going great. It was the same tenants that I purchased the property that still continued
to reside there for years. And it wasn't until recently that I was notified that the property
was not up to date on zoning. And that's when I started the procedure and I looked into it.
um the the basement has somebody has been living there for many years even prior to me um
purchasing the property she um she's a school teacher there is exit on the side of the property
from the basement there is um everything there's windows there is a bedroom there's everything
in the property and yeah and i i'm sorry but there there was mentioned that there's no parking
there is a two-car driveway and also street parking there's only i'm sorry to interrupt for
a minute is there any way you could share uh pictures or a plan or a drone or something yeah
um sure i apologize we have it here i'm just pulling it up right now thank you of course i
I wasn't aware that I had to show them. So it will take me a second to bring them up.
This is Sharon Saleta. If I could mention that generally when L&I issues a refusal for parking,
it means that even if there is a driveway on site, that no parking at that property has ever been legalized.
Okay, I can show you. Let me share my screen really quick. And I apologize for the mess. This was not a plan.
but what i'm saying is that it would have to that you would have had to have submitted a site plan
with the proposed parking shown and ellen i would have reviewed that so in in their view there is no
parking um so this is an existing property i did not do any work on it so the way it was built in
the 50s is what I have. Do you see my screen by the way? Yes. Okay so this is the front of the
property so it is an apartment and on the side there on the side right here there is a driveway
for two-car garage. It's existed since the property was built in the 50s. The units are located right
here and there's an identical adjacent unit next to it that also has a two-car garage that's been
there since the building was was purchased this is how i purchased that this is it's been like
this since the 50s and also there's front parking as we can see right here street parking so this
is the house this is the driveway where two car garages and this is the front of the house of
parking as well this is as you can see the car that's parked in the driveway it's two car garage
and this is the front of that as well but when you when you get in to enter the garage
is that a stack I'm sorry it's a driveway yeah but you then say the garage two-car garage I'm
sorry it's a car driveway I apologize that was my fault so is the two-car driveway one behind the
other stacking or do you get to the back and you're able to go side by side it's
one in front of the other backing okay please proceed and the entrance for the
first two units is right here and the entrance for the the third apartment is
right here and she has she's the only one that has access to it and she can
enter it through that way where the other two units enter through here and
historically has been serving this way this is how it was sold to me this is I
bought it I have not done any work to it this is how everyone has been living and
it was advertised this way I can show you I apologize again for the mess I was
not prepared to present the screen but I'm going to show you the way it was
advertised.
you purchase this through a realtor yes correct i purchased this through the
realtor through andrew kramer
and on the day of closing
Are you able to rotate that?
Got it.
Document 20.
Thank you.
Okay, here I go.
So this is the closing documents.
I apologize sir I there you go we found document 20 for you
um here is when it was listed as a triplex this is a listing detail that was online that was
from grip redfin.com it was advertised as a triplex
technology is just not working in our favor today
we're all we're all we're all going through the same stuff
I do this every day for work and you think by now everything will be easier.
I'm going to interrupt for one minute. There's some confusion in this appeal. We had email
exchanges back and forth on what the status is of the RCO meeting, whether it actually was held,
whether I believe you sent me an email, a photo of an email exchange with the RCO
and they were requesting an actual meeting okay we do we do have that
documentation okay okay do you do you need to know what page or see it
what the RCO meeting was held on November 19th of 2019 I apologize I
just pulled that up saw November 19th and thought we were talking about okay
now that we have a little bit more control of the screen here we can see that this is the listing
that was placed online to from which i went about to purchase a property and the listing is listed
as a three unit this was in redfin.com and the next to it if you can see this is on closing day
i received three payments for rent for the apartment and this is paperwork out of my
closing you can see first floor apartment one and apartment two and i was 20 in my late 20s this was
my first property and the realtor who sold it to me was a trustworthy person through uh through
like i i rematch i think it was century 21 or remax i i honestly um i thought everything was
fine this was sold to me from andrew kramer and this was on december 16 2016 i'm sorry
and this is the three payments that i received for the rent that month um not to interrupt you um
are there any questions from the board
no anyone else who wishes to testify in this matter please raise your hand now
Anyone else who wishes to testify in this matter, please raise your hand now.
And this is Sharon Saleta again, just to confirm on the RCO status, they did hold a meeting.
It was the Long Crest Community Association, and they voted 18 to 10 to oppose.
Is that correct?
Thank you.
Okay, Chair, we have Arthur Kramer.
Kramer.
Mr. Kramer, you can unmute yourself and wait to be sworn in.
Yes, this is Arthur Kramer.
Mr. Kramer, please spell your name.
A-R-T-H-U-R, Kramer, K-R-A-M-E-R.
You swear and affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
I assume you are the realtor?
No, I'm the owner of 636 Kerper Street. I have a, I sent a letter to the Mr. Chairman, and I hope you have it. I would like to read the letter to you.
Please proceed.
dear mr chairman my name is arthur kramer i own and formerly resided at 636 carper street
currently excuse me you said you formerly resided there yes i did how long ago did you move
I moved
Where do you live now?
I currently reside at the Philadelphia Protestant
Home several blocks away from the
Faux Burfin's property. Do you still own
636? Yes, sir.
Mr. Kramer, did you formally own 636? Hold on, I'll ask the questions.
i'll ask the questions okay please proceed with your testimony all right uh well your your question
was uh did did i always own it my mother bought that property in the 1950s and my question was
do you still own it yes i i do i do own that property the single family no it's a it's a
duplex it was okay okay all right continue i am past zoning chair of the long coast crest
community association this case is for a permit for three family dwelling in an existing
structure the proposed dwelling unit is the below grade basement of a duplex built in 1950s
The sole entrance is on the right side, 10 steps down to a basement door opening into a common area used for laundry and storage.
Further back in the basement is the entrance door to the proposed third apartment unit.
There is only one entrance to the proposed unit and no direct exit to the outside in the proposed unit.
I believe this creates an unsafe condition for residents of this unit.
In addition, there have been 15 calls to the police at this property from July 2019 to July 2020.
This includes a fire call.
The first floor kitchen window remains bordered up after this fire.
Because this structure was constructed as a duplex, there is no hardship in continue to use of this building as a duplex.
This area should remain as a basement used for laundry and storage.
I oppose the granting of this variance at this time and I ask the board to deny the variance.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Yes ma'am. Okay, I would like to speak in response to Mr.
Kramer. Arthur Kramer and Margaret Kramer sold my property, 64 Kerper Street, to Andrew Kramer,
which i believe is his nephew but i don't have people who are as far as lineage and that was in
2005. also of note in the page 28 of the document that i was provided there is a receipt
Also of note, in the page 28 of the document that I was provided, there is a receipt from
Masella Constructions LLC provided to me at closing detailing out the removal of the fire
door between 636 Kerper Street, which is currently owned by Mr. Arthur Kramer, and 636 Kerper
Street, which is a property I purchased, including cinder block and stucco wall.
Why did Mr. Kramer not oppose or question the work that his nephew, and I apologize if it wasn't his nephew, his nephew, Andrew Kramer, was doing when converting the property illegal?
So to my knowledge, if this is not being a triplex, it's 1952 since Arthur Kramer just stayed.
So it's either Arthur Kramer that did the work illegal or Andrew Kramer.
And I am just involved in this mess.
You have to stick to your property. Any violations that may have occurred at the other 636 is a matter that's not related to this.
No, the wall that he removed was between both of them, which Mr. Arthur Kramer had the knowledge of, and he was aware of the work that was happening in the basement.
I'm curious about what the basement looks like based on Mr. Kramer's testimony. Could you bring that up?
we can't see that you're going to need okay hold on i'll see if we can share this screen
yeah i'd like to see the issue i have the architect here that did the work that he can
speak to it and they can speak to that as well if you like let's see what you have and we may need
to we may need to speak to the architect while i'm pulling up the document just give me one second
And just to one more note, it was stated by Mr. Arthur Craver, there was 15 calls made by the police department.
That's all hearsay. That's hearsay.
One second, sir, while I share my screen.
And please let me know once you're able to see my screen.
please let me know if you're able to see my screen yes and you can bring that that's it perfect
thank you so this is the layout of the apartment these are the stairs that go down this is the
entryway and then you drop about four feet and there's seven stairs
so you you go from the stairs it's about seven stairs down to the to the walkway there is an
open area right here and then you go into the entrance of the uh the entrance of the apartment
is right here and this is a studio unit that has the walk-in closet it has a bathroom it has a
full kitchen. It has a bathroom and a window that's ventilated. There's a window right here
as well. And this is also another large closet or a tenant use it as a storage unit.
The staircase to this unit, do you enter it and exit it from outside or is it within the
interior of the building? From outside. So this is outside, right. This is outside of the building.
it's a private staircase entrance into that unit correct sir and there's a secondary exit stair
from the first uh if you're going to testify we need to get your name on the record please
sorry i apologize no problem yes this is luca please spell your name for the stenographer
L-U-K-A. Last name Lakurichi, L-A-K-U-R-I-Q-I. Do you swear in the firm to tell the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? I do, sir. Please proceed. Yes, I'm the architect
that was called by Gennett to draw the layout of the first unit and inspect it as far as structure,
exits, width, and everything is up to code. And I really didn't see any problem with this unit,
and historically has been serving this way as many residences do in the area. Also, as the
previous owner owned it, but all of a sudden it became a problem for being a triplex. I mean,
everything works well. Parking is a problem in my field throughout the city, but I really don't know
what the answer is to that. Just for the record, there's only one tenant that has a car. Well,
Well, but that could, you can have, all tenants could have a car or two.
but that could you can have all tenants could have a car or two right that is an issue
Right.
That is an issue we have in the city and nothing we can really do about it.
Right. But as far as my tenants, I'm very close with all of them.
As far as parking, we have never had an issue in that neighborhood.
All right.
Okay. Any questions from the board?
Just a statement. I'm concerned about the windows.
Yes, so the window is in the kitchen area on the side of the building. Previously,
where is the walk-in closet now used to serve as a sleeping area. I actually proposed to remove that
and have one open space and used as a studio unit, but again I did not want to proceed with
any work unless the property was legalized. So as of now, the apartment is existing with
what you see, all the hatched areas are the partition walls,
all one hour rated fireproof.
And then the window is about, what is it?
30, 24, yes, about 31 inches wide in a kitchen area.
And there's also windows where the storage space is
with a three foot entry doorway, both doors.
okay thank you
um tom you're breaking up we didn't hear you i said thank you
thank you thank you for your time all right any other questions from the board
anyone else wishes to testify in this case please raise your hand
here i have hillary emerson hillary you can unmute yourself and speak to this case
um good morning mr chair members of the board can you hear me yes we can hillary good morning okay
good morning um hillary emerson on behalf of councilwoman sherelle parker h-i-l-a-r-y-e-m-e-r-s-o-n
uh frank you're wearing a friend to tell the whole truth nothing but the truth
uh i do um the i i attended the meeting um that was referenced um back in november um and on you
know hearing the presentation and reviewing the information the councilwoman um is opposed to the
request for a triplex in this matter. We don't feel that there is a hardship and that this
represents an overuse of the property. It's a little bit unclear when it was converted,
but it seems clear from the floor plans and the layout that the basement was not
intended to be a unit. It looks like it was more intended to be storage.
um we have um concerns about um safety the fact that it's below below grade um the fact that the
windows um are small there's no window um in the sleeping area um the livable space is only 360