Planning Commission.
Thank you, Chair Bergman, and good morning, David Fecto with the City Planning Commission.
Chairman and board members, the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the RSA-5 residential
single-family zoning at this location. The appellant appears to have purchased the building,
which had been converted into two dwelling units without the benefit of permits.
The City Planning Commission recommends that the board grant the proposed use variance for
two dwelling units. Thank you. MI 2024-001-337-304 West Godfrey Avenue. My vote yes.
Michael Johns. My vote is yes.
Terrell Gaston. My vote is yes.
Tannetta Graham. My vote is yes.
Tyia Wynn. My vote is yes.
James Snell. My vote is yes.
Number 18, MI 2024-001-893, 118 East Sharpneck Street.
Alan Nockmson is the attorney.
There is a council member Bass office served as the coordinating RCO and
Councilmember Bass's office served as the coordinating RCO and provided a letter of non-opposition.
The vote was 25 in support, including 11 near neighbors and zero opposition.
Mr. Nockamson.
He's coming back in as a panelist now, Chair.
Alan, you're on mute. You got to unmute yourself, Alan.
Good morning, Mr. Chair, members of the board. Alan Nockmson, A-L-A-N, last name Nockmson, N-O-C-H-U-M-S-O-N.
You swear a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client, a relationship to the properties?
Yes, my client is a Jonathan Harris, Sharp Neck, and as well as Sharp Neck S Street Properties, LLC, and then the virtual audience is Mr. Harris.
Our vice chair has a few questions.
Good morning, counsel. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal or to relate to a diagnosis?
thank you have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that is needed to proceed
with this case five days in advance of this hearing yes we did thank you counsel please
proceed and share your screen so this is one of these projects that like i get very excited about
because it's a very nice, thoughtful project in the East Mount area of the city.
So this is a 35,000 square foot lot, irregular shaped, a cobbling of essentially seven properties,
most of which are on Sharpneck Street.
But there is one property in particular that's almost 28,000 square feet that's irregular shaped
with a Magnolia Street address.
And what we're looking to do is a planned community,
which have 30 units and 40 parking spaces.
So it's a great, it's more than a one-to-one ratio
in terms of housing to parking.
There'll be 12, what's it called?
There's 12 single families and then eight duplexes.
So during the presentation,
we'll first review the notice of refusal
And I'll indicate this at the beginning that the notice of refusal looks a lot more daunting than it is.
It's pretty straightforward. Once we'll review that under the circumstances.
But there are a lot of refusals there. I think it's more due to the unique nature of the properties and how they're being used.
But ultimately, there's a great number of single family homes and there is open area under the code.
There's height under the code. There's some technical refusals regarding bike parking and rear yard setback, which are more technical in nature.
In actuality, we do provide for that. You'll then see the letter of non-opposition from Council Member Sidney Bass's office.
Because of the large nature of this project, I would assume that's why they took over this matter.
It was a well attended meeting of almost 50 individuals. And I believe everyone who voted during that meeting voted in support. I believe there were like 25 documented or so individuals who voted in support of this project, as well as nearby neighbors, which equaled 11 people.
I also included an article about this project. So you will look at this, but phase one of the project is six single families that are proposed facing Sharknack Street. There was technical support for that and that support, but there are zoning permits and building permits for that.
Today is to, you know, legalize or to get, you know, ZBA approval for the other 28,000 square foot portion of this lot, which is behind us on Magnolia, where we would have 24 additional units plus, you know, an additional 28 parking spaces.
But in this article, which was in the Chestnut Hill local newspaper, it explains who my clients are and they're local, you know, to Philadelphia, but not only Philadelphia, but to this particular neighborhood.
And, you know, it explains of like, you know, their aptitude in handling this and their excitement and the neighborhood's excitement for this type of this project in particular.
Then we'll review. So you'll if you have read it, you know, I think it's something worth noting.
that this is a locally owned project specifically in mountain area then it's not out of character
what we're requesting for um this you know board um or disease or this
requesting for this board or the L&I granted a proposal with nine, excuse me, eight units
or nine units and eight parking spaces. And we have a zoning permit of a nearby property on
Sharp Neck under similar circumstances. Then I have the zoning permits for those six single
families that we're in the process of building on Sharp Neck. And you'll see through the pictures,
as well that um you know you'll see the quality materials and and you know the design of the
properties that are almost done um and will be replicated hopefully with zba approval
for these additional 24 units in the rear um then we'll review the maps of the area and again this
lot combined is over 35 000 square feet um it only has a width of 136 uh feet wide and that's you
know, this is really a true undue hardship situation where, you know, our depth of our
property is 228 square feet. And with our building structures on Sharp Neck, only, you know, of a
certain size from the beginning of Sharp Neck to the back, there's almost 200 feet of rear yard
setback for those six single family homes. And that's why we kind of need to do the project the
way we're trying to do it. And then in addition to the maps of the area, we'll review photographs
of the property and the surrounding area. Our plans and drawings. I do have Agata Reister from
Landmark Architecture in the virtual audience. And, you know, she can answer any
like technical questions that I can't answer. Or we have our RCO meeting notice. Again,
well-attended meeting of 50 individuals. And again, the people that did vote are in full support,
including 11 nearby neighbors who are in the infected area. And I would believe that Mr.
Richardson from Sydney Bass's office may be in the virtual audience. He's the one who facilitated
the meeting and attended the meeting. And he can give some flavor too about, you know,
the overwhelming support from the community regarding this project. And then our application
for appeal that we filed on behalf of our clients, the deeds of the property, all of them, as well
as certificates of tax clearance for each property showing that we're in good standing with regards
to real estate taxes. At the conclusion of my presentation, I would ask that Mr. Harris virtually
raise his hand. I have a few questions for him, and then we can answer any questions the board
may have regarding this matter. So our notice refusal, that's a lot, what we're trying to do
here but essentially we're taking we're cobbling together uh seven lots um you know essentially
six in the front and then uh one in the back so the six in the front we already have uh zoning
and building permits and we're in the final we're finishing up the construction of six
six single family homes in the front with off-street parking each of the single family homes
has a garage attached to it and then what we're going to do and you'll see from the drawings
is we have basically a structure
of another single family homes right behind it,
another six.
And then we have two building structures behind that
that are eight units in each,
but they're like four duplexes.
And you'll see from the grade of the property
that, you know, from the front to the back,
we go down like 13 feet.
So, you know, anyone in the rear of our property
is going to be like essentially
looking like they're 25 feet high in terms of height of their building compared to the properties
behind us on upsell streets. So we have a few refusals. Again, this is 30 units, 40 parking
spaces, a lot of single-family homes, and 12 single-family homes, 18 multifamily, which are
a duplex in nature. And what we're trying to do here, because of the RSA 5 nature of this property,
we have a few refusals. So technically, again, this project is for the 24 units absent those
single families on Sharp Neck. So having multifamily on RSA 5 is a technical refusal.
Again, the lot that we're talking about is 28,000 square feet. It's not facing a public street. It's a rear property on Magnolia Street. So that alone makes it very difficult to do much.
other than if we wanted to consolidate this lot
with the front properties on Sharp Neck,
we can have basically, let's see,
so six properties divided by 35,000
would be like almost 6,000 square foot of a lot,
which would be completely out of character
with the neighborhood.
Again, we don't have a huge width either.
It's only 136 feet wide.
It's only 136 feet wide.
The second refusal is that multiple principal dwelling structures are not allowed on RSA 5 lots.
The second refuse,
Again, we only have 136 foot wide property in the front.
So in order to adequately use that 35,000 square foot lot total between the six inch Sharknack and then the 28,000 square feet behind us on Magnolia, we've leveraged it in a way to create a planned community.
So we have a mix between single family homes and duplexes.
But that's where we run afoul of the Philadelphia zoning code there.
The next one has to do with parking of bicycles.
Technically, when you have a lot that's over 20,000 square feet, you need three bicycle parking spaces.
So each of the units in their garages will have like bicycle racks affixed to the walls.
So within the Spirit of the Code, we are providing bicycle parking spaces.
Our goal was to...
Can you hear me? We can now. Okay, sorry. Yeah. So within the spirit of the code, you know,
we are providing bicycle parking spaces within the units themselves, and we feel like it's more
appropriate to provide more landscaping in the common elements of this planned community rather
than providing, you know, common bicycle spaces there. The next refusal has to do with essentially
the single family homes are in Sharp Neck, where the lot sizes, you know, are less than
1,440 square feet.
What I will say as to this, we average 1,168 square feet, you know, per unit on in this
project, which again, is not out of character to the properties that are nearby.
So, you know, again, we're not meeting the 1,440 square foot lot size requirements generally, but we're well within character of that. Plus, we're preferring to use some of that lot size for dry vials and providing off-street parking.
The next refusal, and it's kind of common, we'll go down, is the rear yard depth.
It's a technical refusal.
It's saying that we're providing no rear yard depth for some of these properties.
We are.
The problem is, is that when you have an easement, like for a dry vial, like part of 10 feet
of our properties for these units, the single family units, 10 feet of the rear yard is
dedicated to that dry vial in the form of an easement.
we technically have, we don't have a rear yard depth, but we do. And we'll show you that on the
site plan as well. And then all these refusals, again, with the lot size and the rear yard depth
are in common to what I just stated. Now, we did, again, meet with the community. And as you can see
here from the description, there was a peak of 50 participants, including RCO reps, applicants,
their attorneys and the council member's office. Of these 50 people, 26 people actually voted for
this. I don't know why some people didn't, but that is what it is. And 11 nearby neighbors
specifically voted. Everyone who voted for this project voted in support. And it was just
overwhelming. The commentary during my whole presentation was like, this is something what
the community needs. They were very happy that we provided a more than one-to-one ratio
between housing and parking.
They were also happy that the architecture that we selected
and we chose mimics and matches the integrity
of Mount Airy section of Philadelphia.
And they were also appreciative of the people
who were part of this project, who are well-known quantities,
who lived only blocks away from this project
and grew up close by and who still have family members
who live in the neighborhoods.
And they were appreciative of that as well. And then this is the article that was in the Chestnut Hill local kind of, you know, again, I gave you as a summarization, but Mr. Harris is one of the members in this, you know, described this article who is from the area.
And again, stating how, you know, they were looking forward to making this into an impactful project for the neighborhood.
They phased one with six single family homes, which they started, and they're hoping to continue phase two with these additional 24 homes and 28 parking spots.
So again, just as a history too, this used to be like the part that the 28,000 square foot lot, part that we're trying to get into 24 homes and 28 parking spots used to be a salvage yard.
Again, just as a history, too, this used to be like the part that the 28,000 square feet.
So this, you know, just a matter of history and the background of this, for this particular portion of the property.
And then zoning permit, I want, like, you can't really see it, but like, this is the, what was previously approved for another property nearby.
On Sharknack, so at 85 East Sharknack Street, this board, under calendar number 36771, previously approved nine dwelling units for eight parking spots, which is not a one-to-one ratio even.
even. We're taking one curb cut and we're creating 40 parking spaces to 30 units. And there's a mix
between 12 single-family homes and 18 multifamily homes to all duplexes.
And then here you'll see is just the zoning permits for all the single families that are
sharp-necked that are in the process of being built. All single families, all off-street parking.
118, well, I guess they all had 118 numbers at one point.
I think they changed the numbers since then, the OPA's office.
And then maps to the area.
As you can see, we're in the middle of a RSA 5 district.
There is some RM1, but you can also see the irregular shape of a lot.
You have these lots that are on Shark Neck, and you have this lot on Magnolia,
which also has emergency egress going to these two common public streets as well.
But it's a rather large lot that kind of is out of character to the neighborhood.
And in order to effectively use this property and to provide much needed new construction housing with off-street parking
and help support the commercial corridor in Germantown, which is only a few blocks away,
we think that this is a really good and impactful project.
And then you can see here, this is where we are, how close we are to Germantown Avenue to help support that commercial corridor.
And there are photographs of the property.
So this is what we built.
And I would have to say that, like, you know, again, it's very nice.
It's like the quality materials is great.
We have a mix between stone and brick.
And what you can also see is the fact that they are set back on the third story to account for the fact that there's a mix between two story and three stories nearby.
And, you know, I think the fact that you have a slope of 13 feet, you know, from from front to back is also helpful because not many people in the neighborhood on the upsell street that's behind us are going to be affected at all by any housing here.
Plus, there'll be quality housing with, you know, a decent amount of parking for all the residents, which will have a low impact to the surrounding properties.
And then these are our architectural plans and drawings.
Let me just scale back a little bit.
So this is, let me get out of here for a second, and maybe it'll make it easier this way.