first serve all the properties that we advertise are always on mls okay understood um i think the
sort of two concerns i have and it's less of a one for the the first unit that has the bedroom
in the basement that's listed as an office we can list it as whatever we want it's going to get
coded as an office. So that is a three bedroom unit. And then for the upstairs unit being four
bedrooms, it does make it really hard and limit who can rent from it because you can't have more
than three adults that are not related rent from one apartment together. So I guess like it's an
awkward setup for a family unit. I think especially on a block like that and just wanted to sort of
understand how you're going to manage that uh like i said we uh we we never uh try to uh do it like
off market we always uh listed uh and uh we have a because i'm a part of the uh i'm a realtor myself
uh and i'm actively involved in renting places in the area and we do have a mix of uh student
and families living in our properties i'm not the owner of the properties i'm just a part of
the management group and i would say between the inventory that we have it's 60 40 students and
regular families from the neighborhood that renting from us layout is basically very similar
or almost exactly the same as a lot of properties on this block so we are which is why i brought it
up because many of those blocks got hit with stop work orders because students were living
four people to an apartment it caused a lot of drama a few years ago which is part of why i was
bringing yeah we have we have a mix we have i mean uh i would say that still probably more than 50
are students uh in this area but we do see uh families moving in more and more okay
any other questions from the board i just have the same concern about the um basement you know
use and uh i think that you have far too many units in here for oh you mean the the office in
the basement well it's not just an office so so i think i think which is all part of the first
floor unit, correct. I think the board's concern is the number of bedrooms in the second unit
above, particularly, Alex, and also that the possibility of the office in the first unit
could be easily converted to a bedroom. I guess the question then is, would you be amicable to
restrictions against any kind of bedrooms in the basement and perhaps limiting the bedrooms to the
upper floors to three bedrooms rather than four um i am open to limiting the bedrooms in the
basement i understand the concern um but if the board would give me four bedrooms in the in the
upstairs uh second floor unit i would really appreciate it if it's a concern
Then I guess I have no other way of doing it, but limiting it to 3.
then I guess I have no other way of doing it but limiting it to three.
Any other questions from the board? Okay. Questions from, um, uh, the virtual audience.
No hands at this time by share. Okay. Uh, questions from my attorney.
Um, I just want to note for the record of the board, uh, grants the requested variance in this case that it include a proviso.
So specifying that the approved uses to family household living, because that was essentially admitted from the description on the refusal. Thank you.
Okay, we're able to say that woman said to unit to help to family. Okay.
and um proviso no if if the board so chooses no household living in the basement okay um
planning commission uh thank you and uh good morning chair uh chair and board members um
david effecta with the city planning commission comprehensive plan recommends no change to the rm1
residential multi-family zoning at this location the city rezoned this neighborhood in 2014 in
accord with recommendations in the comprehensive plan there is no unique physical condition or
circumstance of this property that would prevent it from being used in strict conformity with the
zoning code however this is a primarily multi-family block face and this proposal would match the
character of the homes on the block face the city planning commission recommends the board grant the
proposed dimensional variances for rear yard depth maximum occupied area and rear yard area
okay thank you m i two zero two five zero zero five one five six seventeen twenty north
brevere street um i vote uh yes with provisos um no household living in the basement and uh
was it approved use is two family household living approved uses uh for two family
household living
charles gaston my booty chefs with provisos
ryan mcadams excuse me ryan mcadams my vote is yes with provisos
diane when my vote is yes with provisos thank you
thank you counsel is there any other cases um that are on the 9 30 list
Vice Chair, we have a hand up from Vern Anastasio.
Vern is on that? Okay. Come on. You can bring him on.
Hi, Mr. Vice Chair. I'm assuming it's not on the list.
6913 TULIP, but perhaps that's this afternoon.
so that that is give me that is number four on the 3 30 list 3 30 okay I'll see you at two o'clock
thank you okay all right thank you all right any other cases that were for 9 30
no hands at this time by share okay thank you everyone see you at two o'clock
audience
thank you good afternoon everyone my name is bill bergman and i will be chairing this meeting of
the philadelphia zoning board of adjustment with me is our board vice chair tenetta graham
present mr chairman our board secretary charlotte gaston president mr chairman board member michael
johns he'll he'll be there uh board member tya winn president mr chairman and our board member
ryan mcadams president mr chairman also here is our board attorney hillary emerson our zoning
board director ian haggerty and our board administrator lakeisha dandy recording this
hearing will be posted on the zba website by participating you consent to be recorded this
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note i'm present mr chairman i knew you'd be there michael
number 12 mi 2025 005 548 1925 denny street that case is continued
until 428.26 at 930 a.m. Are there any other requests for continuance?
Good afternoon, Chair. This is Doreen, and I will be your co-host this afternoon, and there are no hints.
Thank you. And number 13, MI 2025-006-777-5236 Rising Sun Avenue.
it's renee's arch daycare center um no exhibits this is the first listing
there are no hands so mi2025-006-777-5236 rising sun avenue that case is continued
to 4 28 26 at 9 30 a.m mark must be heard
we'll start with number eight
jared this is the integrity minor correction i believe the continuing state would be 4 28 26 at
2 p.m is that correct uh it says 9 30 but that's okay oh i see i'm good i'm no it is 9 30 that's
a Tuesday special. My mistake. Thank you. Thank you.
You got some add-on.
So number eight, MI 2025-005-378-2350 West Pashunk Avenue. Leonard Altieri is the attorney.
You got some add-on. Oh, I'm sorry. Let me do the add-ons real quick.
And my 20, 25, 0, 0, 3, 7, 8, 4, 4, 4, 9. Locus Avenue. I vote. Yes. Maximum proviso maximum 3 dwelling units. No household living in basement of existing structure.
How many read that again? Yeah, how many maximum 11 dwelling units? Oh, household living in basement of existing structure.
that's yes yes no i just thought i heard a different number thank you yeah i thought i
heard three yes okay my vote is yes with proviso cheryl gaston my vote is yes with proviso
tanetta graham my vote is just with proviso ryan mcadams my vote is yes with proviso
i win my vote is yes number two mi 2025 006 672 3408 to 50 b street
the vote in this matter has been rescheduled to wednesday january 28th at 2 p.m
And number three, MI 2025-002-113-7709 Ridge Avenue.
0-0-2-1-1-3-7709 Ridge Avenue. I vote no to reconsideration and re-hearing.
No, John, my vote is no to reconsideration and re-hearing.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is no to reconsideration and re-hearing.
Teneda Graham, my vote is no to reconsideration and re-hearing.
Brian McAdams, my vote is no to reconsideration and re-hearing.
Hi, Owen, my vote is no to reconsideration and re-hearing.
Mr. Altieri.
Mr. Altieri has been promoted.
Thank you. Mr. Altieri, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Yes, good afternoon, Mr. Chairman. Leonard Altieri, L-E-O-N-A-R-D. Last name is Altieri, A-L-T-I-E-R-I.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client, the relationship to the property?
Yes, my client is Viking SP Holdings 1, 2, and 3 LLC, as well as Viking SP Partners LLC for the property. They are the owner of the property at 2350 West Paschalk Avenue.
And there's a letter of unanimous support from Gerada State Neighbors Association. Our vice chair has a few questions.
Good afternoon. Counsel, have you submitted your documents and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing?
I have.
And do you waive the reading letter refusals and stipulate to their accuracy?
Okay, thank you. You can share your screen and proceed with your case.
Thank you very much. And good afternoon again, everyone. Leonard Altieri of the law firm of
Claire Harrison Harvey Brandsburg for the property of 2350 West Pashonk Avenue. The property itself
is known by many as the South Philadelphia Shopping Center. It is located between West Oregon Ave,
South 24th Street, and Pashonk Avenue, and is currently a commercial shopping center.
I think it's important just by way of background to give a little bit of history to color what
this application is really for this afternoon. What we are seeking is just an installation of
a static illuminated sign. But how we got there, I think, is important for the board to know. So
prior to COVID, there was an application on this property by a prior owner. It was going to be a
mixed-use sort of property. They were going to have residential office as well as commercial.
Then the applicant at the time, or the owner at the time, then started moving all of his tenants
towards the leases to start expiring so they could start doing a substantial amount of work
to accomplish that mixed-use center. COVID then hit. The prior owner was a publicly traded entity.
They went bankrupt. And so those plans never materialized, even though that they were,
you know, formally approved and adopted by the necessary agencies. My client has since taken
ownership of the property. And instead of moving forward with those previously approved plans,
is actually going to continue to operate the shopping center as it is. They are currently 95%
leased. One of the big tenants that they have that's about to be finished is the Burlington
Coe Factory. They also have in there Duncan, Ross, Five Below, Fusion Gym, Burger King,
ShopRite, Sherwin-Williams. And then once the weather starts changing, they plan to make
additional improvements to the shopping center, such as re-striping the property. Again, what
we're here for tonight, or this afternoon, I should say, is just for the installation of a sign,
which I will show the board as we start walking through the exhibits.
As the chairman did say, we did go to the Gerard Estate Neighbors Association back in November.
We received a letter of unanimous support from the RCO.
It was a very productive conversation.
They were more interested in what tenants we were going to be having there
than the actual conversation around the sign,
but they were in support of the sign nevertheless as well.
Again, property is located in the CMX3 shopping center,
or excuse me, CMX3 zoning district.
and again an aerial just to orient the board of the where we're speaking about with regards to
the shopping center itself here's a site plan now what we have here as i said the the applicant
prior owner was approved to start doing a mixed use center there part of that was the approval
of this sign that we're talking about today so it was originally approved back in 2020
but they never moved forward with the installation of the sign because the entire land development
that project never moved forward. So these two pilings that you see here are currently on the
site. This is the corner of Paschank Avenue and 24th Street. These are the exact pilings
that our client will use when they put the sign together. So again, here's just another angle,
again, showing the pilings there. And the sign itself will look just like this. So the black
pilings that we see are on the sides, as you can see right here where my cursor is, and then they
will put the sign faces on either side of that the sign itself is proposed to be uh 50 feet tall
the zoning district prohibits us to be only 20 feet tall and then with regards to square footage
of the sign face we're seeking 424 square feet where 100 square feet is otherwise permitted
again uh this zoning uh for this sign was already approved back in 2020 and we're just asking for a
revival of that. We do believe that this is the minimum relief necessary and that no, you know,
Um, we do believe that this is the minimum relief necessary and that no, uh, you know, there's, there's, there's no negative effects to the, to the neighborhood, uh, as it currently stands.
Um, and, uh, that is all that I have. I do have my, uh, client with me, Mr. Sam Gabay, who is authorized to speak on behalf of the ownership entities who all have testified to adopt my testimony.
Sir, could you please state your name and spell for the stock for your microphone?
one okay just hit that button yeah good afternoon my name is uh samuel gabay that's s-a-m-u-e-l
g-a-b-b-a-y do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
yes council sam were you uh so one you're authorized to speak on behalf of the nc
the ownership entity yes and were you present when i made the testimony to the zoning hearing board
And is everything you heard accurate to the best of your knowledge, information, and belief?
Yes, it's accurate.
And if I was to call you to testify, would you adopt that testimony as your own?
No further questions?
Questions from the board.
The piles that are there, they will remain, correct?
And that is the height?
That is correct, sir.
Other questions?
I guess I'm trying to orient myself again as to where this is.
so this is the south philadelphia shopping center okay the property what's in what's in that one
you said something about there's is that the one with the ross and the there's a shop right in there
and okay okay then i know where you're talking okay all right can you point out where the sign