Thank you, sir.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes.
Ryan McAdams, my vote is yes.
Tywin, my vote is yes.
Thank you. You have your votes.
Thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you, Chairman and members of the board.
Thank you. Number 12. I lost you. You're muted. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Thank you, Chair and members of the board. Would I receive a letter to that effect?
You will. You will. Okay. Thank you very much. Thank you. Have a good day.
right chair i'm sorry to interrupt we have a hand that just went up from a june waters bay
uh i don't in case oh never mind that the hand went down all right thank you thank you so number
12 mi 2025 004385 840 league street pasquale calavita is the attorney there's a letter of
non-opposition bill this letter of non-opposition from members uh council member squilla
chair they're being promoted to panelists thank you
Good morning, members of the board.
Pasquale Polavita on behalf of Raul Castro for 840 League Street.
Pasquale, could you please spell your name for the stenographer?
uh spell your name for the stenographer sure p-a-s-q-u-a-l-e-c-o-l-a-v-i-t-a you square
Sure. P-A-S-Q-U-A-L-E.
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
i do our vice chair has a few questions good morning have you submitted your documents and
exhibits five days in advance of this hearing yes with the exception of uh a utility two utility bills
and a trash commercial trash bill and i uploaded the community the rco's letter of non-opposition
yesterday okay and thank you for that and do you waive the reading of the refusal
and stipulate to its accuracy we do okay you can show your screen and proceed with your case
And good morning, Pasqua Colavita attorney for Raul Castro, and I will proceed as typical.
Mr. Castro purchased the property on April 6th of 2017.
Here's a copy of the deed.
He made an application for a duplex in an RSA 5 zone.
And it was he received the refusal for multifamily living because it's prohibited in RSA five district.
Just to give you a quick understanding of this, this street, League Street goes into Ninth Street and on the south south of League Street is Washington Avenue.
So the history of that zone was commercial at one point.
It was also listed as G1 and G2 and on the same block as general industrial.
So as a result, we filed the application for appeal.
And this is, again, a request for a two-family dwelling on a three-story property at exhibit.
Let's see. The project information form at Exhibit 4, Architectural Plans at Exhibit 5, I can show you the layout. So this is the property itself. As you can see on the bottom of it, I can expand it, but I'll show you better photographs in a bit.
uh going uh northwest view you can see uh 9th street the um the west view is is 9th street
uh the south view of league street um i'm sorry so eastbound i don't know if these are correct
but eastbound is nine uh no it is correct so westbound is 9th street eastbound is 8th street
South of it is is Washington Avenue. And what you're going to have is apartment one is going to the proposed is going to these were not submitted as as this was a use change only, but these are for informational purposes for the the board.
And we did submit them to the RCO. The first floor will be an apartment and the second floor and third floor will be a separate unit itself.
There is a proposal for a new roof deck, all of it.
They did obtain actually have building permits and you'll see photographs of those that are already on the walls and everything.
Basement is for utility use only. No, no basement living.
There are presently two doors for entrance into the premises.
Notice that neighbors was submitted on October 1st of 2025, and a copy of the certificate of bulk mailing is attached to Exhibit 6.
The zoning archive on this one did indicate that the previous use of the property was a storage facility on the first floor, and the second and third floor was one family.
So that one was already existing. So what we're asking to do is to convert the first floor storage for food and meat to another family resident.
The balance of the block is residential on the west side, the south side of the property, and I'll show you photographs.
There are significant numbers of still commercial properties.
The posters were put up, as I indicated to you before.
as i indicated to you before here are all the the building permits that were obtained
Here are all the building permits that were obtained.
uh for the the property uh prior to uh the change of use
so this is what the property presently looks like two doors
interior
first floor looks like that might be all the photographs i have of the interior right now
the balance of the block as you can see this is facing west and that's 9th street
again another excuse me another shot but of the south side of the street or north side of the
street, my fault. Again, you'll see, as you can see, it's a mixed area. Right across the street
are all commercial properties. Even next door on the east, I'm sorry, west side. East side
are the residential properties showing that this property has been and continues to be
two separate units showing that League Street first floor has a separate bill and second floor
has a separate bill and it was in that condition when he purchased the property did not make it
into two different units as you can see also he does pay commercial trash bill and it was
previously as as when I say previously right now it's not being used as in a commercial fashion
it's it's vacant and attached is a copy of the tax clearance certificate and hopefully I can
find the Bella Vista. So on November 11th of 2025, we met with a very, very large crowd. It was not
for us. There was another meeting right behind us that caused the higher number of people to come
out. But the nice thing about it is that the vote was overwhelmingly in support of the, as you can
see is 46 to 0 in support of this project. And the board itself was 6-0, not opposing the conversion
of the first floor to a residential property. To convert this would cause a financial hardship on
him uh to to move it back to a single family residence as there are uh that you would need
conversion moving of stairways uh converting the um different utilities and the like
i can get a little bit more detailed on everything else but i can or i can uh answer any questions
that you may have but it seems you bring your client on and have your testimony adopted
Okay. Raul Castro, if you can get him on.
Chair, they're being promoted to parent panelists.
Thank you.
okay he appears to be on if you would want to uh swear
mr castro yeah uh can you hear me hi could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
sir raul castro r-a-u-l-c-a-s-t-r-o do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing
but the truth i do counsel uh mr castro uh in addition to owning this property you also live in
in south philadelphia correct i do and right around the corner on um washington avenue you
owned the restaurant uh plaza garibaldi i do as well as one on 12th and wolf uh cantina and frida
10th and wolf uh frida cantina or cantina frida cantina okay so uh this property is right around
the corner from from your your restaurant correct it is okay so did you have an opportunity to listen
to my testimony today uh i did yes uh would you agree to the accuracy and adopt it as your own
uh would you agree to the accuracy and adopt it as your own yes as well as the truthfulness of it
yes okay members of the board questions from the questions from the board
I have a question just about the trash um how would the trash be managed for both units yes
so uh Mr Castro that was the last question that I had asked him prior to this there is a rear yard
for uh and both of the uh properties have access to it so they have access to the rear yard like
i know the first floor how would the second floor and the third get access to the radar
yeah if you see the um uh on the uh the the picture that you showed that the property uh
next to the uh next to our property that is a um a door it's an alleyway for uh for both
properties mine and then and they're right next to it so second floor will have access to put the
trash um in the uh walk-in uh using the alleyway wait he has he has to show that
um do you have the picture uh where is right pasquale i think do you have existing alley
did you have photos with the door i do have photographs i don't know whether they show that
but i can yes it uh i saw i saw the the picture i mean the picture of the street okay so that'll
be right here that one the red door that's the uh that's the that's the door that we we share
uh both of uh my my neighbor and i okay thank you all the questions yes i know it says that
you did get approvals from near neighbors but you did you talk specifically to the tenants
in 840 and 836 836 uh well i don't have any tenants at 840 um 836 yes i did okay
questions from our attorney
not at this time mr chair why should your comments from the virtual audience
no hands at this time planning commission thank you chairman and good morning david
effecto 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 city
rezoned this neighborhood in 1985 and a council supported map change the city issued a rental
license for one dwelling unit at this address in 2015 the appellant requests to convert a
former storage space on the ground floor into an additional dwelling unit the city planning
commission recommends the board grant or proposed use variance for two dwelling units thank you mi
2025-004-385-840 league street i vote yes okay
cheryl gaston my vote is yes sanetta graham my vote is yes my mcadams my vote is yes ion my vote
is yes thank you council thank you have a great day i'll see you this afternoon
So number 15, MI 2025, 005156, 1720 North Boevere Street.
Zen Jin is the attorney.
There's a letter of unanimous support from Beach Community Services with proviso and a letter of non-opposition from Council Member Young.
Zen Jin is being promoted to panelists here.
Thank you.
good morning good morning counsel could you please state your name and spell for the
stenographer yes my name is zen jen z-h-e-n last name j-i-n here on behalf of mr culpa the owner
of the property do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
i do our vice chair has a few questions for you good morning council have you submitted your
documents and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing yes and do you waive the reading
of the refusals and stipulates their accuracy i do okay thank you can share your screen and
proceed with your case thank you i'm going to share with the board what was previously submitted as
exhibit can the board see my screen on theirs we can sir thank you uh good afternoon good morning
This is an application for a erection of a new structure at the location of 1720 North
Bovier Street.
This is on a block that is zoned RM1.
The proposal is for the construction of a new three-story, two-unit residential building.
The refusals that relates to this particular application are dimensional in nature.
relates to this particular application are dimensional in nature. Essentially, my client
essentially
is looking to line up the rear of the property, the existing footprint at the rear of the property
with also the newer buildings that have been built on this block. And in doing so triggers
various dimensional refusals relating to that design. Essentially, we're proposing a six foot
rather than nine foot rear yard which by doing so also reduce the necessary square footage of
the rear yard as well as increasing slightly the occupied area of the property so all three
refusals really relate to our desire to have a slightly shorter rear yard the property is located
on the block of North Bouvier Street between West Montgomery and I'm sorry I don't have the other
street here on this map but it's actually around the middle of the block what has happened and the
photos will best show this is that much of the block has been developed with newer structures
and we're essentially putting another structure here which would be sandwiched between the new
structures where this current structure exists. One thing to note that the current structure is
a two-story. The new structure will be a three-story matching the other neighboring properties. But as
you can see from the photo here, the rear yard of the existing structure, the depth of the building
really matches all the new structures that are being built as well. And there is an existing
six foot rear yard our plan is to keep that six foot rear yard with the new building when it is
put up so the once completed these the rear yard size the open space and the rear facade
of the building will still line up with everything else that's already on the street
and it it is also it makes the building the same approximate square footage and makes it much more
competitive uh to the new structures that are already there from a size and design standpoint
uh the duplex uses by right at this uh at this uh location due to the zoning uh with the design
the proposal is to have the basement essentially set up as the first floor basement set up as one
unit second floor third floor as the second unit bedrooms will be placed on the first floor with
the living room being moved to the basement level with an office space in the back if someone desires
to use that as such laundry mechanicals powder room the bathroom with shower will be on the
upper floor with the bedrooms the second floor which is accessed through the same entrance on
the first floor will be second and third floor is one unit there are four total bedrooms with the
kitchen on the second floor and the living room being on the third floor there is a rooftop deck
proposed which is set back on both ends of the property so it would not be visible from the
ground level this is again a design that's basically the same and very similar or very
similar to what is already on the block and already built. So we met with Beach Interplex,
whose main request is, again, in that area, trash management. We understand they made two
proposals as either a small trash compactor or a tenant-managed trash disposal. We're open to
either one. We have no problem with putting in a residential-sized trash compactor or
disposal for the unit. So with that, I would ask for the board's favorable review of this
dimensional variance. And my client is here to verify my testimony if needed. Thank you.
Hillary, I'm going to recuse myself. This is like a temple block. I mean, it's, yeah.
do you want the oh no i'm sorry did you bring your client on to adopt your testimony i can
have him uh adopt my test uh testimony thank you uh mr koba can you raise your hand virtually
to be identified they're being promoted as we speak thank you hello can you hear me
yes i can hear you alex uh yes hi good morning uh board and my name is alexander copa
Yes. Hi. Good morning, board. And my name is Alexander Kopa. I'm the owner of 1720 North Bouvier Street.
Okay. Could you spell your name for the record, please?
O-L-E-K-S-A-N-D-R. Last name K-O-P-A.
Okay. And do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Okay. You can proceed, counsel.
Thank you. Mr. Coppa, did you see my representation, my screen that I showed to the zoning board as well as hear my representation before the zoning board?
Yes, I did.
Can you verify what I have represented are true and correct and adopted as your own testimony?
Yes, it is true.
Thank you.
I would also like to just add a little thing when it comes to trash, because I'm actively involved in the community, working with the neighbors.
we i myself have a local landscaper that does the whole block cleaning from montgomery to cecil b
moore he comes every monday it's our trash day and he cleans the entire block and i'll take care of
that and also uh we have a dedicated team that comes twice a week to check on trash and if there
is in uh you know overflow they always pick it up and hold it away for us thank you
um i have a question a statement i know that the uh rco requested um a proviso for interior trash
storage is there a problem with that one i don't have a problem with that one we can find a room
for it okay all right questions from the board yes i have a question about tenancy so um who
are you intending for these apartments to be rented to uh we always advertise publicly uh first come