Thank you.
chair we have 30 attendees we can start when you wish thank you we're ready to go good morning my
name is bill bergman and i will be chairing this morning's eba hearings with me is carol
Toneri, our Vice Chair. Present, Mr. Chair. And Thomas Holloman, our Board Member. Present, Mr. Chairman. Also here is our Executive Director, Tanya Sunkett, and our Board Attorney, Hillary Emerson. Before we begin, here is our virtual format. Be advised, these proceedings are being recorded. By participating, you acknowledge your agreement to be recorded. A video will be available by contacting Tanya Sunkett at Philadelphia.
For the benefit of our court stenographer, we ask attorneys and witnesses to identify themselves before testifying.
If you are participating by phone, if you wish to testify, press star 9 to raise your hand and star 6 to unmute.
To enter an appearance date, call 267 -270 -5548.
Leave your email and the address of the property in question.
And last, please note the question and answer box is not for testimony or comments.
Any comments have to be sent to our executive director, Tanya Sumter.
Let's start with what continuances we have this morning.
Number seven, MI 2021 -004 -012 -225 East Springer Street, and number eight, MI 2021 -004 -011 -223 East Springer Street.
Both these cases are continued, attorney -moving parties, and please note, you have to get back with a new request from us within 90 days.
Also continued is number nine, MI -2022 -00456 -2227, Brimmar Avenue.
This case is continued, attorney -moving party must get back to us within 90 days.
There are the three continuance.
Are there any comments relative to those continuances
in the virtual audience?
Any other requests for continuances?
chair we have burn
mr anastasio you can unmute yourself
good morning mr chairman good morning could you state your name and spell for the court reporter
please of course it's verne anastasio a -n -a -s -t -a -s -i -o 2016 spruce street philadelphia
19103. Do you swear a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing about the truth?
I do. What cases do you have, sir? I have two cases that I'm asking for continuance today.
The first is 1901 Westmoreland. The Planning Commission has just recently, in the past few
days, selected an RCO assignment, so we have to work with them to meet with them. That's case
MI 2021 -003 -722 -1901 -Westmoreland. Thank you. And the second one is 2321 North Broad.
I came back here on a remand. We are waiting for some evidence that we've requested from the
Historic Commission, and that evidence has not come to us yet. We expect it soon.
That's MI 2022 -003 -647 -2321 -North Roadtree. That case is continued. Any other cases, counsel?
That's all today. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Are there any other requests for continuances?
no more hands chair okay also i have two withdrawals
No more hands, Chair.
number five
do you have somebody
their hand just went down chair okay number five is a withdrawal mi 2022
to 000 -404 -2101, Cheltenham Avenue. That case is continued. And also case number 13.
Excuse me, Mr. Chair, this is Hillary. Number five, just to be clear, is a withdrawal, not a
withdrawal. I'm sorry. Yeah, the withdrawal. I'm sorry. And number 13, MI 2021 -001 -976 -4927
west thompson street that's also withdrawal are there any other requests for withdrawal
no handshare okay we're going to go to our regular list
mi 2021 005 158 109 green lane attorney is daniel reisman
we have a letter of support from the manioc neighborhood council we have a letter of
support from the manioc development corporation we have a letter of support from councilman curtis
mr reisman and he's coming in now as a panelist
good morning mr chairman members good morning mr reisman how are you could you state your name
and spell for the court reporter please yes daniel reisman r -e -i -s -m -a -n you swear for him to tell
the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes i do our vice chair has a few questions
for you. Hi, Mr. Reisman. Do you agree to wait the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its
accuracy? Yes. Have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership, tax compliance,
a copy of the refusal or referral, photos under plans of the property five days in advance of
this hearing, and have you met with the RCO, and do you have a letter? Yes, do I. Okay, great. You
may proceed and begin to share your screen. Okay, thank you. Thank you.
okay can you see the screen
yes okay again my name is Daniel Reisman thank you for meeting with us today I'm here with my
client Jamie Kaplan who's the principal of the proposal and the property he's a principal owner
Also Aaron Monahan, who is our architect. I've handed up or sent in exhibits to the board. The exhibits include the application materials, photos, as the chair mentioned, it includes letters of support from the RCO and the councilman.
It also includes an amended zoning plan, site plan, which was amended to address comments made by the RCO at the meeting.
I've sent that in to the board and to the board solicitor with the proviso form.
And it's my understanding that because the amendment does not increase any variances, the plan can be amended at this time.
the um properties there are three properties um that we're talking about and this is a unity of
use application for the three properties and i'll show you a few um maps here's an overhead map
the properties are right here and then looking at the zoning maps again there are three properties
One is at 107 Green Lane.
You'll see it's CMX 2 .5.
I have my cursor over it.
The second property is at 109 Green Lane, and you'll see it has access from both Crescent
Street and also Green Lane.
And the third property is 4457 Main Streets, and you'll see this one fronting Main Street.
So effectively, if you follow my cursor, you'll see the three properties here, here,
and then the sort of backwards L shape are the three properties.
I'm going to run through some photos for the board to give them a better idea of the properties.
I'm going to run through some photos for the board to give them a better idea.
This is looking on Crescent Street, the Crescent Street stride of 109 Green Lane, you will see there.
Here's a closer view. This is straight on, again, looking at 109 from Crescent Street.
now if you look past crescent street across from green lane you'll see this large parking lot that
has 176 spaces we'll be talking more about that but these photos give you a nice sense of the fact
that it's effectively across the street from the property here's another one
okay and now here's 109 green lane on the green lane side again that l shape comes out
on green lane there's the parking lot
that's the parking lot again you'll see it's very large and looking from the interior of the
parking lot. This is 109 Green Lane on the Crescent Street side, and this is 109 Green Lane on the
Green Lane side. Okay, now the second property is right here. It's a very small corner property.
it's 107 Green Lane and you'll see it connects to 109 and then over behind it is 4457
Main Street which is the third property that we're talking about today. So here's 107 Green
Lane, 109 Green Lane and 4457 Main Street all connected or all adjacent to each other.
And then the one other item I want to point out in the photos is, so here is 4457 Main Street.
There's a second large parking lot, public parking lot at 4436 Main Street.
And again, you'll see it's effectively a little down the road, but across the street from 4457 Main Streets.
now just um i'm going to show you a few of the interior photos so you get an idea this is
most of what we're here today have been has have been granted in prior variances
by the board since 2007 so this is the um artesano this is the artesano gallery and venue so
So this is the interior. This is at the 109 Green Lane property.
It's pretty much wins awards every year for one of the top wedding venues in Philadelphia.
And that's all 109. And then here's the existing cafe restaurant at the property as well.
All right. So let's let's talk a little more about what the proposal is and
and why we're here.
Let me zoom that up a little.
Okay. Here's the, here's a very, that our architect prepared a layout of the three properties. So as I mentioned, most of this has been already approved by the board from variances dating back to 2010.
Anything in blue is what's already been approved. So you'll see here at 109 Green Lane is the is the wedding venue and event venue that we just discussed.
In 2020, the board approved a small cafe restaurant at 109 Green Lane, which is right here.
And in 2020, the board also approved a restaurant at 4457 Green Lane, which is right here.
The change what we're here for today is that my client purchased this corner property at 107 Green Lane.
That is effectively going to be the linchpin for an expansion of the restaurant that exists and was approved at 109 Green Lane in this portion of that property and at 4456 Main Street.
So this is right in the middle of those properties.
So this is right in the middle of those properties. Effectively, the restaurant will be expanded into this space and there will be an interconnection between 109 Green Lane and 107 Green Lane.
effectively the restaurant.
And there will be an interconnection between 107 Green Lane and 4457 Main Street.
The proposal will also have roof decks. The roof, I'm sorry, roof deck. The roof deck will be on 107 Green Lane and it will be on 109 Green Lane.
And here are the floor plans showing the layout of each floor. An architect can walk through in more detail if you would like.
regarding that. We're here for two variances. One is for parking. So under the zoning code,
these buildings are older industrial buildings. They all predate the 2012 zoning code. Under the
code, this would typically be, there's no parking on site. The buildings pretty much take up the
entire site. Under the existing code, in those situations, the parking and the building are
typically grandfathered in and not subject to new parking requirements. However, the Maniunk
overlay does have specific parking requirements that L &I interprets as overriding the general
grandfathered provisions in of the zoning code. The board on the three prior variances that I
discussed, they've already approved the waiver of most of those parking spaces. The only parking
spaces that are required now because of the expansion that we're talking about are 38 parking
spaces. And that's based on the seating in the restaurant. As discussed, and we have a plan that
shows us very clearly. The parking is very available. This is a nice overhead view. Again,
here is the property. Here's the parking lot at 109 Green Lane. Here's the parking lot at 4436
main streets based on this readily available parking the board in the past and the fact that
you cannot have parking at this property because of these historic old buildings the board has
approved approved the prior three variances and there's more than enough available parking for
the additional 38 spaces. If you look here, 108 Green Lane across the street has 176.
4436 Main Street has 90 public parking spaces. And in addition, my client has entered into an
agreement with the operator at 4436 Main Street, the parking lot across the street on Main Street,
for another 150 spaces solely to be used by my client for events at the property.
So between the fact that parking is not available on -site, number one, and number two, we have
readily available really off -site, on -site parking. The board has granted the variances in
the past, and we think it warrants the additional grant of the variance today for the 38 spaces that
we're talking about. Regarding the roof deck, we met with the RCO. The RCO had requests based on
the roof deck. One was that there would be no access onto the roof deck from the street. We've
amended the plans to address that. And number two, they requested screening on the roof deck,
which we've installed as well. So to summarize, this is an important location. It's basically
the gateway to Manyonk. It's a very successful, well -known operation already. The existing use
is very successful. The expansion will allow this to continue to be a vibrant part of the neighborhood.
And we think that based on this and the fact that there's no possibility for parking on site, a variance is warranted.
My client is here, can ask any specific operational questions, and the architect is also here who can answer any questions regarding the layout of the property.
Mr. Reisman, why don't we have your client adopt your testimony? Could we do that?
Yes. Jamie Kaplan, if you could raise your hand, please.
Jamie Kaplan, if you could raise your hand, please.
Good morning, Mr. Chair. This is Jason Hand. Mr. Kaplan has been about to speak.
Thank you. Hi, Mr. Kaplan, could you state your name and spell it for the court reporter, please?
My name is Jamie Kaplan, J -A -I -M -E -K -A -P -L -A -N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Proceed, counsel.
Mr. Kaplan, did you hear my testimony?
And was it true and correct, to the best of your knowledge, information, and belief?
And you adopted as your own?
thank you questions from the board no mr chairman
carol no mr chairman oh wait um you're good you're good okay questions or comments from
the virtual audience i do not see any hands mr chair wait a minute i see miss uh nasha
Maddox with her hand up.
I'm allowed to speak at this time.
Hi, could you state your name and spell it, please, for the court reporter?
State.
Hello?
Sorry, she should be coming back in right now.
Okay, sure.
Ms. Maddox, please unmute yourself.
hello hi could you state your name and spell for the court reporter please
Lillian Maddox L -I -L -L -I -A -N right go ahead M -A -D -D -O -X
say say you spell your last name again one more time M -A -D -D -O -X all right thank you do you
swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth yes proceed
hello hello i was for for m i two oh two one dash oh oh one six seven five six sixty one
North 64th Street.
Ma 'am, are you here to testify about this case?
I'm testifying for the case
for 614
North 64th Street.
No, ma 'am, we're not on that case yet. You'll have to call back.
Oh, okay. I'm sorry. Thank you. Are there any
other comments from the virtual audience about the case in hand?
i do not see any further hands mr chair planning commission
good morning uh this is greg welfman planning commission staff um my name is g -r -e -g -o -r -y
last name w -a -l -d -m -a -n do you swear firm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the
truth i do proceed sir the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing commercial
mixed -use zoning at this location the application is consistent with recommendations in the district
plan to continue viable commercial development at these locations the city planning commission
recommends the zoning board to grant the variance thank you great m i 2021 005 158
i vote yes revised plans one page stamped by zba on july 19 2022.
carol scenario i voted yes with provisos thomas howell i voted yes with provisos
thank you council thank you board mr chair and board members
number two mi 2022 000 453 1324 north 30 street alan knockamson is the attorney
um letter of support from brewery town charged with community civic association
also applicant has provided petition of support signed by 26 neighbors most of them on 1400 block
of north 30 street so now i'm seeing as we joined as a panelist
Mr. Nockmson has rejoined as a panelist, sir.
Good morning, Mr. Chairman.
Good morning, Mr. Nockmson.
State your name and spell, please, for the court reporter.
Yes, Allen, A -L -A -N, last name Nockmson, N -O -C -H -U -M -S -O -N.
All right, do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client and their relationship to the property?
Yes. Online, I have Crystal Element, one of the owners of the property, who will adopt my testimony and answer any questions the Board may have.
Thank you. Our Vice Chair has a few questions.
Hi, Mr. Janakamson. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership tax compliance a copy of the refusal or
referral photos under plans of the property five days in advance of this hearing and have you met
with the rco and do you have a letter uh yes in all respects great you may proceed and um welcome
back thank you it's been a while it has been a while and please share your screen thank you thank
do. Oh wait, hold on, let's make sure I have the right, uh, map.
All right, so I'm here to present, uh, 1424, uh, North 30th Street, we go full screen out.
And, uh, this, uh, property is in the Brewery Town section of Philadelphia.
this is not for a developer this is for someone who wants to live in this property who has been
a member of this community for a number of years and her and her husband want to move into this
property and renovate it along with Mrs. Elements I do also have Mr. Johnson the architect for the
project Chris Johnson 24 -7 design who can answer any questions the board may have with regards to
project. So we'll go through a number of materials. The notice of refusal. This is an RSA5 property.
We're not looking to increase the density. We just have some dimensional variances here.
Letter of support from the Brewery Town Shortwood Community Civic Association. Again, Ms. Element
is a member of the Brewery Town community and she lives actually next door. She's looking to
renovate this property and move into the one next door. So she knows many of her neighbors. So we
had a petition circulated, which was signed by most, if not all, of her neighbors, letters
to support from nearby neighbors as well.
One of the refusals has to do with the omission of, because we're next to two two -story structures,
and because of the circumstances, we are not able to have the eight -foot setback on the
third floor, but it's not out of character.
and we're going to see other third -story additions of budding two -story properties on that block
and in close proximity. Maps of the area, photographs of the property and surrounding
the area, our plans and drawings, our detailed property showing that Miss Element is an owner
of the property. Our RCO meeting notice, we met with the community at a well -attended event and
based on that meeting and our presentation we received a letter of support from coordinating
rco our application for appeal that we filed to the zba and our certificate of tax clearance showing
that there are no real estate taxes due on account to this property first things first is our notice
of refusal uh it's an rsa 5 property again we're not looking to increase any density here we're
doing for the erection of a third story addition to an attached structure with a roof deck in the
rear of the third floor level and a roof deck over the third floor portion accessed by proposed open
stairs uh to be located in the rear of the third floor to be used as single family household living
we have two refusals here the first of which i mentioned um in the opening uh we're required
technically when we're left and right of two two -story structures to be set back on the third
story um you'll see that this is not out of character or request that there are other newly
renovated properties with third -story additions that are not setback as well. We just want a
functional floor plan on that third floor, and we're asking the boards for leniency in that
respect. The second refusal has to do with the maximum occupied area. It's 75 % as required by
the code. We're at 76 .89%, so just a sliver off. Again, it goes to the functionality of the floor
plan also our rear structure does not go any further than the rear structure to left and right
of us so we're not taking anyone's light and air away in that respect letter of support from the
Letter of support from the Brewery Town Shardswood Civic Association, as you can see, is a well -attended meeting, and we received a letter of support and the explanation of the project as a whole.
brewery town charge with uh civic association
And then, again, we circulated a petition. It was quite easy for Ms. Elliman to do that. She lives next door to this property. She's been a member of this community for some time, and she only focused on people who would be most directly impacted, so nearby neighbors on that block and behind us as well.
and as you can see from this substantial amount of signatures you know people are you know happy
that she's making this renovation remaining in the neighborhood and continue being a productive
member of this community and then just the letters to support as well and those are individuals who
are completely adjacent to the property who would be most directly impacted or across the street or
behind. And then it's not our character to have these third story additions and asking for this
variance. 1423 North 30th Street, you can see 1435 North 30th Street, again, no setback. 1451 North
30th Street, again, no setback. 1447 North 30th Street, no setback. And then maps of the area
uh we're between uh jefferson and master street on 30th street in the heart of the brewery town
section of philadelphia you see all the yellow all single families we want to keep that single
family use we just want uh to have a more functional layout a bigger house and you know
with miss element and her husband looking to grow their family in the progress of the property here
it is it's a porch neighborhood uh to the left of the property on north 30th street to the right of
the property on north 30th street as you can see it's not out character to have these some of these
three -story additions and then our plans and drawings again these plans have been uh created
by 24 7 design i have chris johnson the architect for 24 7 design we're just freshening up keeping
the character of the neighborhood we're enhancing the bay window by extending that to the third
story uh as you can see here that you know we um are not you know we're you we're not having a
roof deck or roof deck access structure out of respect to the community instead we're having
external staircase we don't want to make it seem like we're hovering over anyone and that would be
out of character from the neighborhood to have a roof deck or access structure there
um and then just the typical floor plans you know there's a porch you get through the
you know front door open layout lit room dining room kitchen second floor two bedrooms
a bath and a laundry facility and the third floor is just the master suite
and then the rco meeting notice we met on may 19th at 6 30 pm we notified 197 addresses of
our meeting these are listed the addresses this is our proof of mailing
our deed to the property uh showing him his element and her husband owned the property
our application for appeal to the zba
in our tax plan showing that uh we have a tax compliance property owner with that being said
i would ask that miss element to virtually raise her hand so she gets on my testimony
and then we can answer any questions the board may have
i'm sorry mr chair but i had to um promote this uh element to a panelist because that's fine
Is that a message she's using an order version of the same?
Sorry, what was that?
Is it okay to speak?
Hi, good morning.
Could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Crystal Element, C -R -Y -S -T -A -L, last name Element, E -L -E -M -E -N -T.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed, counsel.
Yes, Ms. Element, you heard everything I stated today.
yes correct is it true and correct yes and do you adopt that as your own testimony correct yes
thank you questions from the board no mr chair no mr chair questions or comments from the virtual
audience i do not see any hands at this time mr chair planning commission
Good morning. This is Greg Waldman, Planning Commission staff.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change to the residential single -family zoning at this
location. While the applicant has failed to demonstrate hardship, granting these variances
while the applicant has failed to demonstrate hardship granting these variances will not
will not impair the use of
impair the use of adjacent properties the city planning commission recommends that the board
approve the dimensional variances thank you mi2022 000 453 1424 north 30 street i vote yes
carol tenere my vote is yes i'm miss holland my vote is yes thank you council thank you
Number three, MI -2022 -002 -944 -1909 South Third Street.
Mr. Robert Daly.
Sir, Mr. Daly has been promoted to panelist.
Good morning.
Good morning, Mr. Daly.
could you state your name and spell it for the court reporter, please?
Mr. Daly? Mr. Daly, you need to unmute yourself. I apologize. No, no, no, that's okay. Could you
state your name and spell it for the court reporter? Yes, Robert Daly, R -O -B -E -R -T -D -A -L -Y.
Right. Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Mr. Daly, we still need a few other documents for your case.
So we're going to have to continue it to today, okay?
And what we'll do is we'll be in touch with you with the next case.
And if you have any questions about how to do this, call the office, okay?
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Mr. Daly.
So I log back.
Thank you.
Have a good day.
Bye -bye.
Thank you.
MI -2021 -001 -278 -2246 N21st Street, Allen Nockamson.
Letter of support from North Central Philadelphia Susquehanna Community Development Corporation.
we'll be coming back in as family sir
good morning again mr chairman you've already been sworn could you identify your client
and the relationship to the property yes i may yes i can uh a to z real estate transaction llc
is the owner of the property. And with me, I have the member of that organization,
Nasi Ida Seven, who will be able to testify with regards to this matter.
Okay. Our vice chair has a few questions.
Hi, Mr. Nockmson. Do you agree to leave the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership, tax compliance, a copy of the refusal
or referral? Vote is under plans of the property five days before this hearing. And have you met
the rco and do you have a letter oh yes we do okay great you may proceed and share your screen
all right so i'm here to present 2246 north 21st street uh this has been a project that our team
has been working on for well over a year with the community and i'm proud to say that through those
meetings, and I would say we probably had at least four meetings with the community,
we did gain their support. As you can see from the correspondence from the North Central
Philadelphia Susquehanna Community Development Corporation, you'll see through the notice of
refusal that we are seeking to put a triplex in, and that's, you know, we're asking for a use
variance in that regard. Through our meetings with them, we did have to deviate our project
from what was originally submitted to lni and based on that we also submitted uh with our
presentation materials a revised proviso plans form uh that you know we submitted to the zoning
board of adjustment and then separately also to your council uh hillary emerson who should have
a copy of that uh next you'll see nearby non -rm1 multi -family dwelling so it's not of character to
have multi -family in this neighborhood there is a diversity of housing between single family and
multifamily in this neighborhood under similar circumstances.
Maps of the area, photographs of the property,
our plans and drawings, our last RCO meeting notice, but like I said, we met with the community
our plans and drawings, our last RCO meeting notice.
on multiple occasions over the course of well over a year, our application for appeal, our deed to
the property, and our certificate of tax clearance. Again, with me is Ghaziada Seven of A to Z Real
Estate Transaction, LLC, who at the conclusion of my presentation will adopt my testimony, and
he would be perfectly willing to answer any questions the board may have that I did not
uh answer or cannot answer and then in addition i have christopher johnson of 24 7 design who is
the architect uh on this project so our notice refusal the only refusal we have uh is for uh
the use uh this is for the erection of an attached structure with balcony at the rear and
in a roof deck with roof deck access structure for use as multi -family household living with
three dwelling units so what has changed with this project and we'll go over the proviso plan form
we we got rid of the roof deck and the roof deck access structure and we got rid of the balcony
and you'll see that in our revised plans and our form that we submitted to this eba
so through our many meetings with the community uh we did gain the support of the north central
Philadelphia Susquehanna Community Development Corporation although this is not zoning related
my client has agreed to provide one of the units as affordable housing pursuant to the state
guidelines what's deemed affordable housing there are other provisos I will leave it up to the board
to decide which ones are enforceable but you know they talk about maximum of three apartments you
know that's what we're doing um so i don't believe a proviso is necessary it says no rooming house
configuration well if we wanted to seek a rooming house we would have to go in front of this board
again uh and um ask for permission for that uh not to be utilized as individual rental status i
think that kind of goes to the rooming house configuration again if we wanted to rent by the
room we would have to obtain a variance through this process and then there's just aesthetics
exterior the building should be uniform to existing block all brick exterior no bay windows
that's part of our plans that we're not going to provide bay windows and that's the third
deviation from our project that is enforceable so no roof deck or roof deck access structure
no balcony no bay windows and then talks about like you know the configuration the windows things
like that but uh and you know talks about the end about the deed again we are going to do a
deed restriction um as part of this process to make sure my client is held accountable to making
sure that one of the units is affordable and then at the conclusion of the letter of support i
believe that they provided the four plants that we provided to them you'll see they match what we
provided uh to you excuse me council yeah can you enlarge the floor plans oh yeah sure oops um
is that larger miss yeah thank you you're welcome do you mind if i minimize a little
more to get through the presentation sure and then our revised proviso plan again our revised plans
deviate in three respects from what was originally submitted removal of the bay window removal of
roof deck and roof deck access structure and removal of balcony and then here are the plans
which are stamped and we would ask that if the board is inclined to grant this variance
uh requests that they granted with the proviso with this with this site plan
and then if you look at similarly situated properties we try to compare apples to apples
so our lot size we're a significant size lot of 1600 square feet so per unit our lot size
is 533 .3 square feet for the lot size nearby the average unit you know for lot size is 519 square
feet so per unit so we are actually providing more room in a lot of respects compared to what's
surrounding us and there are 10 examples in close proximity to where we are
maps of the area uh we're on 21st street between goffin and west susquehanna you can see that from
a google maps perspective as well and then photographs of the property uh here it's nearby
and then photographs of the property uh here it's nearby multi -family uh 2221 north 21st street
multifamily.
222151 north 21st street 2138 north 21st street we try to find properties in close proximity
and then our plans and drawings again you know we tried to we worked with the community over the
course of over a year uh as you can see one of their major requests was not to have a bay window
they wanted something to match the character of that portion of the neighborhood so we made sure
we had a nice cornice line that was ornate the windows matched in scope to like what you would
expect from that part of town and then just our floor plans you know we have three units the first
unit is on the first floor and ground floor the second unit is on the second floor and then the
third unit is on the third floor. Each of the units have ventilated trash rooms, closets,
and that was very important to neighbors that there was a responsible trash maintenance or
removal plan. And then just our meeting notice, the last time we met with the community was June
22nd, 2022 at 6 30 p .m. You know, there were requirements and even our envelopes of how they
would go out but you know making sure that people didn't think it was junk mail we put important
community meeting please zoom in and we circled it in red just to make sure that people would be
part of this process and then 186 addresses were notified oops 186 addresses were notified
of these community meetings and here are the list of the addresses
and then proof of mailing
and then our application for appeal again that and if you see the refusal stated march
of 2021 again my client really in good faith worked tirelessly with the community to
to to fulfill any and all needs that they you know reasonably requested
and our deeds of property
and then our certificate of tax balance.
With that being said, I'm going to stop sharing my screen.
I'm going to ask that Mr. Addis Eben
virtually raise his hand
so he can pass him in
and to adopt my testimony.
Mr. Addis Eben has been about to speak.
Hi, could you state your name, please,
and spell for the court reporter?
hi uh hello everyone my name is gazi g -a -z -i the last name is r -a -7 -a -t -a -s -e -v -a
all right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
yes i do counsel yes uh mr r -a -7 you heard everything i stated today
yes and is it true and correct yes adopted as your own testimony yes thank you questions from
the board no mr chairman no mr chairman questions or comments from the virtual audience mr chair
this is hillary um i just had a quick question for um mr nockamson so um on the proviso plans
form it says you you remove the balconies and but the rco said they'd be okay with balconies at the
rear of the property but there's no balconies now on the property at all that's right yes okay okay
so okay so we don't need to provide over your balconies because there's no balconies at all
okay that's right yeah that's why i revised my revised proviso plan i noticed there were no
rear balconies i just want to make sure it was comprehensive okay thank you
questions for comments from the virtual audience
i see no no other hand uh planning commission please good morning um this is great wall
in from planning commission staff in 2014 this property was remapped from rm1 residential
with the family to rsa 5 single family residential in accord with recommendations
from the comprehensive plan the applicant's hardship claim is not supported with evidence
of unique physical circumstances or conditions of the property presently a vacant lot however
given the substantial number of most nearby multi -family dwellings the city planning commission
recommends that the board grant the variance with the condition that no more than two dwelling units
be committed. MI 2021 001 278 2246 North 21st Street I vote yes with proviso revised plans
one page stamped by zba on july 19 2022. harold canary my vote is yes proviso thomas holloman
Harold Tanari, my vote is yes, with proviso.
Thomas Hallowin, my vote is yes, with proviso.
That's it.
Thank you, counsel.
You might want to stay there one minute.
MI 2022, 000403, 3116 Clifford Street.
Good morning again, Alan Ockamson.
Letter of support, non -opposition from Strawberry Mansion CDC.
Our vice chair has a few questions.
Hi, Mr. Nockmson.
Do you agree to leave the reading of the refusal to stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership, tax compliance,
copy of the refusal or referral, photos under plans of the property
five days in advance of this hearing,
and have you met with the urco and do you have a letter yes in all respects you may proceed and
could you identify your client very quickly and and uh the relationship to the property
yes the property is owned by clean slate developments llc and i have its member
kevin matheson in the virtual audience thank you i will share my screen thank you
All right, so this is 3116 Clifford Street.
We're looking to put a two -family dwelling with off -street parking in the rear.
During my presentation, we will go over the notice of refusal, the letter of support,
non -opposition from the Strawberry Mansion Community Development Corporation.
By the way, that was unanimously supported at a well -attended meeting.
We are asking for a proviso plan form or a proviso to be added to this variance request if the board is inclined to grant it.
And this is at the request of the community.
Originally, there was an indication that my client was trying to put a roof deck and a roof deck access structure on top of the property,
knowing full well that you know strawberry mansion fought very hard for that overlay to
not to not allow for the roof deck and roof deck access structures you know i advise my client
accordingly to remove that and ultimately that's how we received unanimous uh support for this
project um the other proviso that we're requesting so that gets rid of one of the refusals the second
refusal that we're getting rid of is the extension of the proposed balcony where four feet is allowed
and five feet is proposed we are reducing it to four feet at the request of the community and
you'll see that in our presentation uh and then as far as the other two refusals about the use
because this is an rsa5 property uh the 3100 block has a long extensive history of properties
under similarly situated circumstances
having multifamily use.
And in fact, this property in 1950
was a duplex with off -street parking,
exactly what we're asking for today.
So in this property has that same type
of multifamily history.
The second refusal is the rear parking.
Again, this block has an extensive history
of other similarly situated properties
having similar rear parking.
and our property too. Again, in 1950, we had off -street parking on this property, as you'll
see. The Lower North District Plan, Philadelphia 2035, has an indication to help support nearby
commercial quarters by increasing density, which you'll see. We help in these circumstances.
Maps of the area, photographs of the property, our plants and drawings, our RCO meeting notice,
our application for appeal our detailed property and our certificate of tax clearance again in the
virtual audience is kevin mackerson the member of the corporate entity that owns the property
and in addition in the virtual audience is christopher johnson of 24 7 design the architect
on the project if the board has any questions from a technical standpoint our notice refusal
again we're an rsa 5 property as i indicated we're looking to do a duplex with off -street
parking in the rear. We had four refusals by way of our provisos. We rid ourselves of two of the
four refusals. The other two have to deal with the multifamily living aspect in RSA 5. This property
has a history of multifamily use, as you'll see, and there are similarly situated properties close
by have the same type of use. Second refusal has to deal with off -street parking at the rear.
Again, this property has a history of similar type of use in 1950, and there are other properties
in close proximity that have the same type of use. And then our letter of support.
that have the same type of use and then our uh letter of support from the uh strawberry mansion
cdc um 13 people attended this well attended meeting all voted in support or here non -opposition
uh to this map in our proviso plan uh form that we completed we're getting rid of uh two of the
refusals by ridding ourselves of the roof deck and the roof deck access structure as well as
decreasing the depth of the second floor balcony from five feet to four feet then behind it is the
actual site plan as well that's confirmed safe and then multi -family properties or similarly
situated properties on the 3100 block so the properties that are in red are nearby
multi -family structures we have 21 examples a mix between ones that have multi -family structures and
one that has have off -street parking uh it looks like seven 16 instances of multi -family
structures on that block and then four instances of um ones that have off -street parking and then
just the numbers of like you know how many units are on in each of those properties what the lot
size is what the square footage is per unit again apples apples you know what we're offering um
as by way the zoning variance request is quite reasonable under circumstances
then rear parking you know for 3124 clifford 3138 and 3142 clifford 315 clifford exactly what we're
offering as well again there's no parking allowed on clifford so we're not taking a public parking
spot off of the street we're just taking a car off of the street for all intents purposes here
here from atlas is the zoning uh permit in 1950 showing that this property was used as a two
family with a one -car garage and then actually they increased the usage to three families so
we're not even providing the amount of units that was previously supported by this building structure
that was on the property previously. Lower North District Plan 2014 prioritizes commercial
and residential development that's adjacent to a commercial corridor that can assist in
restoring street life and customers, as well as raising perceptions of safety. This is something
that we're doing by way of this vacant lot. You know, maps of the area, we're between 31st and
32nd and between clifford and hollingsworth our parking is at the rear in hollings on hollingsworth
maps of the area as you can see here is our two commercial corridors one on ccp moore
one on the landlords photographs of the property this is a vacant lot as you also can see this is
like a porch neighborhood and that's something that we try to emulate by way of of this project
this is the property from west hollingsworth street this property has been vacant as far
back as 2007 that's as far back as google earth goes clipper street to the right of the property
clipper street to the left of the property hollingsworth street to the right of the property
hollingsworth street to the left of the property and again um kevin mackerson and his team um do
you know do a lot of work in the strawberry mansion area and here are some examples of
their work product from an interior standpoint.
And then our plans and drawings.
Again, what we try to do was emulate the scope
and look of the property.
So we're not trying to do anything too large.
We have three stories, porch neighborhoods.
That's what we're trying to emulate with brick facade
and a nice cornice line kind of image.
And that's from the rear.
And then that's the balcony that we're shoring up
to four feet by web code.
and this is like our curb cut right here with the one parking spot and then this these are updated
site plan and then there's our floor plans and again they're both each units by level
for unit one first floor lower level unit number two second and third floors
we met with the community on june 23rd can you go back and show the lower level again yeah
so we're looking to do some flex space here uh so we this is a one bedroom uh on the first floor
and then we have flex space below our anticipation is that people will use the lower level as a
secondary living space as well as as an office as well uh because you know with people working
more and more uh at home during the pandemic they need that extra space excuse me counselor
excuse me counselor is this new construction it is completely new construction it's a
It's just new construction. It is completely new construction
vacant lot what what percentage of the building is out of the ground um i would defer to mr
johnson uh who is online to answer that question so mr johnson can you virtually raise your hand
the more we're doing that i could probably get to a cyclone with the elevation
mr johnson
uh it's hard to see but i think it's like three feet
uh seven and one quarter inches out of the ground from the lower level so it looks like i'm sorry
this is tanya i'm sorry would you have mr johnson available to speak as you wish hi hi mr johnson
could you state your name and spell for the court reporter uh christopher johnson chris t -o -p -h -e -r
johnson j -o -n -s -o -n right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth is nothing but
the truth yes sir proceed mr knockamson yeah mr johnson you heard mr holliman asked the question
of how many feet um is the building structure out of the ground going on the basement from
the basement level three feet seven inches is that according to uh ibc yes and also too we're
matching the adjacent properties uh fourth level yeah but i think ipc is 50 percent has to be out
the ground that is correct but you don't have that no we're matching the neighboring property
it's not the code
we can change it we were just trying to keep in respect with the neighborhood
but you have to match code also the basement ceiling height is is met is the code as well though
but it's not put to be sent out of the ground which is ibc
we can change that yeah we can change again mr johnson there's the ability to
obviously we can't get a building permit unless we're in compliance with with such code provisions
right correct thank you
yeah obviously is to be able to get approvals but not only just approvals from the zoning
perspective but also from a building perspective so if there's any deviations that are needed
in that respect obviously we're going to need to do that to fulfill our code requirements
uh our meeting notice we met i actually i think i started going through that uh june 23rd we uh
sent a notice of that to 109 uh properties these are listed of properties again it was a well
attended event uh community uh here's proof of mailing to those properties in our application
appeal that clean slate developments llc files along with our notice of refusal our project
information form our deed to the property showing that clean slate developments llc is the owner of
the property and our certificate and our certificate of tax plan showing that we're in
good standing with the city with that being said i would ask that mr matheson virtually raise his
hands so he can dot my testimony and we can't answer any questions whether it's me Mr.
Mathis or Mr. Johnson excuse me Mr. Chairman go ahead Mr. Chairman can we request can we
request that we hold the vote we can we can let's let's continue on and we'll hold the
vote. So put Mr. Matheson on. He's on, sir. Could you state your name and spell for the court
reporter? Kevin Matheson, K -E -V -I -N, M -A -T -H -I -S -E -N. Right. Do you swear for him to tell the truth,
the whole truth, nothing but the truth? Yes. Proceed, counsel. Oh, yes. Mr. Matheson,
you heard everything i stated today yes is it true correct yes and do you adopt it as your own
testimony yes why isn't from the board mr yeah i have a question um didn't he agree to make all the
Didn't he agree to make all the changes that were requested by Mr. Holloman?
changes.
And are those changes...
Well, those changes have nothing to do with zoning at this point, right?
Okay, so we still want to hold this.
I just wanted to make sure I understood that.
What we're going to do is hold it, and then we'll have a discussion about it.
But my understanding is this is the word talk in the zoning and that's building code.
And I think what we want to do is just get together as a group and figure out where we stand with some of these issues.
OK. Oh, I totally agree. OK. Any questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman. Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I see no further answer, Mr. Chair. Planning Commission.
Good morning chair and members of the board this is Greg Baldwin planning commission staff
the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the residential single family zoning at this location
there is no unique physical condition of this uh 1466 square foot vacant lot that would prevent
it from being used as a um in conformance with the zoning code either multi -family use or backyard
parking are necessary to enable the applicant to derive value from the property so this
application fails the criteria listed in the code for granting use variances the city planning
commission recommends that the board deny the use variances thank you hillary we close the record
and we'll we'll take this under consideration next wednesday morning yes yes next wednesday are um
yes we can we we have session next wednesday morning july 27th right right so the record is
closed and we will take
this under consideration next Wednesday
morning, an executive session
and vote on it
Monday morning.
Okay, Mr. Nockamson?
Thank you for your time.
Hi, Chair. This is Tanya.
Just a slight revision. You will
vote on it Wednesday?
Yes. Not Monday. Thank you,
Chair. I thought I said Wednesday.
I'm sorry.
No worries. Thank you kindly.
Okay. All right. Thank you.
M -I -2022 -000 -638 -443 -Martin Street.
Walter Hodge, pro se.
Letter of support from the Central Roxburgh Civic Association.
Mr. Hodge will be joining as a panelist, sir.
Thank you.
Good morning, Mr. Hodge.
Good morning, Chairman, Vice Chair.
Hi, good morning.
Could you state your name and speak for the court reporter?
Yes, Walter Hodge, W -A -L -T -E -R, last name H -O -D -G -E.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Our Vice Chair has a few questions for you.
Mr. Hodge, do you read away the reading refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Excuse me, this is Hillary. This is a pro se case. Can we read the refusal into the record, please?
Yeah, do you know what, Hillary? I do not have.
It should be on the...
I have it.
I have it.
I thank you.
For use as a two dwelling units in an existing structure, whereas the proposed use to dwell units is expressly prohibited in the RSA3 residential district.
That is correct.
I did have that. I'm sorry, Mr. Chair.
Sure. Have you emailed the exhibit packet with the required documents consisting of proof of ownership, tax compliance, a copy of the refusal or referral, photos and or plans of this property five days in advance of this hearing, and have you met with the RCO, and do you have a letter?
I believe I have all those documents uploaded, yes.
Okay, great. You may proceed and please share your screen.
Certainly.
I apologize. I had to switch over to a Mac. I had some difficulties on my primary.
Thank you again this morning for allowing me to present my Board of Appeal for Variants.
My name again is Walter Hodge. I'm the current owner of 443 Martin Street, Philadelphia, PA 19128.
I acquired the property zoned as a CMX -1, threw in a quick claim on March 2nd.
I acquired the property zoned as a CMX -1, threw in a quick claim on March 2nd, 2021.
My uncle, Francis McColpin, that's M -C -C -O -L -P -I -N, present on today's call, inherited it on October 21st, 1995 as the executor of state after my grandmother, Elizabeth McColpin, passed away.
The house was in need of extensive repairs, so my uncle and I had an agreement that I'd fix up and collect the rents on the property for passive income.
The plan was to convert the beauty salon, which was the commercial real estate, which he stopped leasing in December 2020, to a studio apartment, making it a triplex, and then renovate the two separate units.
However, when the use change was declined to convert the commercial back into another unit, I requested an appeal to reinstate it as a duplex, which is what it's been since my grandparents owned it, which they purchased in 1959.
I have sharing today the front intersection of Martin Street and Mitchell Street, which is the commercial storefront beauty salon store access.
The plans were, again, to make it part of the first floor unit after the studio apartment was declined.
i'm showing um the changes for adding 5 -8 firewall fire protected sheetrock i removed
old plaster that was deteriorating and furring strips that were rotted i framed it out so i
can get new insulation in there but there was no structural uh changes it was just for the depth i
need it for the insulation. I have a side view and a back view. The basement, which is standard
and set up exactly the same it's been. And here's an internal photo of what the beauty salon looked
like back in 2019, right before I started the renovations. I started the renovations actually
in April of 2021, but the beauty salon was stopped being leased in December of 2020.
This is how the layout would have been for two -bedroom first floor apartment.
This would be the layout for the second floor apartment.
on atlas i'm showing that my house as well as the neighboring unit is cmx1 within an rsa3
community my research stated that cmx1 zoning allows for multi -units so i was concerned
or confused when the denial came through.
The letter of refusal stated that it was adjacent to residential district.
Further clarification from the zoning board, or L &I, I believe,
was because all the units in that area are residential.
However, this unit, again, has been a duplex with the storefront,
So three properties since my grandparents owned it in 1959.
It went from a beauty salon to a grocery store at one point, back to a beauty salon.
But the second floor apartment was always rented.
I have the letter for appeal uploaded, as well as the Central Roxburgh Civics Association's support, as you stated, Chairman.
uh we had our meeting on march 3rd with 58 people in attendance they had some requests stating that
i would not add a two -car parking space in the backyard it was currently a one -car parking space
i stated that the only reason i was going to add two cars was because when i was filling out the
appeal it stated that how would the additional units affect the community so i thought two -car
parking space off street parking would be better however they only wanted one because they didn't
want to lose the greenery in the backyard. So I accommodated that request. I left it a one car
parking space, but I repaved it rather than having people park on the grass, which is what they were
doing. The other request was not to put fake grass on the side yard. I wanted to utilize the new fake
grass, not turf, but there's a real, it looks like real grass. It's just to have low maintenance
since I will be renting it.
However, they wanted to keep that greenery as well
and requested that I also put new shrubs in there,
which will be done when the renovations are complete.
I have uploaded my tax clearance as of March 3rd. It is behind on tax clearance now, but I did submit a change form since the commercial property and liability, tax liability, has not been leased since 12 of 2020.
I have uploaded my tax clearance as of March 3rd.
It is...
It's only $8 a month, so if I have to pay the last four months, I will, but I am trying to get that removed from the property as well.
Here's a current photo of my progress, Mr. Chair. Sorry, I just wanted to note for the record that the property taxes, which is what the board looks at, not the business taxes, currently have a zero ballot. So the applicant is in compliance.
Thank you.
Correct. I'm sorry. Thank you. I appreciate that.
here's the current progress i did create or not create i did uh redo uh outside uh wall exterior
wall sheathing with that which had a permit done uh there's been a little bit more work outside but
it's not visible at the current time in the photos that i've uploaded but this is a proof
of evidence stating that there was two living room spaces at one point
This is often recently updated and in the process of being updated.
Here's evidence of two kitchens being present, and you can tell that it was dated, and they've been there for quite some time.
And then here's evidence of proof of two bathrooms being at the property.
They have the same background, but they are obviously different.
You can tell by the tub positionings.
And then this is another beauty salon photo from both angles.
This is license information that I pulled from L &I Eclipse showing that license number 251539 was for a rental and it was acquired on March 30th for 2003, all the way up until March 6th on 2020.
And then below, there's a license number 189470 for the commercial activity, showing that he was paying for rental licenses and getting two incomes from this house while he lived in the first floor apartment.
I do have him on the call currently as a previous owner.
Again, he's my uncle, Francis McColpin, F -R -A -N -C -I -S -M -C -C -O -L -P -I -N.
and if you need him he can join to adopt my testimony but that's all i wanted to present
for this i think we're we don't need the previous one we're fine i'm sorry okay thank you all right
um questions or comments from the board no mr chairman no mr chairman questions or comments
from the virtual audience mr chair this is hillary i just wanted to actually ask a quick
question of the planning commission since this is a cmx1 adjacent to an rsa3 wouldn't there be
a requirement that there be two parking spaces and if only one is provided that would generate
another a need for another variance greg could weigh in on that greg yes i can pull that up in
the code but i'll take me like a second or two okay okay no problem let me let me continue anybody
in the virtual audience have a comment i don't see any further answer mr chair okay let's wait
on greg a moment mr chair if i may the the three units that's been present the one was a commercial
storefront which had activity for uh beauty hair as well as the the second unit upstairs has not
presented any challenges to the community uh since it's been in place all right sure thank you
I'm not sure about the parking requirement, so is that necessary to proceed in this case?
No, that is fine. I just want to note for the record that that would technically be another refusal, and the board would be including that within its decision today, if there was only one parking spot provided and two were required.
Thank you.
Sorry about that.
Where do you stand on the project, Greg?
Okay, sure. So, in 2014, the zoning map was amended to CMX1 dislocation in accord with the recommendation from the comprehensive plan.
So in 2014, the zoning map was mentioned.
The property has a prior recorded legal use as a single -family dwelling with a commercial storefront.
The proposed use for a two -family dwelling unit is therefore consistent with the existing internal configuration of the building.
The Planning Commission recommends that the Board grant the variance.
Thank you. Hillary, do we want to say anything about the parking?
No, it's fine. It's fine, Mr. Chair. I just wanted to note for the record that if there's only one parking space provided, that that would be another variance and it would be incorporated into this decision.
Great. MI 2022, 000638443 Martin Street. I vote yes.
Carol Tenere, my vote is yes.
Thomas Howard, my vote is yes.
Thank you, Mr. Hodge.
Thank you, Chairman, Vice Chair, Greg and Hillary.
I appreciate your time.
Oh, thank you.
Thank you.
MI 2021 -001 -675 -614 North 64th Street.
Leo Movahill is the attorney.
Letter of opposition from the Neighbors of Overbook Association.
Main concern was lack of upkeep of the lot by current owner.
good morning mr chair this is jason hand again i do not see mr mulvihill in the virtual audience
this morning okay okay um this is first listing tanya
um chair i don't know if you could respectfully um do a continuance i would
okay good so mi 2021 001 675 614 north 64th street cases continue
Number 15, MI 2021 -001 -010 -6747, Castor Avenue.
No letter from the coordinating RCO.
SITE VISIT WAS HELD. IT APPEARS THE RCO DECLINED TO HOLD THE REQUIRED PUBLIC MEETING.
MR. GRACIA WILL BE REJOINING AS A PANELUS.
GOOD MORNING, MR. GRACIA.
MR. MY APOLOGY, I DID UNMUTE AND THEN STARTED MY VIDEO.
Good morning, Mr. Chairman.
Hi, can you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Yes, sir.
It's David Garcia, ID number 54351 Garcia, G -A -R -C -I -A.
Do you swear a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
I so do a firm.
Could you identify your client and their relationship to the property?
Yes, it's Norma Lamont.
She is the tenant at this location for Little Golden Academy.
She has a letter of authorization that was sent by the landlord, Mr. James Zing, owner being, oh, he's a principal of the owner for Golden Land, LLC.
Our vice chair, Carlton Avery, has a few questions, sir.
Good morning. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership, tax compliance, a copy of the refusal or referral, photos under plans of the property five days in advance of this hearing, and have you met with the RCO, and do you have a letter?
Yes to everything on the above, with the exception of the letter from the RCO, which we've requested and have not received.
Okay, you may proceed and please share your screen.
Thank you.
members this is a application for a special exception to convert an existing group center
to a child care center it was the denial was based on the fact that it's in a commercial zone
it is zoned cmx one uh my client has rented at this location and run her existing daycare center
since 2019 there let me post the
There, let me post the notice of referral.
Let me just get this real quick.
I have a text to the notice of referral.
Can everybody see it?
Again, presently, with the existing permit as it stands, there's presently about 24 students or children that can be held at that time.
And when the client is seeking us to expand the number of children that can come in for daycare type services, she does have already a certification from the state of Pennsylvania for what she is doing at the moment.
There, most importantly, there's not going to be any alterations to the existing building itself.
It's not going to require any other building in order to, or any additional building in order to accommodate these additional students.
There is a lease in place.
It is a triple net lease.
It's at 17 of the package.
The lease does expire next year, October 23rd.
My expectation now is that this lease will be extended.
The tax certificate clearances have been given both for the tenant Golden Land LLC, as well as for Little Golden Academy, who is the tenant in place.
what I have provided is to give an idea first is a drawing
from some previous work by the way this is only the lower level that we're speaking about this
is a two -story structure about 400 square feet here are the drawings I can just just to give
some idea of of of the daycare pretty simple with the front door entrance there's a rear door
entrance in the back uh mr garcia mr garcia do you have some photos of it i think mr
terribly think i'm just about to show those okay um in fact it'll be on this following page it'll
be just here's from the exterior just give me a second and i'll get these focus here here's the
exterior with a notification of the meeting. Let me reduce this in size to give some perspective.
Here's additional photos. Two of the posters were placed, one in the exterior and the other one
inside of the office built or of the location. Here is the rear of the building.
That's really not really used for other purposes than just to bring in material or other supplies
that may be needed this would be looking towards the rear of the property i'll expand that a better
perspective this again is one of the locations again this is looking from the front to the rear
here's additional rooms that are located on that first floor i'll just move over to
Here's one of the bathrooms, two bathrooms at this location.
Here's the changing area, which I've highlighted at this point.
there is a letter of authorization at that was issued by the landlord sorry that's the next one
by Mr. Tseng
and there's also a lot of support from the landlord himself.
If there's any questions, I could certainly address the dynamics
between the applicant and the RCO in this matter,
if that's an issue for anyone.
why don't you do that yeah this was um again this finding was in the midst of the pandemic um
And, I'll just start this out.
start this out
Initially, the, my apologies, I'll put these in the incorrect order.
Here we go.
When we filed the application for the special exception back in March 21st of 2021,
my letter to Mr. Ruditsky, who I believe was the designated representative of the RCO Take Back
Your Neighborhood was sent, basically in the reference explaining the application and its
purpose of requesting a meeting. And I had cc'd a number of other RCOs and their representatives.
And the reason why was when we received the package upon application for special exemptions, they listed these other RCOs.
We weren't, and we attached a notice of referral also to it.
We really did not receive much communication.
That followed a letter written in August, if I may scroll, August 10th, again, not knowing exactly who it is that was going to raise their hands as the RCO in this group, and I had followed up with a letter, again, requesting a group meeting with the RCO and the neighborhood.
uh at some point in time i believe there was a gentleman and i don't have in my notes his name
and i apologize for it but i think he was from the planning commission that interceded and we
did have finally a not a group meeting we would have been glad to meet with the neighborhood but
it was a site visitation that was from the members of the board of take uh your uh take your
neighborhood that was mr radinsky i believe and i did have a confirming email which is at page 40
i can just show that this was my email just confirming that we were going to have or meeting
at that particular time and and he did respond we did they there was about five four or five
members plus a member someone from planning commission i think it was the same gentleman
that attended the site visitation um at least my impression in the comments throughout the time
that we were there were that were favorable i believe there was a request there was a leak
that was emanating from the upstairs um nothing major but they wanted that corrected which
miss lamont um had asked the landlord too and he apparently made that correction um again
And we would have been glad to meet with a neighborhood that that's represented or that's being represented by by this RCO that did not happen.
So when the original hearing that had been continued was rescheduled again, I had sent out this zoning board adjustment hearing letter just to advise them that that was that that's what was taking place.
The proof of the mailings, and I'll put that right now in front of everybody, are the various receipts.
I haven't bothered counting, but I know there were in excess of 100 that were sent out.
No one's gotten back to us on this.
No, we haven't heard from anybody, quite frankly.
This is also an area that I believe the former council person, Mr. Bobby Heenan, his region within the city, and we certainly didn't get anything from the councilman's office, possibly because, again, this is just an application for a special exception.
It just increased the number of children that can be taken care of at this location.
is there any other questions
let's go over the special exception it's already it already is licensed or has a special exception
for a daycare right correct and the purpose of this is you want to enlarge it we want to increase
the number of students or not students but of children that can be taken care of right now
as it stands is it's for 12 with the new uh if the board with a grant the special exception
it could increase i believe up to 40 or 44 in the code
it could increase, I believe, up to 40 or 44 in the book code.
And as the photographs demonstrate. So, Mr. Garcia, my only point would be is
part of the presentation should be showing that it has the capacity to do that, right?
Correct. And those were the photographs that we had showed.
Yeah, maybe, why don't you go over the photographs again and tell us how that would happen.
Certainly.
Hillary, do you agree? I mean...
Yes, you can take another look at the photos. So, in terms of the number of children,
that's determined by the state when they do their measurements on the basis, but it's, you know,
the special exception standard is whether the use would be expected to cause more harm to the
community than okay all right thank you normally expected i'm sorry mr burger that that's that's
exactly correct um while the code may may list it as to a specific number it would have to be
there have to be a certification from the from the state and if i can point it out um
this is the certification that is existing at this point of compliance from the state
and they would she would are the applicant would need to get that from the state in order to
operate a nexus and they would you see here on the license right yeah i got it thank you
in other words there's not going to be 44 kids in there it's going to be whatever the state believes
in that okay okay thank you thank you questions from the board
no Mr. Chairman
Mr. Chairman
could I ask
Ms. Lamont to raise her hand
Norma would you please
raise your hand virtually
there's been enough to speak sir
hi could you state your name and spell
for the court reporter please
Norma Lamont
okay could you spell
your name for the court reporter
n -o -r -m -a -l -a -m -u -t -t right do you swear firm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the
truth yes proceed counsel thank you um miss lamont you've heard my presentation of what i've stated
before to the board members yes and the what you heard is that true and correct to the best of your
knowledge and recollection yes and do you adopt my statements made uh to state to the board
yes thank you thank you questions from the board no mr chairman questions or comments
from the virtual audience i did not see any further hands mr chair planning commission
good afternoon good morning chair and members of the board this is greg walden planning
mission staff the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the commercial mixed use zoning at
this location the applicant has shown that the proposed daycare center would have no more of an
impact than a daycare center would be expected to have the city planning commission recommends that
the board grant a special exception for a daycare center. Thank you. MI 2021 001 010 6747 Caster
Avenue. I vote yes. Carol Tenere, my vote is yes. Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes. Thank you,
Thank you, Councilor. Thank you. Thank you, members. Have a good day. You too. MI 2022 -002 -347 -807
North 2nd Street. Rich Miller is listed as the applicant. No exhibits. First listing.
okay i promoted mr miller to panama sir
hi good morning mr miller
good morning hi could you state your name and spell for the court reporter please
Sure. It is Richard Miller, R -I -C -H -A -R -D -M -I -L -L -E -R.
Do you swear for him to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Miller, we don't seem to have your documents. Have you sent them in?
Yeah. So this might be the confusion on our part.
the refusal for this space was needed the Northern Liberties Neighborhood Association
approval. We are opening this space as a smoothie bar. This was previously used as
Bimini juice bar. I know, I know, but the question is, did you send your document?
uh bimini juice bar and i know i know but the question is did you send it your documents into
the zoning board yes they were when we filed the application they were sent in for the zoning change
of use hillary do we have anything no we do not there there are some initial documents that need
to be sent in in order to for the appeal to be filed but you have to submit a separate
exhibit packet with additional documents five days before your case is being heard in order for the
hearing to move forward you did not receive anything that we receive said that there were
no directions the um zoning and from from for this meeting it said directions from the board
and it was completely blank so that was a misunderstanding on our part okay there would
There should have been an attachment to an email that you've probably received a couple emails from the board that gave you instructions about what you needed to submit.
But that is okay.
This is the first listing.
I'll let the board determine how to move forward.
Mr. Miller, we're going to continue it.
We'll be in touch with you.
And then if you have any questions at all, call the zoning board office, and we'll gladly help you have the appropriate package.
okay all right thank you thank you very much and we'll we'll get this straight you're very welcome
all right thank you is there anyone in the virtual audience whose case has not been called
that i do not see any hands mr chair okay thank you everyone see you tomorrow okay okay bye tom
bye bye bye good day all we'll see you tomorrow jason thank you