COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA PUBLIC HEARING COMMITTEE ON RULES - - - Room 401, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Thursday, February 25, 1999 2:10 p.m. - - - BILL NO. 980895 - An Ordinance amending the Philadelphia Zoning Maps by changing the zoning designations of certain areas of land in the Fifth Ward and located with an area bounded by Spring Garden Street, Eighth Street, Vine Street and Eleventh Street. BILL NO. 980901 - An Ordinance amending the Philadelphia Maps, by changing the zoning designations of certain areas of land located in the Fifty-seventh Ward within an area bounded by Grand Avenue, Academy Road, Holme Avenue, Willits Road, a railroad right-of-way and Bluegrass Road. - - - PRESENT: COUNCIL PRESIDENT ANNA VERNA COUNCILWOMAN AUGUSTA CLARK COUNCILMAN DAVID COHEN COUNCILMAN FRANK DI CICCO COUNCILMAN JAMES KENNEY - - - VINCENT VARALLO ASSOCIATES, INC. Registered Professional Reporters Eleven Penn Center 1835 Market Street, Suite 600 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103 (215) 561-2220 I N D E X BILL NO. 980895 RICHARD LOMBARDO, Phila. Planning Commission -- MARK SILOW ------------------------------------ ALFRED POLLACK -------------------------------- BILL NO. 980901 5 RICHARD LOMBARDO, Phila. Planning Commission -- RICHARD MC MURTRIE --------------------------- 11 6 THOMAS CHAPMAN ------------------------------- 15 7 3 BILL NUMBER 980985
Good afternoon this is the Committee of Rules public hearing. We have two bills to consider today. I would ask Mr. DeMarco to please read 980985, please.
An Ordinance amending the Philadelphia Zoning Maps by changing the zoning designations of planned certain areas of land in the Fifth Ward and located within an area bounded by Spring Garden Street, Eighth Street, Vine Street, and Eleventh Street.
Please identify yourself for the record and proceed with your testimony. And I would like the record to reflect that we have a quorum to my extreme Councilwoman Clark, Councilman Cohen. To my right is Councilman Kenney, Councilman DiCicco, and Councilman O'Neill. Please proceed.
Good afternoon, Madam President and Members of the Rules Committee. My name is Richard Lombardo of the Philadelphia Planning Commission here today to speak on behalf of this bill. Before I begin, I would like to mention 4 BILL NUMBER 980985 we had testimony on this same subject under the auspices of Bill 970549 and then there was an error in the short title and the bill was reintroduced. I don't know if you want to go through all the testimony a second time. The only reason I bring it up is there are some issues that have come up in the intervening time having to do with amendments. If you want to go through the whole thing, I will. I just wanted to -- I didn't know if you needed to save time or not.
I'm sorry, are you saying amendments to this bill or were there amendments to the previous bill?
There are some people here who are asking for amendments to this bill. But we had a whole testimony on the same subject matter which was a re-mapping of the same area and the bill had to be introduced because there was an error in the short title. I was bringing up to you that I thought when we ended the hearing last time we said when this bill came back we would just incorporate the testimony. I was offering the opportunity if you wanted to save the time.
That would be 5 BILL NUMBER 980985 fine. Does anybody have any objection to that? Are you in agreement with the amendments?
We had a meeting -- I assume we've taken care of everyone who raised issues unless there's someone here who I don't know about. We had a meeting earlier this week at the offices of the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation who are the sponsors of this bill with owners of a chemical company that's located at the corner of Tenth and Callowhill in the old Hesslinger Brewery who basically are in a chemical-mixing business and have been there for years. They have a hundred employees. They are concerned that what we were proposing to rezone them to which was L4, Limited Industrial, does not permit the use that they have there. They're really concern if they would want to expand in the area or make some changes they'd wind up having to go to the Zoning Board. They were being asked to be left out of the re-mapping. And we're talking about the block bounded by Ninth Street, Tenth Street, Callowhill, and Noble, as well as they also have 6 BILL NUMBER 980985 property in the block to the north, Hamilton, Percy, Noble and Tenth Street, as well as a small -- and we have maps showing all this, I'll give you the amendment. There's a small parcel at the northwest corner of Tenth and Noble and the property at the southwest corner of Tenth and Callowhill. They're asking all of their property to be left out of the re-mapping and keep its G2 zoning. We had a meeting with the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation at their offices. It was agreed to after the meeting that the Chinatown community would support leaving the zoning -- apparently this company is a good neighbor. They've never had any complaints about their activity and they don't want to do anything to hurt them. There are a hundred employees. So that would address that series of amendments. One other minor amendment is the Work College of Art leases a building at the corner of Hamilton and Buttonwood which is a warehouse for the storage of art. They were concerned about having their designation to C3, Commercial. They'd rather be L4, Limited Industrial. And the Chinatown community also agreed to that change. And I think 7 BILL NUMBER 980985 that's all the complaints and amendments that I'm aware of unless there's someone else there. I believe one of the representative of the chemical company is here and I think he would like to make a statement to the Council.
We have a new change map which we will make available to the Members and we will also make it available to the Clerk's Office should you choose to adopt the amendment. You already have the amendments. It's a new Map B, it says "Proposed Zoning."
Councilman DiCicco, are you in favor of the amendments?
Yes. I believe Mr. Pollock would like to say a few words on behalf of his company as to why they are requesting the G2 classification, so if you would come forward.
Good afternoon, gentlemen. Please identify yourselves for the record and proceed with your testimony.
I'm a Mark Silo, I'm a partner at Fox, Rothschild, O'Brien & Frankel. With 8 BILL NUMBER 980985 me is Mr. Alfred Pollock, President of National Chemical Laboratories of PA and Kenneth Pollock who is the vice president of that same company. Mr. Lombardo, I think, completely expressed our concerns about the original proposed re-zoning map. We have met with representatives in Chinatown Development Council. We've met with Councilman DiCicco. We've met with other neighbors, and I think we have everybody in agreement that we are a good neighbor, an available resource to the City, and that it's very important for us to be able to keep our present expansion plans in place by having the contiguous properties zoned or kept as G2 rather than to be re-zoned as either C3 or L4. I don't know that there's additional testimony that's necessary. Mr. and Mr. Pollock are here to answer any questions about their business. We appreciate the efforts of the Planning Commission and Mr. DiCicco's office to keep our zoning.
Thank you. Are there any questions or comments from Members of the Committee? The Chair recognizes Councilman DiCicco.
Thank you, Madam 9 BILL NUMBER 980985 President. I would like to state for the record after my meeting with the Pollock family in my office this past week, either Monday or Tuesday of this week, I had the opportunity to meet with the Residents Association of the Bozarts Lofts Apartments at 13th and Callowhill which is about three blocks away from the Tenth and Callowhill location. And as result of that meeting, the residents group fully supports the amendments to this application and they have all said very nice things about the Pollock family. Mr. Pollock, Senior, to the right of us had a very interested story. I won't burden the record with his interesting story, but he's a former South Philadelphian who, as a young man, got into the business of chemicals by making hair shampoo in his mother's basement and is now a very successful business person, has been a part of the Philadelphia community, and the reason he came in to talk to me is they have five-year expansion plans and they very much want to stay in Philadelphia. If we were not able to accommodate them with these amendments, they would probably have to look elsewhere, so it will be 10 BILL NUMBER 980985 good for economic development going forward. And they're an institution here and we'd like to keep them. I want to thank you for your commitment to Philadelphia.
After 50 years, we've decided we like it here in Philadelphia. We're in this present location over 30 years now as a result of having a place on Lombard Street originally after the war we set up there and it turned into, as you know, Society Hill. And we had an opportunity looking for other buildings and the Brewery was satisfactory, but we had to have room for expansion. That's why we took the brewery so we could expand there. So that's the culmination of over 50 now.
Wonderful. I hope you come to us in 50 years and that we're all here and we're going to tell us about wanting to expand again.
I have a few sons to carry on and the rest of the family. With seven grandchildren, I'm sure they'll be here.
The Chair 11 BILL NUMBER 980901 recognizes Councilman O'Neill.
Without getting into how fine a counsel you've chosen, being affiliated with the same firm, even though I don't think there's a conflict, I'm going to abstain on this day and talk to the City Solicitor just to be safe. Thank you.
Any other questions or comments from Members of the Committee? Does anyone else wish to testify on this bill? Seeing none, we will now consider our second bill. Thank you very much. Mr. DeMarco will please read the title of Bill No. 980901.
An Ordinance amending Philadelphia Zoning Maps by changing the zoning designations of certain areas of land located in the 57th Ward within an area bounded by Grant Avenue, Academy Road, Holme Avenue, Willits Road, a railroad right-of-way and Bluegrass Road.
Good afternoon, Madam President and Members of the Rules Committee. My name is Richard Lombardo of the Philadelphia 12 BILL NUMBER 980901 Planning Commission today to speak on behalf of the Bill 980901. This area involves approximately 400 acres of area in Northeast Philadelphia bounded by Bluegrass Road on the west, Grant Avenue in the north, Academy Road on the east, and Willits Road on the south. This bill is part of the ongoing zoning re-mapping program. It was prepared in conjunction with the Ashton Civil Association in Councilman O'Neill's office. The principal changes on this map are represented by a change to a property along Grant Avenue from office commercial -- I apologize.
Let me try it again. The principal changes represent are on the south side of Grant Avenue changing from R2 Residential to Office Commercial which is a vacant credit union building. This is done to recognize the fact that it is built as a bank and hopefully this will ease finding -- the bank is no longer in business, the credit union is no longer in business there. Finding a suitable re-use for that site and that building. The 13 BILL NUMBER 980901 re-zoning have a number of properties, row homes situated to the east of Ashton Road -- southeast side of Ashton Road below Grant Avenue. That area is presently all zoned R7 residential which allows two-family dwellings is proposed to re-zone it to R6 residential which is a single family row house. Everything else in that district is the same, same spacial requirements, same yard, same setbacks. It's just the use of the building is limited to single family as opposed to two family. The last major change is along Willits Road just west of Ashton there's a large tract of ground that's currently zoned R4 Residential. It was cause of a number of Planning Commission meetings and also a hearing at the Zoning Board involving the development of that site and there's proposed to re-zone this site from R4 Residential to L2, limited Industrial, except for existing homes that have been built along the Willits Road frontage and two older homes that also have frontage on Willits Road. The rest of the property is being re-zoned back to Industrial. It was formerly Industrial before it was changed by a bill a number of years ago. So it's being put back to its industrial 14 BILL NUMBER 980901 classification. For the record, this afternoon the Planning Commission considered this bill and recommends its adoption to the Committee.
Madam President, if I may. Did you mention the neighborhood shopping center change from 2C7?
There is also a change right at the corner of Academy and Grant. The existing a shopping center there is currently zoned --
It's actually two separate businesses, it's a gas station and a bar restaurant.
Yes, they're currently zoned -- neighborhood shopping center are being re-zoned to C7 Commercial by this bill. C7, as a Councilman described, the use of C7 is a more appropriate classification than the neighborhood shopping center.
Are these changes in anticipation of a stadium being built? (Laughter.) 15 BILL NUMBER 980901
I would just like to mention that Monday evening of this week we had a meeting at the 8th Police District in conjuction with the Ashton Civic Association, and the meeting went quite long and there was a lot of explanation and the Planning Commission staff did a very good job. But Mr. Baybendetti (ph) who chairs that civic association, but is usually found at this time at down at the lakes in South Philly with his boyhood buddies. I told him we wouldn't need him today, but there was a vote and the civic association. Those present voted in favor of this. And also the vice president of the civic association is in the building, but he's in the Clerk of Quarter Sessions and I wouldn't call him unless he were needed, the 57th Ward democratic ward leader, Frank Connorway (ph) who was there at the meeting and is the vice chair of the civic association. He was there present for the vote.
Could I ask a question, probably of Councilman O'Neill.
Is Academy Gardens 16 BILL NUMBER 980901 a development that was built Denney in the early sixties?
Goes back further than that. I believe Academy Gardens, it's a Levittown-looking community. I don't know who built it but I think it even -- well, it certainly wouldn't precede Denney's time as a building, but they're basically framed cape cods. You could put them in Levittown and they would fit perfectly. But I think more World War II.
I think they may be more World War II or just after World War II. They precede most of the homes in the Northeast. Is that fairly, correct, Mr. Kramer?
But Denney, it may have been one of his earlier jobs.
Any other 17 BILL NUMBER 980901 questions or comments from Members of the Committee? Do we have anyone else that would like to testify on the bill.
Approach the table, please. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Clark.
Madam Chair, I respectfully request permission to leave this hearing and to be recorded as voting aye on both bills that have been considered today, the first one as amended and this one in whatever form it gets reported out.
Excuse me. Do we have any amendments on the second bill?
The original bill 19 introduced was amended. I gave that to the Chief of Staff.
We haven't amended it at the hearing yet, right? 18 BILL NUMBER 980901
There will be amendment before we leave on the second bill, a minor amendment. There's a funeral home that is R2 and we're going to leave it that way.
Madam Chair, please record me as voting aye on both bills as amended.
Thank you very much, Councilwoman. (Councilwoman Clark excused.)
Yes, sir? Please identify for the record. 19 BILL NUMBER 980901 MC MURTRIE: My name is Richard McMurtrie. I work for Metropolitan Management Corporation which manages the community located next door to the credit union. It's an apartment community, it's 204 apartments. Basically, our concern is, first of all, we weren't notified of this, as a friend, as a neighbor.
Why don't you wait until Councilman O'Neill comes back to the table because it's his district and he would certainly be more much knowledgable.
Basically, a neighbor actually brought a notice of the hearings and the zoning changes into our rental office last Friday. That was the first we heard of any proposed change to the zoning to the property. The property was posted, I believe, Monday afternoon stating there was going to be a hearing held today. If you've ever be on Grant Avenue, not too many people have a 20 BILL NUMBER 980901 tendency walk on the sidewalks on Grant Avenue. Usually you're going 50, 60 miles an hour down the road, so the chances of anyone seeing the sign is highly unlikely. We don't have, basically, a problem with the use of the property being changed as long it will be user-friendly to our apartment community. Now, I've heard different stories. I've tried to find out what exactly it is that is going to go in there. No one's been able to tell me. I heard that a credit union was going in there from, I believe, a representative in Mr. O'Neill's office, a guy by the name of Al who was on the phone with probably for about minutes arguing with basically, waiting to 16 get on the phone with Rich who was supposedly 17 handling all the complaints. 18 Now, granted we had our constituents 19 from our community contact Mr. O'Neill's office 20 regarding this proposed change because it came as a shock to us, basically. So my question is to Mr. O'Neill or to whoever could answer the question, what is exactly -- what is going to into this building?
I have no idea. 21 BILL NUMBER 980901 That's not what we're here for today. Let me explain to you, first of all, the notification. When a re-mapping is done, every property owner in the area that's re-mapped gets the same notice. The Planning Commission handles that and the Council Clerk's Office advertises in newspapers, and this isn't just this re-mapping this is the other one we had today and it's every one. The Planning Commission staff actually is the people who post the neighborhood. As you said, there was posting done. The community hearing is not required, but it's something I always insist on so that people can find out about it. Ashton Civic happens to be the only organization in the area that meets. That's on the notification. I didn't make up the rules; I'm just telling you what they are. The second thing is I would like, as I mentioned -- as I heard the other night from your tenants who came to the meeting and I mentioned to your colleague sitting next to you that I heard you good things about you taking over the management a year ago from the people that live there, and I congratulate you for that. But in terms of a building that is zoned residential that has been 22 BILL NUMBER 980901 used for offices for 15 years, office commercial is the recommendation of the Planning Commission, but from a practical standpoint, I believe two things happen when in this particular case or any case like it. One is that there's a better chance of the building being occupied if it's zoned as an office which is what its interior is set up for rather than as residential which it's just never going to happen. So the community, the broader community is very interested in the building being occupied. Secondly though, in terms of someone coming in and putting an undesirable non-office type use in there and it was mentioned the other night a Pizza Hut or something that would reek havoc at that location. From a very practical standpoint, if it's zoned office commercial and someone goes to the zoning board and tries to have it changed, legally speaking, it's very, very difficult for them to claim that that's the proper designation for the building and that a variance is required for whatever use they would want and maybe you and others would not be opposed to. If it were residential, they have a very good argument and there job gets easier and your job in opposition 23 BILL NUMBER 980901 becomes more difficult because their position is much more reasonable, that as a residential property with just a variance for a credit union, which is what it is right now, that it's very difficult to use it that way. And particularly with the neighbors on both sides. This is the highest single family designation -- the second highest we have in the city, but the predominant one in the Northeast, the R2. So you can look at it from one side or the other as to what's an improvement, but no one is before us ready to go in there. I mean, that building's been vacant at least three years, if not more. The credit union, the American Heritage Federal Credit Union that used to be the Budd Company Employees Credit Union and still owns the building, they're located a few miles away in a bigger building that they built on Red Lion Road. But I'm not aware of any use going in there, and I'm not aware of anything else except that I believe this is a fair change and a fair recommendation by the Planning Commission. I'd be more upset if they were leaving it as R2 than them asking it to be changed to office commercial, which does not allow 24 BILL NUMBER 980901 retail, by the way, but it does allow office uses.
Basically, we're not going to have a McDonald's in there.
You could have that. We allow that in shopping centers so...
You know, the fact that we're a neighbor and we're not notified -- granted the City has their way of notifying people.
And maybe we ought to look at our notification. I sympathize with your situation.
We pay a huge tax bill 19 out there and, you know, we find out about this from a neighbor.
That's our basic beef here is that, you know, we weren't notified in time. Even if we wanted to do something, the notice that 25 BILL NUMBER 980901 we received is tardy. This ordinance, from the way I look at it, and I'm not an attorney, it was introduced in November of 1998 and it was passed, and it was to take effect immediately. So, you know, you had this hearings long after the fact of this thing being put on the board and ran through and you know.
But the advertising doesn't get done until there's going to be a hearing. It doesn't get done based on introduction. A lot of bills get introduced and never get hearings.
99 percent of the people that live in the city don't read these notices. The print is so small that even with my cheating glasses I wouldn't be able to read them if I wanted to. You know, you have an area that you're going to re-zone so you notified the people that live around the area. What's the big deal?
Let me tell you BILL NUMBER 980901 something, and I mean this as a compliment. If apartment owners/managers in my district showed any interest in what was going on in their community, I would hand deliver notice to them. And I compliment you for your interest because that has not been the history in the years I've been here. 8
We've owned the 9 building for over four years. We just put about 10 $300,000 into the building. We want to stay. 11
I'm going to give 12 you a few more leads to look at some other 13 properties in the district. 14
Fine. I'll call you on 15 the phone and you can give us the leads. I'm sure 16 there's a lot of property up there we can pick up. 17
Are you only 18 interested in the Northeast? 19 (Laughter.) 20
The McMurtrie family has a long history of residential units. Mr. McMurtrie's family is originally from Second Street -- Third Street, Third and Tasker. 27 BILL NUMBER 980901
So I guess basically, it's a done deal? If they put a peep show bar up at the corner there, I'll have my constituents come in by your office.
I just don't want to clean up everyone's trash and I don't want people parking on my property, that's all.
I mean, if the credit union wants to sell the building and make money, so be it. We looked at the building to buy. We thought of putting like a little 7-Eleven up there ourselves because there's nowhere for our residents to go to shop without getting in the corner and 28 BILL NUMBER 980901 walking. My friend Williams here, a friend that owns the bank wanted too much for the building and that's why we didn't buy it. End of discussion.
I appreciate you coming. The amendment, I'm still waiting for it. You have it there? Can you speak to it, Mr. Chapman?
Madam Chair, for the record, Thomas Chapman from the City Planning Commission. One thing we neglected to mention as part of our presentation was there was a minor amendment to this bill. I had forgotten about it myself until Councilman O'Neill mentioned it. It concerns a property near the corner of Grant and Academy. It's currently the Hollen Funeral home. As introduced, this bill would have changed the zoning of that property from R2 to C7. At Councilman O'Neill's request, we are going to leave the property zoned R2. And the amendment I believe Mr. Bruno circulated to you that will show that. That is the only change from the bill as introduced.
In fact, let me 29 BILL NUMBER 980901 just for the record state if it had been become C7, we would have the exact potential two doors away that the gentleman just testified was concerned about. It would have been a blanket for a McDonald's or a Pizza Hut. Now the funeral home will need a variance if anything else goes in there beside the funeral home.
Does this map reflect that it's R2, Mr. Chapman? I don't want to make any mistakes on this. (Discussion held off the record.)
Is there anyone else to testify on Bill No. 980901? This concludes the public hearing of the Rules Committee. We will now go into our public meeting. - - - 30 COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA PUBLIC MEETING COMMITTEE ON RULES - - - Thursday, February 25, 1999 - - - Public Meeting conducted by the Committee on Rules, held in Room 401, City Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the above date, to consider action on the following: BILLS 980895, 980901 - - - PRESENT: COUNCIL PRESIDENT ANNA VERNA COUNCILWOMAN AUGUSTA CLARK COUNCILMAN DAVID COHEN COUNCILMAN FRANK DI CICCO COUNCILMAN JAMES KENNEY COUNCILMAN BRIAN O'NEILL - - - 31 BILL NUMBERS 980895, 980901
Thank you, Madam Chair. I move the adoption of the amendment to Bill No. 980895. (Duly seconded.)
It has been properly moved and seconded. All in favor of the motion will signify by saying aye. The record will reflect the Councilwoman Clark left her affirmative vote. The chair recognizes Councilman DiCicco.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that Bill No. 980895 as amended be reported out of Committee with a favorable recommendation and that the Rules of Council be suspended so as to permit first reading at the next session of City Council. (Duly seconded.)
It has been properly moved and seconded that Bill No. 980895 be reported out of Committee with a favorable recommendation as amended and that the Rules of Council be suspended so as to permit first reading at our next session of Council. All in favor will signify by saying aye. Those opposed? The ayes have it.
Madam Chair, I would like to have my vote recorded as abstaining.
Councilman O'Neill will be abstaining. And the record will reflect that Councilwoman Clark did leave her vote in the affirmative of that bill as amended. So the ayes have it. The motion has been carried. The Chair recognizes Councilman O'Neill regarding Bill NO. 980901.
Madam Chair, I move that the amendment to Bill No. 980901 be adopted. (Duly seconded.)
Properly moved and seconded that the amendment as proposed by the City's Planning Commission regarding Bill No. 980901 be adopted. All in favor will signify by saying aye. Those opposed? 32 BILL NUMBERS 980895, 980901 Ayes have it. The motion is carried. The Chair recognizes Councilman O'Neill.
Madam Chair, I move that Bill No. 980901 as amended be reported out at the next session of council and the Rules of Council be suspended to allow first reading at that time. (Duly seconded.)
Properly moved and seconded that Bill No. 980901 be recorded out of Committee with a favorable recommendation as amended and that the Rules of Council be suspended so as to permit first reading at our next session of Council. All in favor will signify by saying aye. Any nays? The ayes have it. The motion is carried. Thank you very much. This concludes the public meeting. (Adjourned at 2:50 p.m.) 33 C E R T I F I C A T I O N I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing proceedings of the Council of the City of Philadelphia of February 25, 1999, were reported fully and accurately by me, and that this is a correct transcript of the same. RE: COMMITTEE OF RULES ___________________________ Lisa C. Bradley, RPR and Notary Public