And again, we are open to suggestions.
again we are open to um suggestions of if four people
If four people is what we will be approved for,
that's fine too with it being a four-bearable.
And again, the stair glide will be installed.
So if we were to get approved, we made sure the spaces,
the stairway was open enough, wide enough,
that a stair glide can be installed.
So we already did the research and looked
into installing stair glides.
question are there steps to get into the property as well yes it is and we also um looked into that
on the side where the relin is a lift can also be installed if we had if we ever had to have someone
that was um was not as mobile but i believe it's about is it six steps maybe six steps to get into
the property. Okay. And then you're saying that there's four bedrooms and the one bathroom
upstairs? Yes. And is that a full bathroom? Yes, it is. Okay. And which also has been installed
with grab bars. It's been open wide. And so if someone had a transfer chair at the top of the
steps the the bathroom on the second floor that's the basement bathroom the second bathroom is the
wider one if you could go to that picture yeah see how we opened it up to make sure it was wide
enough so someone can move around in a transfer chair if they needed to and we do have grab bars
next to the toilet and also into the um in the tub which we will then install we can also install
a shower bench. But I guess, again, I can't speak for other board members, but I guess my concern
is about the whole accessibility issue. If you were, no matter how you figure it, if you were
like downstairs, I'm assuming there's a common area where maybe the residents can gather or
whatever no matter how you figure it you you've got to go up steps or down steps to get to um
a bathroom um and then you've got four four people who will be sharing the one bathroom
up on this uh we're talking six people oh four to six yeah i mean that's a lot of people to share
just the one bathroom and you know again there's the whole i i i guess i should have asked what
what kind of age people are we talking about and what kind of mobility issues they may have but
if you're talking of senior members who may have mobility issues the bathroom situation here is not
ideal even if you were to put in um a lift uh yeah a lift or the stairs the stair master kind
of thing you you need to have one that goes upstairs and you need to have one that goes
downstairs uh for those that might want to you know yes bathrooms i mean it's it's not an ideal
set up for the age um yes we were yes so the age would be starting at 65 which most are said 65 is
is pretty mobile um again with us having the experience of having the home care
services that we do provide most homes most of our clients are in home with stairs um the standard
two-story homes. And with the stair glides, as you mentioned, yes, we were aware that we will
need two sets of stair glides. But for one, the main one would be to go upstairs, of course,
to the bedrooms. And again, we are open to just maybe two housing for, because with it being a
four bedroom, if four people moved into the home with four bedrooms, it would be the usual of
sharing a restroom with four residents
living in a four-bedroom home.
Ms. Pitch, I want to ask you,
do you know roughly some of the potential tenants
or potential residents already?
And if so, do you know if any of them
have accessibility issues at this point?
So, no, all the ones that we have interviewed so far
are capable of walking up steps.
um none of them are in wheelchairs um but some may need assistance they may have um just issues
with needing assistance with some adls uh maybe just medication reminders or things like that
it's not really a mobile issue is there outdoor space um yes in the rear is there a yard yes
um yeah in the rear is there a yard yes
see on my screen yeah so so gabriel just to be sure the letter you showed was not from the rco
it was from the block yes correct so the rco sent you their report but that letter is just
people that live on the particular block yes i believe yeah if i misspoke i apologize about that
yeah so no rco letter no rco letter the rco yeah they did submit a letter of opposition
this letter
i will yeah i have one more question i mean i think it's more of a statement i think i want
to just sort of reiterate what i think other board members have said i think both
board member johns and board member gaston have both sort of outlined some of the concerns with
the number of bedrooms i think my question is it sounds like you all did some construction in this
home is that correct correct miss pedro it sounds like you've done like you've made some updating
right um and i think i do want to like reiterate the concern that it's a four bedroom house with
two bathrooms with one of the bathrooms being in the basement i know you sort of said that's what
it would be if there was a four-bedroom house and it was one family but I think there's like
two distinct differences there's like one when they're family they're a little more closer and
they're used to being in close quarters with each other I think for this to have both tenants that
don't necessarily know each other and employees operating in the same space like this is a lot of
people to be using a single bathroom but also there's not typically four-bedroom houses with
only two to you know one bathroom on the functional floor um and then i think you know there's a lot
of like i understand that the people you're interviewing right now might not have these
mobility issues but based on the clientele that you're sort of targeting there's no way to be sure
that that's not going to happen in the future um and i think the question i have is like based on
the number of bedrooms you have what would be like what could be the max tenants you could have based
on state regulations is it the four people or is it more because of the two larger bedrooms
it's more um so six is the max and in the space because of the square footage but again we're not
opposed to um just having the four if if you guys understand that but we're not allowed to
make that determination like that's a state regulation so we can't say that um and so i
I think that's my concern is that six people, that's a lot of people to be using sort of like one bathroom.
And even the bathroom in the basement isn't really set up for accessibility.
Stand-up showers and like that's a tight bathroom for people that have sort of mobility challenges.
And I think that's something that's still concerning from a density standpoint.
all right questions from our attorney hillary emerson not at this time mr chair questions
from the virtual audience or comments sure i have a hand up from a donita omer i've got them to speak
good morning
donita omer please unmute wait to be sworn in
good morning good morning could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
My name is Donita Omer, D-O-N-I-T-A, last name U-L-M-E-R.
You swear on a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Could you turn your video on?
Is that possible?
I'm just trying to figure out how to do it.
I see it on mute.
Where did the video go?
Let me promote them.
They'll be rejoining shortly.
Thank you very much.
there you go can you see can you see me now yeah i can i can are you a neighbor
yes i am i live at 534 north 58th street please proceed with your testimony okay i'm i'm on here
because the way that this situation, you know, transpired,
they still to this day have not met with me.
I'm a neighbor.
They still, I think, this is my personal feeling,
that they try to do this and push this through
because they just thought nobody was going to pay attention
to what was going on in the property.
And I'm quite sure my other neighbors on here,
I've had my hand up because I took off work
I've had my hand up because I took off work to come to this meeting to join this meeting
to come to this meeting, to join us.
virtual.
And I just don't like the fact that we already have issues with parking on this block.
And that's because, as you all know, these houses are for a bedroom.
And when I purchased this house, I purchased this house for it to be a residential property,
not for businesses.
like once people move whatever a business that come in to buy the property and turn into whatever
you know they wanted to turn into to make a profit off of the fact that it's a four bedroom house
and um and that's why i am opposed to it because we already have you know issues with parking and
different things on this block and they're saying that you know four to six people you know and
And like I said, I bought this property, I've been in this house for 30 years as a residential property, not for business.
All right, Ms. Holmer, thank you very much for taking the time to call us.
We appreciate it.
Is there anyone else with a hand up?
Yes, Josh Cohen, I will promote them.
Good morning, Chairman Bergman, members of the board.
I'm Josh Cohen on behalf of Council Member Jones.
Council Member Jones.
Hold on, hold on, hold on a minute.
Could you please spell your name for the stenographer?
Sure, it's Cohen, C-O-H-E-N.
And you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, sir.
Please proceed, sir.
Chairman Bergman and members of the board, Josh Cohen on behalf of Council Member Jones.
I believe you might have a letter on file, but if you don't, the councilman is in opposition.
to this application. As for the issues that were outlined by the neighbors on the block and by the
RCO, we just don't believe this is an appropriate site for a personal care home on a residential
block. Thank you. Mr. Cohen, thank you for taking the time to call us. Is there anyone else in the
audience? No further hands, Mr. Chair. Planning Commission. Michael Gall with the Philadelphia
city planning commission the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the rsa 5 residential
single family attached zoning at this location the appellant has demonstrated that the proposed
personal care home would not create impacts more detrimental than what could otherwise be expected
from other uses on that location city planning commission therefore recommends that the board
grant or requested special exception for personal care home use with a suggested proviso
of a maximum of four personal care room residents.
Thank you.
MI 2024-007-315-546-North 58th Street, I vote no.
Michael Johns, my vote is no.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is no.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is no.
Ryan McAdams, my vote is no.
Iowan, my vote is no.
Thank you, counsel.
Thank you all.
Number five, MI 2024-004-773-4926 North 12th Street, Darlene Treat.
Good afternoon, Commissioners. Darlene Treat.
How are we doing with our computer?
We're doing good. We're ready.
Why don't you proceed?
Are you able to see my screen?
It should be.
It's up now.
Maybe you might want to make it just a little larger.
Here we go.
we have all your documents so you can okay i'm representing miss uh garcia miss garcia is the
owner of the property she's been living in this residence for approximately 13 years she's an
empty nester now she filed an application for a two-family dwelling with the zoning board of
adjustment. Here's a copy of the application for a special exception. It's a copy of the project
information form. It's a copy of the property information. I show you the property information
to show you that she's been owning this property since 2013. The property is approximately 2,000
square feet of living space and it's 22 feet of cross across uh miss garcia here is the deed
to show when she purchased the property
here's the tax information to show she actually has a tax
Here's the tax information to show she actually has a tax credit.
And here are the plans which I'm going to reduce so we can go through them.
Basically, we're not asking for any alterations physically to the exterior of this property.
Ms. Garcia lives in this property alone currently and she's disabled and she has an inability
to go up and down the staircases so she would really like to make this a two-family dwelling
where she lives on the first floor and she wants the rest of the property out to a family
here is a picture of the plans basically this is the basement which they have utilities only
and there is a restroom currently in the basement the first floor she would like to make an apartment
it. Let me just move the plant a little bit for you. I'm just going to enlarge this a little bit
so you can see it a little better. Okay. So this is the first floor of the apartment. You would
come in through the front here and you would go upstairs here to the apartment that she would
like to run out so it's by level the first floor is a living room you will go up the stairs on the
second floor there's a bedroom in the front there's a dining area in the middle and there
is a kitchen in the rear of the building you can walk upstairs to the third floor
through the stairs here and you'll see there's actually two bedrooms and a bathroom on the
third floor. Basically, she liked to make a duplex here where she would occupy the residence on the
first floor only. Again, Ms. Garcia is disabled. She's actually collecting disability and she
cannot traverse all the levels of her house. So she is suggesting that she's able to make
a one bedroom apartment for herself on the first floor here and that she's able to want the other
floors as a one bedroom apartment to a family i'm going to slide down a little bit more now
here is just i'm going to reduce it a little bit of elevation of the property to show you
what the property looks like that's the front of the property and this is the rear of the property
and here are the height depths. Mrs. Garcia would actually enter her own one family through the rear