's not available today, so MI2022-004-360-10960,
Dutton Road, I vote to dismiss. Thomas Holloman, I vote to dismiss. James Snell,
my vote is to dismiss ishmael shaheed my vote is to dismiss thank you we're going to start with
uh number two and i excuse me mr chair um can we just um uh address sorry number six and i saw
um someone related to the case jason long raising their hand um we do need to continue
this matter because an attorney is necessary the property is owned in the name of an llc but i did
see Mr. Long's hand raised. I'll call that. Okay. MI 2023-002-438-7701 Gilbert Street. Jason Long.
There's a letter of support from the 50th Ward Democratic
Executive Committee. Mr. Long. Jason Long, can you please raise your virtual hand?
chair jason long has been unmuted and allowed to speak
all right could you state your name please and spell for the court stenographer yes jason long
j-a-s-o-n-l-o-n-g right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but
the truth i do do you understand you need an attorney i do okay uh your case is going to be
continued, okay? Yes. Okay. MI 2023-002-438-7701 Gilbert Street. This case is continued. Mark must
be heard the next time. Thank you for calling in, Mr. Long. Thank you. We're going to move to number
Number two, MI-2023-002-5453-9201 James Street.
Alan Nockamson is the attorney.
There's a letter of support from East Tarsdale Civic Association, a letter of opposition from Council Member Driscoll.
There's also 14 neighbors who have signed a petition.
Mr. Nockamson.
He's coming back in as a panelist now, Chair.
just state your name for the record we've already sworn you a few times
alan knockamson okay could you identify your client in the relationship to the property
yes direct auto sales speeding inc uh and in the virtual audience is its president
albert belfer belfer and our vice chair has just a few questions sir
Good afternoon, counsel. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed all the required documents and exhibits that is needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
Yes, we have.
Thank you. Please proceed and share your screen.
and uh just to be clear i said you know um i believe uh mr shahad stated the word we said
refusal this is actually a referral so i just want to make that perfectly clear standards you
know slightly different so for 9201 uh james street we're going to review first the notice
of referral then we have a letter of support from east toursdale civic association so this is a very
well attended meeting. Overwhelming support. And we also have a petition from nearby neighbors as
well. Well, just as a matter of background, my client owns a dealership on the same block.
They're trying to sell cars via the internet because of state law. They need to have a
they need to have a separate location. They can't sell their cars on the internet in the same
separate location. They can't sell their cars on the internet.
location in which the dealership is located. So my client bought a property that's ICMX,
which is across the street from I2, to literally have an office space where they can then sell
their cars on the internet to be in compliance with state law. So this is a very minimal use
of this property under the circumstances as icmx as well as being neighboring i2 um and you know
you know we we thought we were going to have smooth sailing here we had a you know over 30
people supported at the community meeting we have a petition overwhelmingly in support
in our left field uh we get this letter of opposition from the district council member
Again, if you read the application itself, it seems like we're selling cars on site. We're not. We can agree to a reasonable proviso in that no cars would be physically located on the property for sale.
that's not my client's intention. We had conversations since we received a letter
of opposition from the district council members. Stan from the office indicated that there was
grumblings with my client's use of the property next door and how they park cars illegally on
the street. So I talked to my client about it and that's not the case. We, you know, there are a lot
of cars that for whatever reason are dumped in front of our property. I feel like he stated that
this, the property previous to his use and ownership of it, um, was basically a salvage
yard, which he cleaned up. So for whatever reason, I think some people believe they stole a salvage
yard and they dumped their cars in front of my client's property. We've called the police on
on the occasion saying, why are people, you know, someone's illegally dumping cars in front of our
place. So I think maybe that's the issue here, but it's nothing what my client's doing. And again,
this is a referral. Is the use what you would expect typically for that zoning classification?
Are we worse than what you would expect of this particular use? The answer is no. I mean,
again, we're a responsible operator. And what we're proposing to do, there's other nearby
automotive uses, what you'll see. And again, the petition you'll see too, we made a conservative
effort to reach nearby property owners and occupants. Then you'll review maps of the area,
photographs of the property, the interior of our current property. So my client built out this,
You know, the interior of the property, you'll see it's a really de minimis use of the interior.
There are like four offices, a reception area, and a bathroom.
The hours of operation are from 10 to 6.
And again, we're not putting any of our cars for sale on this lot.
It's just because of state law, we need to have a separate location.
We're trying to encourage business development in the state of Philadelphia.
And this is how my client needs to earn his living.
And again, it's just because of this requirement under state law.
Then we have floor plans, our RCO meeting notice.
It was a very well-attended meeting, and we had overwhelming support.
Our application for a special exception, our deeds to the property showing direct auto sales,
Speedy Inc. is the owner of the property, and our certificate of tax collectors.
Again, at the conclusion of my presentation, I would ask that Mr. Belfer virtually raise his hand,
be sworn in and have a few questions for him again the application here that's as part of
this referral is the application for personal vehicle sales and rental no sale of used auto
parts on the same lot with all other uses previously approved again we're not having
these cars physically on this lot like they're next they're like on the street you know at the
dealership. We just need this separate physical location to do business on the internet.
So we met with the East Torresdale Civic Association. We had overwhelming support.
30 individuals were in support of this matter. Only six were in opposition to this matter.
And it's shown here as well.
and then again um there's indication by council member driscoll's office that you know we are a
nuisance to to this block that is incorrect and i have my client who will testify to that fact
Um, and again, we're focused on this property itself.
and again we're focused on this property itself
yourself.
We're not focused on the dealership.
So irrespective of what the allegations are, which are not correct, this use of the property,
given its location, we can't be a nuisance.
We're tucked in.
We're, we're, we're, we're on a dead end street and you'll see that as well.
so nearby automotive uses we have these six instances which one of us one of them is us
we have modern auto detailing intent 925 auto repair services center speedy use car dealership
liam's auto repair shop um service excuse me and um one more about game blocked from there
from my screen. But again, what we're offering conceptually, like from what you would see from
the application, it's not out of character. And you can see where we are here. And you'll see
from the photographs, no one can even see us. Like we're tucked in. We're on this street,
James Street, which is one of these streets that no one really can see from the outside,
really State Road. Even my client stated, everyone knows him being on State Road because
for whatever reason Google doesn't recognize James Street so it's really hard for people to
find his dealership location so the petition in addition to him there are over 16 there are 16
addresses which support our use of the property and you can see it's all the people who surround
us so you know again it was a little bit surprising like we kept reaching out to
stand from council member's office just to get a letter of support. And when we saw the letter
of opposition, we were shocked, honestly. Because usually if there's an issue with an applicant,
you'll hear it from the community meeting. We didn't hear any of this. And then this is our
backup for the petition of the people signing. And then the maps of the area, again, we're
across the street from I-2, which will be allowed as a right to ICMX. This is just a referral.
and then you can see some of those locations I mentioned about having you know automotive use
on this block and then photographs of the property you know this is our property from an exterior
point of view proof of posting for today's hearing and then you can see here so there's no
so we're at the end of this street right there is no access there's large trees you cannot see
you cannot access our property directly from the street, from Linden Street, and you can't even see
our property anywhere from Linden Street. So we have no impact essentially with this proposed
use of the property for this particular property. And then interior photos, this, my client built
it out, hasn't used it, but like hoping to, you know, very clean, very efficient, you know,
Hoping to use this for his internet sales for his dealership was on the same block.
And there are plans and drawings.
You walk in, you get a reception area, a waiting area, four offices, and a bathroom.
Right now, he would anticipate having two employees here.
And his hours of operation would be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Meeting notice, we met in mid-August for this matter. Proof of email to the coordinating RCO as well as the district council member's office for the community meeting. That email was sent two weeks before the actual community meeting itself.
27 addresses were notified of that meeting.
Proof of mailing those addresses or application for appeal.
And our deed to the property showing that Speedy Inc. is the owner of the property.
Along with the certificate of tax clearance.
So, again, I'm going to stop sharing my screen.
We had a very well-attended community meeting. People overwhelmingly supported this. We had a petition circulated of all the surrounding properties, and they supported it. So, Mr. Belfort, can you virtually raise your hand?
Mr. Belfort, can you please raise your virtual hand?
Chair Alba Belfort has been unmuted and allowed to speak.
Could you state your name, please, and spell for the course stenographer?
Mr. Belfort, Mr. Belfort, is he, Albert, you have to unmute yourself.
Mr. Belfort?
yvette is he unmuted there it is mr belfer please unmute yourself