From that point forward, we worked diligently with Bowler and put forth every effort to build a completely buy-write plan.
And after continued revisions, it was determined that the most minimum impact we could design did involve expanding the loading area into that steep slope area.
So we do believe this is the minimum amount of disturbance that we could design for while meeting the needs of the community.
If there had been a way to avoid the variance process, you would have sought that, correct?
Absolutely. And we did pursue that.
With all due respect to myself and zoning attorneys.
Of course.
Mr. Chair, does the board have any questions?
We're going to see right now.
Questions from the board? No, Chair.
Questions or comments from our attorney, Hillary Emerson?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair. Questions or comments from the virtual
audience? I see no hands at this time, Chair.
Mr. Chair, I'm sorry to interrupt you. I have our project engineer
who, in conjunction with
you know, the entire engineering team designed the stormwater management, the retain, you know,
the worked with the water department and streets on the design of stormwater management and the
turning radiuses. Do you want to get right? Do you you want him on to testify? Is that what you're
saying? Yeah, I just I just I just I just I know I don't want to hold it. Let's just bring them on.
let's just bring them on okay yes please can you um can can amanda albano be promoted to panelists
he's coming back in as a panelist now chair
hi could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
good afternoon hi could you state your name please and spell for the court stenographer
sure my name is amanda albano a-m-a-n-d-a last name albano a-l-b-a-n-o thank you do you swear
or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth i do please proceed bren
Ms. Albano, just briefly, it's my understanding that you're a Pennsylvania licensed professional
engineer?
That's correct.
Correct.
And how many years have you worked as an engineer?
Over six years now.
And where do you currently work?
Bowler Engineering.
And in that capacity, you've worked on numerous projects, both within the city and the suburbs?
That's correct.
And what types of projects, just briefly?
industrial commercial and multi-family residential as well and quickly turning to
philadelphia um you have extensive experience along with your boa colleagues and obtaining
the necessary land use development approvals from the water department streets and city planning
correct that's correct and turning to this property uh and the unique development challenges
and the unique development challenges that I spoke about and Adam spoke about.
that i spoke about and uh adam spoke about am i correct that you're
Am I correct that you're very familiar with the Philadelphia zoning code steep slope code provisions as set forth at generally at Section 147042 and the steep slope variance criteria at Section 1430281?
Great.
I just want to bring these up real quick.
We have reams of documentation in the package as far as on the steep slope.
But, Ms. Albano, these are the code provisions for meeting the steep slope variants.
We've discussed them.
I know you're familiar with those.
I just wanted to go just briefly one by one.
Based off of the plans that you've submitted, the approvals that we've obtained from water
departments, are you comfortable in providing an opinion as to our satisfaction of these
criteria?
Great.
Right. So, number one, do you see, do you agree that as a result of this project, there will be no increase in stormwater runoff?
Yes, I agree. The area of the proposed grocer is currently not managed by stormwater infrastructure,
and we'll be adding a series of inlets and an underground stormwater management basin to reduce both the volume and the rate of runoff.
We'll also be adding additional landscaping, correct?
Correct.
Which will help with the stormwater runoff.
Second, the shifting of earth that there won't be as a result of this project, there won't be any shifting of the earth to adjacent buildings, either uphill or downslope. Is that correct?
That's correct. And the existing retaining wall is being extended and it will be designed to ensure that there's no earth movement after installation.
Great. And I think related, that there will not be an increase in the likelihood of the loss of property, I assume, on the slope moving down, some type of collapse.
Correct.
And that's also because of the stormwater management and the retaining wall and the landscaping, correct?
That's correct.
Great. And then finally, the code requires that the project will not create any significant environmental damage. Pollution, erosion, or siltation will not significantly increase the danger of flooding either during or after construction.
And the applicant will take measures to minimize environmental damage during the construction because you've been the one with your bowler team working on water purity and water quality and stormwater management and the retaining walls to address the steep slopes.
Do you agree that we meet that we satisfy this criteria?
Yes, as you said before, we have PWD conceptual approval, and we're currently working with both PWD technical and PIDDEP to obtain all the required permits for the property.
And that's moving into even a building permit phase, correct?
Correct, yes.
Great. Is there anything further that you'd like to add?
You don't have to.
Mr. Chairman, with that...
Hold on, hold on, hold on.
Hillary, the comments you wrote in the note to me that with no stamps, where do we stand with that?
Mr. Chair, that's fine.
We were just making sure there was a steep slope plan as required, an earth moving plan as required.
Good. Thank you very much.
I think we have everything in there.
We'd ask that all the exhibits be put into the record.
With that, I would open again to any questions.
Thank you so much.
Questions from the board?
no chair no chair questions or comments from our attorney hillary emerson
not at this time mr chair questions or comments from the virtual audience
i see no hands at this time chair planning commission
good afternoon mr chair dan powers with the philadelphia city planning commission
the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the ca2 shopping center zoning at this location
The appellant has shown that the proposed steep slope disturbance is the minimum needed to afford relief.
The City Planning Commission recommends that the board grant the steep slope variance.
Thank you very much. MI 2024, 000925701 Cathedral Road. I vote yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shahid, my vote is yes.
Thank you, counsel.
Thank you so much for your time and consideration. Do well.
Number 12, MI 2024-001-065-141 West Susquehanna Avenue. Rachel Pritzker is the attorney. There's a letter of unanimous support from Norris Square Community Action Network themselves.
chair i see someone with their hand up but it's not rachel pritzker i don't know if it's someone
yes i was just gonna say i'm missing that afford is gonna be presenting this case
thank you okay she'll be coming back in as a panelist
Thank you. Okay, she'll be coming back in as a panelist.
Hi, could you please, good afternoon, could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer?
Sonetta Ford.
z as in zebra a n e t t a f o r d do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing
but the truth yes i do could you identify your client in relationship to this property
yes my client is xl1 and they are the owner of the property all right and our vice chair has
just a few questions for you good afternoon council do you agree to waive the reading
of the refusal or stipulate to its accuracy? I do. Have you emailed in all the required
documents and exhibits that is needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this
hearing? Yes. Thank you. Please proceed and share your screen.
thank you
okay okay thank you good afternoon chairman and members of the board the property is 141
west susquehanna avenue the application proposes the erection of a vertical and rear addition
with a roof deck to an existing structure and for use of the ground floor commercial as personal
services and five multi-family household living units above the property is zoned cmx2 and is
approximately 1,635.2 square feet. The application generated one refusal because in the CMX 2
district, a minimum of 480 square feet of lot areas required per unit. And before I go into
the hardship, I would like to show you the property. I'll show you a photo of the property.
so this is the outside it's the corner property here on the end it's a nice lot
and you can see it here on the philadelphia atlas again it's a corner lot this is the
side view of that same property um turning to the hardship in the cmx2 district it only allows for
certain number of units. Compliance with the zoning code causes an unnecessary hardship
in that seemingly arbitrary square footage. It doesn't account that this is a corner property
that supports commercial usage on the ground level. The lot is only 16 feet wide, which
restricts the applicant to three units above the commercial space. The slight additional density
is the minimum necessary variance, and we are not requesting any dimensional relief.
The variance is in keeping with the character of the community, of the neighborhood.
The proposed project is in character with the surrounding area that proposes more than
three units.
And this is similar to what is being proposed by this application.
The properties that are in the area are 143 West Susquehanna.
This is adjacent to the property.
It has a zoning permit for six units.
Also, 151 West Susquehanna is a multi-unit building.
2201 Master Street, which is on this side street, is a six-unit corner property that is also zoned CMX2.
And 131 West Susquehanna is a six-unit building.
Additionally, the application as proposed furthers the purposes of the Planning Commission's 2035 Comprehensive Plan
for providing more housing to families in the area.
It further encourages that a full range of housing
is available to populations of all abilities and income levels.
In addition, because this is a commercial corridor,
the extra density is needed to support viable commercial use.
Given that this area has a lower medium income
and a higher poverty rate,
requiring compliance with the zoning code
would limit this site to three units over commercial,
present the units would be what is reasonable in the area and most
at this time
zoning code would impose an unnecessary hardship upon the subject property because the applicant
upon the subject property because the applicant and owner, whereas, I'm sorry, literal enforcement
and owner were
of the zoning code will impose an unnecessary hardship upon the subject property.
The applicant and owner, whereas the proposed construction will not adversely affect the
public health, safety, or welfare, or traffic in the area.
Therefore, the variance is requested.
At this time, I'd like to show the board the RCO letter of support.
We met with the RCO on April 10th.
I'd just like to show that letter.
They submitted a letter of support for this project.
Also, we received a letter of support from the city council member's office, which I'm showing here.
It was submitted, I believe, yesterday.
Now I would like to have, I would ask that the administrator could bring in Charles Kerr.
He's the architect for the project, to discuss the plans.
Charles Kerr has been admitted and allowed to speak.
Sir, could you state your name and spell for the court stenographer?
Yes, my name is Charles Kerr, C-H-A-R-L-E-S, Kerr, K-E-R-R.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, counsel.
Thank you, Mr. Kerr.
I'm going to just share my screen and show the outside if you could talk through this.
Yes, absolutely.
So the existing property is an existing corner lot on the corner of Susquehanna and Masher Street.
There is an existing one story building on the lot that occupies a little bit less than the allowable 80% coverage.
So the existing coverage is significantly less than what is allowed by the zoning code.
We are proposing to add two stories on top of the existing one story structure and construct a three story addition to the rear of the property,
allowing us the staying keeping in with the maximum allowable height and as well as the
allowable lot coverage of 80% coverage. I'm going to go to the next. This is the
first and second floor plan. So the the top plan is the basement level. The essentially the floor
plan is divided in half. The front half is the commercial space for the commercial area. The
back half of the basement is the second bedroom for unit one. Going down that page to detail number
two, which is the first floor plan, that is the entry level for this property. Again, the front
portion is the commercial space, which is the existing portion of the building we are keeping.
The back half is where the common stair is for the residents, as well as the rest of unit one.
And keeping in mind that any properties or any developments with four or more units requires at least one of the units be fully handicap accessible.
So in addition to the addition of the second floor, the addition on top of the existing building and the three-story addition to the rear, we are proposing a handicap ramp and stairs to enter into the first floor, making it fully handicap accessible.
The plan number three is the second floor, which comprises two one-bedroom units as well as the common stair.
and then if we switch to the next page which is the third floor again it's two more one bedroom
units showing the common stair and then the second detail on this page is the roof deck
which is designated for unit number four thank you mr carr um chairman i would ask that yuri
hey can i can i before he goes can i ask the question maybe i'll misunderstand it so i i see
the building itself if you build up on that isn't there a bay window coming out do you hit that
next door
show the picture of the project this one you see here this one here
the one on top the picture go up top the existing structure the existing structure