our vice chair has just a few questions for you sir good afternoon council do you agree to waive
the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy i don't have you emailed in all the
required documents that is needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing
uh yes i have thank you council please proceed and share your screen okay let me um
is my screen up yes great great um let me just do some quick introductions here
uh mr kenneth youngblood who is the franchise operator of this particular mcdonald's location
Eileen Seberger, who is the McDonald's Regional Development Director and is working with myself on this project, William Smith from Ballard Engineering, and our project architect, Kiernan Meehan.
SO I'LL GET RIGHT TO IT. WE PASSED UP EXHIBITS. IT'S NOW EXHIBITS 1 THROUGH 14 WHICH NOW INCLUDES
DISTRICT COUNCIL PERSON'S LETTER OF SUPPORT WITH LETTER OF SUPPORT FROM THE COMMUNITY TO 50TH WARD.
THIS IS AN EXISTING MCDONALD'S LOCATION. LET ME JUST GO RIGHT TO THE PICTURES.
This is an existing McDonald's location. Let me just go right to the pictures here. That's been there, I think, since 1988. Probably some of the board members will recognize the location and maybe patronize the location.
And McDonald's, as part of their ongoing continued efforts to increase, improve the efficiency of the operations, the efficiency of their drive-through is adding, I believe it's 290 square feet, which is basically they're adding a walk-in cooler box.
So there needs to be less truck deliveries of food to the location and adding a third drive in window to better improve the drive, the service times of the drive throughs.
A very, very minor increase in the size of the restaurant.
However, it's in a CA1, as you can see here, it's in a CA1 commercial district.
This is the location here in blue.
So any increases in the size of a takeout restaurant, even though it's been there for 40 years, and even though it's less than 300 square feet, triggers the need, in this case, for a special exception.
So I think as you'll hear, the relief is certainly warranted and consistent with the special exception criteria.
criteria. So just real quick, here is, here's the location nestled between Ogance Avenue and
Cheltenham Avenue. Access points off of Ogance, access points off of Cheltenham. Here's what the
restaurant looks like from Ogance. This was redone a couple years ago. This is the top of the line
McDonald's exterior treatment finish. There's pictures. That's the rear of it on Cheltenham
Avenue. Here's the Ogans entrance. This was the top of the line interior upgrades for the
restaurant itself. So that was all done recently. Here's more of the interior. So let me just,
as far as what we're actually doing here, it's almost impossible to see on the site plan.
Um, there are these little, I'll pull it down here. Um, this, this dark area here is the,
the walk-in cooler, the cooler boxes again. So we have more capacity for food. Uh, and then there
is this brown or darkened area right here and right here, uh, where we are adding a third
drive-through window. We actually prepared a specific exhibit just to show those areas.
Let me just show right here.
Just to show, to take all the layers off and just show that really de minimis increase in the size.
These are those darkened areas, the walk-in cooler box and then the addition of the third window.
So all this is being done to increase the time, to decrease the time that it takes for McDonald's to serve its customers in the drive-thru line, which has become increasingly important.
And there's increasing pressure on that.
Here is the existing drive-thru.
And here is the proposed just with those small little window changes on the side and the walk-in cooler box.
There's no change to where the trash is being stored or anything else like that.
As part of the new city landscaping requirements, we work with city planning to increase some landscaping in the rear.
I think I actually went by that picture, but we are increasing the landscaping in the rear.
Here's a photo simulation of the new landscaping that will be in the rear, some new bushes, some new trees.
uh so we're consistent with the new uh city planning landscaping um there's also some work
being done in the kitchen area all new with about um eight or nine hundred thousand dollars is being
spent in the kitchen to bring that all up to 2023 the most advanced um um kitchen equipment
that is possible so uh there is going to be um you know stores going to need to be closed for
some time but this is uh the commitment uh that mr youngblood and mcdonald's has made to this
neighborhood and to make sure that this location is state-of-the-art. As I mentioned earlier,
we have a letter of actually support. Here's the posting photos. We have a letter of support from
the community group. We had a pretty well-attended meeting, including some near neighbors. No
concerns or objections were raised to Mr. Youngblood, who's been operating this now for many
years. And then we also have a letter from the district council person. So I guess I'll just
So I guess I'll just stop with that. I would say the special exception criteria, this is a special exception case. We certainly do not negatively impact or have detrimental impacts on congestion in the public streets or transportation system where we're crowding the land.
stop with that. I would say the special experience.
everything we're doing is to increase and improve all those special exception criteria. So we think
we easily meet the special exception criteria. So with that, I guess I would turn it over. I could
certainly have the engineer and the architect. Why don't we have Mr. Youngblood come on and
adopt your testimony? Sure. Mr. Youngblood, are you out there in the virtual universe? Can you
say hello?
I don't know how to speak.
Sir, could you state your name?
Can you hear me now? Yes, could you state your name
and spell for the court stenographer? My name is
Kenneth A. Youngblood
K-E-N-N-E-T-H
A. Youngblood
Y-O-U-N-G
B-L-O-O-D
Right. Do you swear or affirm
to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Please proceed, counsel.
Just real quickly, Mr. Youngblood, and Doug, good afternoon, and thanks for joining us.
You bet.
You have owned and operated this location for how many years?
About 35 years since May 1988.
And you also have other locations in the city, correct?
Yes, sir.
And you heard my testimony as far as what we were doing to the location, the upgrades in the kitchen,
the upgrades on the drive-thru and the landscaping, correct?
Yes, sir.
And are they true and accurate to the best of your knowledge?
Yeah, I agree. Yes, sir.
And do you adopt them as your own?
I promise I do.
Okay. And is there anything further you'd like to add?
I don't think so.
I'm proud to be an owner in that neighborhood, been there for 35 years,
and I promised them when I moved in that I would do everything in my power
to keep the standards up and add value to the neighborhood.
great great thank you so much thank you questions from the board questions from the board no mr
chairman no chair questions or comments from our attorney hillary emerson
not at this time mr chair questions or comments from the virtual audience
i do not see any further hands mr chair planning commission
Good afternoon, Chair, members of the board. This is Greg Baldwin, Planning Commission staff.
The comprehensive plan recommends a zoning map change to commercial use. The proposed use will
not cause detrimental impacts to the neighborhood beyond what normally might be expected. The City
Planning Commission recommends that the zoning board grant the special exception. Thank you.
MI 2023-003-575-7911 to 17 Oguns Avenue.
I vote yes.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Great.
Thank you.
As always, thank you for your time and consideration.
Okay, thank you, counsel.
Bye-bye.
Number 13, MI 2023, 004-374-5392 West Montgomery Avenue. Meredith Ferlicker is the attorney. There's a letter of non-opposition from Winfield Residents Association with unenforceable providers.
And there's a letter of non-opposition from Winfield Community Neighbors Association with support from also non-enforceable providers.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman.
Good afternoon. Could you state your name, please, and spell for the court's sonographer?
Sure. Meredith Ferliger, F-E-R-L-E-G-E-R, of Delworth Paxson, 1500 Market Street, Suite 3500E.
Do you swear a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client and relationship to the property?
Certainly. My client here today is property owner Michael Fine, which is represented by management company Vica Technologies, LLC, with the representative Azuka Anyin.
And our vice chair has just a few questions.
Good afternoon, Councilor. Do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
have you emailed on all the required documents that are needed to proceed with this case five
days in advance of this hearing i did thank you please proceed i see you have already shared your
screen thank you mr chairman members of the board as i mentioned i am here today on behalf of the
property owner we do have a deed with a letter of authorization authorizing the property management
vica to speak on mr thine's behalf both of those are included at exhibit three the request before the
both of those are included at exhibit three the request before the board today is really quite
minimal so i will keep this brief unless the board has additional questions at the end of the
presentation in your packet at tab 13 as as i believe mr chairman mentioned at the beginning
we do have two letters of non-opposition both from winfield residents association
and Winfield Community Neighborhood Association. To summarize, the request today proposes to change
a currently existing accessory office use into a non-accessory office use.
So the board has my exhibits, which contain 14 sets of documents. The zoning map, which I'll bring
up at Exhibit 6 shows that the property at 5392 West Montgomery Avenue is at the corner of West
Montgomery and North 54th Street. The property is zoned RSA 5 and is just south of where you'll
note the beginning of the commercial corridor on North 54th Street. The aerials that I've included
at Exhibit 6 should provide the board with some additional site context. So you'll notice that
this is a predominantly residential neighborhood, except for a couple of the corner properties.
And this is just a view towards the north, so this is really showing the back of the property.
This is a south view, so again, you can really get a sense of the residential structures
on West Montgomery. The view from the west, which I have up on the screen, this shows you better
context to the commercial block that does start just north of the property that's before you
today. And 5392 is marked with that little red teardrop. I have included site photographs at
Exhibit 14. From the front, you'll notice that this single-family home is accessed from the
West Montgomery Avenue frontage. And as we travel around the corner here, you'll begin to see that
the ground floor commercial use was previously existing and does have a separate access door
directly from North 54th Street. As I move through more, and just for context, this was an
existing SEPTA bus station stop. That has since been removed. As we move through more of the
photographs, you'll gather a little bit closer view of the property. This is from the rear.
And again, this is a better view of that commercial corridor that starts just across
the street from this property that's before you today.
If you look, again, this is just additional residential structures on West Montgomery.
And then if you look south, you'll notice that the corner property that is directly behind 5392 West Montgomery has a similar ground floor commercial use.
In that case, it's a takeout restaurant.
I did include a couple of interior photographs just to orient you to the space itself.
The space is currently vacant.
It is small, but it does have a separate entrance and has plenty of space to accommodate a small office user with limited customer traffic, which is consistent with how it's been used over the last several years.
Although not at issue today, I did include a couple of interior photos just of the single family home.
So at Exhibit 8, you'll note the last zoning permit that was issued for this property in May of 2021, which documented the use as a single family home with a home business and professional office use as an accessory use.
So this application is simply seeking to convert that previously approved office space to a non-accessory use, which just means that it can be rented to anyone and not just used by the owner of the property or the residential tenant that lives in the single-family home above.
So because the property is currently zoned RSA 5, we are required to seek a variance for the proposed non-accessory office use.
We are also required to seek a variance because the RSA 5 district would prohibit more than one principal use of the property.
We submit to several straightforward hardships, which I will summarize.
First, there is no recent history of this ground floor space being used for any residential use, nor would it be desirable or feasible to convert it into single family use.
nor would it be desirable or feasible to convert it into single-family use in conjunction with the
Let's get started.
single-family home above. The property has in fact been operating with an office use for several
years and this request will only change the designation of that use from accessory to
non-accessory. A commercial use within a basement or a first floor is a common condition of corner
properties in this neighborhood, many of which are currently zoned RSA 5, like this property.
And I did include examples of some of those similar mixed-use corner properties,
and I did summarize them for reference on my exhibit list. Some of those ground floor uses
that I referenced include a restaurant, retail, and other office uses, many of which were also
granted by variance at one point in time in fact the designated north 54th street commercial
corridor that's noted on city maps extends past this property despite the single family zoning
we submit that the proposed use is clearly the least minimum as it will not change the usage of
the space in any significant way since it has been operating as an office for the last several years
albeit as an accessory use. By converting the office to non-accessory use, there will be no
substantive change in the nature of the use of the space itself. Given the structural separation
between the single-family residence and this office space, continued use as an office is not
only most appropriate for the space, but requires the least amount of monetary investment and
physical modification to the property to enable reasonable use of the space. The proposal will
not increase congestion, endanger the public, or harm neighbors' use of their properties.
This request is very intentionally limited in scope to just a business and professional office
to limit the impact to the surrounding area. In approving this request, the only commercial use
that would be permitted for this space is a business and professional office use and no
other commercial use. And that was a fact that the community really appreciated when we presented
this request to them. As noted in our presentation to the community, this is an ideal transitional
commercial use from the denser commercial corridor just north into the residential neighborhood.
There's also ample public transportation access directly in front of the property.
There are no exterior physical changes to the property that are proposed. We would expect that there would need to be some minor updates to the interior in order to secure a certificate of occupancy pursuant to the building code.
We submit that the proposal and the requested variance complies in full with the requirements of the code. Full analysis is provided in my memorandum of law submitted to the board at Exhibit 10.
And Mr. Chairman, I do believe you referenced the list of provisos that the community included with their letter.
Just for the record, the applicant is perfectly happy with and had intended to comply with them regardless.
But we do understand they're not within the board's jurisdiction to oppose.
So if the administrator wouldn't mind locating Mr. Azuka and have him unmuted.
Sir, could you state your name and spell it, please, for the court stenographer?
My name is Azuka, A-Z-U-K-A, and I am A-N-Y-I-A-M.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Proceed, counsel.