ZBA Hearing - October 8, 2025

This use provides a direct and valuable service to one of the neighborhood's most important institutions.

Mr. McGraw is a responsible operator who's seeking a use that we believe is consistent with the location of this property and its historic use.

We believe he provides a service to this community and that the hardship is real.

So we understand the opposition we face. However, we believe this is a situation that if it was RSA 5, I might see it a little differently, but we're in a CMX 1 and we're on a very mixed use block, nowhere near a single family home on this block.

and we're hopeful that um that the board sees that angle of it as well uh i'll go through

just real quickly the rest of the filings here's the opposition which just states

general dislike of visitor accommodation permits

there was really what appeared to me to be one person sort of spearheading

getting all these letters and things like that our photos we'll just skip through them

we already did it

a deed to my client he got the property in 2017 as mentioned fixed it up and

had it as an airbnb in 2018 through the shutdown

all right with that i'll call my client on joe neil are you available to raise your hand

yes council they have been promoted they should be back in shortly

hello

sir could you please state your name as spelled for the stenographer

yes neil mcgraw

could you spell your name please yes n-e-a-l-m-c-g-r-a-d

do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth

i do please proceed counsel good afternoon mr mcgraw i have a few questions but first

did you hear my testimony thus far and do you adopt it as your own i do and i do okay um would

you just explain to the board the work you put into the property from the time you purchased it

to the time you started using it as an air airbnb and the time frame please sure uh we purchased the

property, and it's my wife and I, in 2017, the property, again, sits on 11th Street between

The property, again, sits on 11th Street between Spruce and Locust, was in very run-down condition.

Spruce and Locust.

I don't think it had been touched or maintained probably in 30 or 40 years.

We invested significant funds, probably about $350,000, in doing a full renovation of the property,

bringing it back as a contributing member of the block and community.

And what made it economically feasible would be operating it as a short-term rental to service the community,

as you outlined, attorney console for the Jefferson community and the broader Wash West community.

Again, that made the investment in bringing this property back to a suitable condition, made it economically feasible.

So we operated it as such until the regulations, or should I say the enforcement of the regulations, changed, which I think, I believe it was in 2023.

22, 23, we operated as a short-term rental with no complaints, with kind of excellent record there.

And again, the property was brought back as a vibrant, contributing member of that immediate neighborhood.

And then certainly as the ordinance and regulations were changed, we then modified our approach and began renting it for only stays of 30 days or more, which again, contribute on occasion to servicing the Jefferson community when they would have visiting nurses and doctors and professors in for Jefferson.

However, it was a little bit more sporadic and did impair the kind of financial viability of the property.

And that is why we are requesting the variance to go back to allow to do rentals under 30 days to be able to increase the revenue.

Okay. All right. I have no further questions for Mr. McGraw.

Yes, how many other short-term rentals do you operate?

None.

That is the only property.

And are you planning to do the property management and the management of the rentals yourself?

No, we have a professional management company, Bespoke Management.

they do have they operate some short-term rental properties and hospitality properties so it's a

professional management company okay I have one more question for Mr. McGraw if if the board was

amenable to a temporary variance would you be amenable to to that certainly okay thanks

other questions from the board

questions from our attorney

Hilary Emerson

not at this time

comments from the virtual audience

here

I have a hand up from Barbara

Arvantanis

Arvantanitis

we'll go ahead and promote them

sure

good morning

good morning

good morning

hi could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer

Yeah, sure. Barbara Arvinaitis, B-A-R-B-A-R-A-A-R-V-A-N-I-T-I-S.

Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?

I do.

Are you a neighbor?

I am a neighbor, and I am also a board member of the Washington Square West Civic Association as well.

All right. Hold on. Could you turn your video on, please?

um i will try you know i'm i'm pretty technically challenged uh if you don't mind i'd rather not

try to press buttons and and maybe get please proceed here okay i appreciate it yeah okay

good afternoon chairman bergman and board members my name is barbara arvinitis and i am a board

member on the washington square west civic association and i am also a committee member

on the Washington Square West Civic Association's Zoning Committee.

Zoning Committee. As our RCO meeting summary form sent to the Zoning Board of Adjustment

As our RCO meeting summary form sent to the Zoning Board

on June 29, 2025 states, our final position by a count of 10 opposed and 0 non-opposed

is to refuse the applicant for a proposed visitor accommodations within an existing

structure which is explicitly prohibited in the CMX1 commercial zoning district.

Our RCO received five letters of opposition, totaling 18 signatures from both property owners and renters who reside within the 250-feet vicinity of the 254 South 11th property.

Reasons for opposition from both property owners and renters included reduction of stock of long-term rentals, change of character to the neighborhood, and increased rents.

In closing, taking into consideration the near neighbor's opposition, as well as the Washington Square West Civic Association's unanimous 10 to 0 vote to oppose, we strongly encourage you to deny the applicant a permit for the proposed use of a visitor accommodation.

Thank you.

All right.

Just one question.

And, you know, this is not new because he did this for quite a while.

Have you ever had any complaints about this project?

No.

All right.

Thank you.

Counselor, you have any questions?

I don't, Chair.

All right.

Anyone else in the audience?

Thank you for your comments.

Yes, I have an Elizabeth Armour with the hand raised.

I will promote them at this time.

They should be back in shortly.

Okay.

Hello?

Yes, this is Elizabeth Armour. Can you hear me?

I most certainly can. Could you please state your name and spell for this?

Of course. The first name is Elizabeth, E-L-I-Z-A-B-E-T-H. The last name is Armour, A-R-M-O-U-R.

Do you swear or affirm that tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

I do.

Are you a neighbor?

Yes, I am. I'm resigning at 251 Quince Street. We are in, all of us are within the 250 feet of the property.

Hold on one minute.

Are you in favor of the project or against?

There are seven neighbors on Quinn Street that are in opposition, total opposition.

All right.

And again, have you ever heard of any problems with this property?

Yes.

We've been constantly complaining about the noise levels to the previous property.

It has a roof deck and the roof decks have been a real problem.

They overlook directly nine properties on Jessup Street.

And from where we are, six properties who back up to Jessup Street, our gardens also get the roof deck noise.

All right. Thank you for taking the time to calls. Is there anyone else?

I do have some other comments if I can be allowed to proceed.

Is there anything different than what we've already heard?

Yes. Please proceed.

Yes. As far as what has been proposed as modifications have changed, the CMX-1, as you're well aware, has always expressly prohibited visitor accommodations.

So the fact that he's been doing it for the last seven years would seem to indicate possibly he doesn't know or is willing to ignore the fact that visitor accommodations are not allowed in the CMX-1.

We have enough Airbnb rentals in a two-block area here.

We're very concerned about more Airbnb and with the coming and going,

and particularly the never-ending parties on the roof decks.

Okay.

And you're saying this particular roof deck, there was parties?

Oh, yes.

All right.

Thank you very much for your call.

Is there anyone else in the audience?

i do not say any further than answer mr chair could i have my client just address that um mr

mcgraw at any point during your ownership did you or your management company report any

were any complaints reported to you regarding your property no and that um whether it's from

neighbors or the the general public or certainly um any law enforcement so no i have never received

day single complaint um regarding operation of the property thank you thank you um planning

um regarding operation of the property thank you thank you um planning commission

good morning chair members of board michael gall with the philadelphia city planning commission

the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the cmx1 commercial mixed use zoning at this

location there is no unique physical condition or circumstance of this property that would prevent

it from being used in strict conformance with the zoning code there is a documented history of

visitor accommodations at the site however the use was commenced without the benefit of permits and

was operated for many years in violation of the zoning code the proposed visitor accommodations

use is inappropriate for this location due to the high potential for community impacts

and this block is a street of relatively low density mixed use properties the city planning

commission therefore recommends the board deny the proposed use variance for visitor accommodations

thank you um mr council i'm going to hold this till next week i'm going to take this to executive

session we'll vote on it next wednesday at 9 30. thank you sir and mr council could you stay we

I want to do one more case.

I'm not going anywhere.

Oh, good, good.

M24-006-814-3630 North Bouvier Street.

Mr. Consul, just for the record, state your name.

Joseph Consul.

There's a letter of unanimous support from the 13th Ward Committee, 11 votes.

There is a recommendation of a proviso.

And our vice chair, Tadena Graham, has a few questions.

Good morning.

Well, good afternoon. Have you submitted your documents and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing?

I have.

And do you waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?

I do.

Okay, thank you. You can proceed with your case by sharing your screen.

All right. My packet should be up. Yes.

All right. I'm here for Apex Avenue LLC.

on the call with me today is the owner one of the two owners of the llc miss nicole ramirez

the packet's up the property is 3630 north bouvier street corner lot in the rsa5 district

seeking approval for a two-family household the hardship today is the property has been

physically configured as a duplex for decades, for literally as far back as is available in

the zoning archives. And because of that is unsuited to be converted back to a single family

home. And the variance, therefore, we believe is necessary for its reasonable use.

going through my packet a little bit.

We have a letter of support.

We had a productive two-step, two different meetings with the RCO.

The 13th Ward and Mr. Charles Karn were very on top of this property

and really held my clients to a high standard in terms of the things

that they needed to do in order to get their support.

And I believe my clients came through as evidenced in this letter and the provisos they submitted, which we agree to all of them that are able to be put on the provisos as enforceable.

The only thing we disagree with was that the letter notes the property was purchased as a single family dwelling. With all due respect to the RCO, the city's public records tell a different story.

The exhibits, if you go back in the archives, there was a rental license for two units active from 2004 to 2012. That is in my pack. I'll just go through these, but give an idea what it looks like.

The posters show you how the property is coming together now.

The old photos here show you the property that they took to improve.

Going back further than those two-unit rental licenses that expired in 2012,

if you go back as far as 1982, there's a note.

So actually, as far back as 1950, you can see the phone directory, which is for some reason in Atlas, lists it as a two-unit building.

And then it gets more concrete, 1977, 1982, there's notes in the archive that mention the property as being a two-unit dwelling.

So my client is actively rehabilitating the interior with the proper permits.

you can see they're taking this property and making it nicer

showing you the interior photos no structural work at all is being handled

Everything that's being handled is permitted.

everything that's being handled is permitted

Okay, going through the photos.

I'll jump up to the plans, the basement.

Get my list of the plans.

Nothing going on in the basement.

Just storage, washer, dryer.

First floor, let me zoom in a little bit.

Oh, fudge, that's the second floor.

Back to the first.

Okay.