The proposed enclosed porch with zero setback is prohibited in the RSA 5 zoning district, whereas the maximum occupant area in the RSA 5 zoning district is 75% and 75.78% is proposed.
So our vice chair has a few questions for you, okay?
Yes, sir.
can you hear me hello chair yeah we'll hear you now ish yep yes good evening good afternoon ma'am
have you emailed in all the required documents that's needed to proceed with this case five
days in advance of this hearing yes i did can you please share your screen and you can proceed
can you see it it's coming up now yep we have it yep start your presentation miss clark
okay hold on uh this is for 522 west columbia avenue in philadelphia
Thank you.
Okay. History is in 2022, I acquired the property as an existing duplex with enclosed entries. I need to move this. Hold on one second, please.
History is in 2022.
I acquired the...
okay i tried to get the certificate of occupancy was was declined because property was not zoned
as a two-family dwelling in 2023 i obtained proper zoning for two-family dwelling and filed
for a building permiss to renovate the two units and was informed that the enclosed porch
was not legally zoned and that the existing coverage is 0.78 percent less than one percent
opened a maximum 75% required by the Zoning Board.
In 2024, I started the process to legalize the existing
enclosed porch and the existing lot coverage.
This is a copy of the refusal.
We have that.
The application for appeal.
The project information form.
um hold on go to the next this is a copy of the deed of the house okay
uh the certificate of compliance um i had to submit paperwork i submitted everything and
i'm waiting for them to get back with that um certificate of of compliance i submitted everything
And these are the pictures that confirm that everything was submitted and they accepted it.
Okay, this is a license inspection of proposed plans, of revised proposed plans.
And this is a picture of the house.
As you can see, it is a double entry.
Okay, and go to the next one.
And this is the first floor porch area that I am asking for permission for.
Next one.
And this is the entry to the second apartment for the porch.
And on the right-hand side, you can see the porch on the outside.
This has been there, the neighbor said, over 30 years.
This house has been like this.
Okay, there's another picture of the porch for the second floor, and here are the plans. Wait, let me put my glasses for the zoning submission. That's the existing plan for the house.
and this is the zoning submission proposed okay go to the next one and these are the building
permit submissions which shows the entryways the configure of the entryways and the this here
is the ac unit and the other one for the downstairs is in the basement
hold on this is a copy of the notices that was posted
and that's the brick that's the brick enclosed porch am i right yes sir that's it that's your
brick enclosed porch okay yes okay and these are the notices that i sent out 120 to the
surrounding neighbors within 250 feet and i also sent five out to the rco boards and that's the
receipt of that. And here is a copy of the notice. And here's a copy of the RCO's meeting
with three people that attended and the approval. And that's it. Thank you. Are there any questions?
Questions from the board?
Questions or comments from our attorney, Hillary Emerson?
um just briefly i just wanted to note for the record the refusal indicates that
the use of this property is single family household living but it's my understanding
from the documents provided by miss clark and the zoning records that it is currently being
used as a duplex is that correct miss clark yes ma'am okay so we'll just add a provisor
to clarify that that use is not changing thank you that's from the virtual audience
I don't see any hands raised, Mr. Chair.
Planning Commission.
I am report with the Planning Commission.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change in zoning at this location from the existing single-family residential RSA 5.
The requested variance for occupied area is de minimis.
de minimis the proposed enclosed front porch was constructed without the benefit of
The proposed enclosed front porch was constructed without the benefit of port permits.
permits the appellant has not shown that the unique physical conditions or circumstances
that would prevent the property from being used in conformance with the front yard setback
requirements of the zoning code the refusal for minimum occupied area was triggered by
the enclosure of the front porch planning commission recommends that the board deny
the requested variance for lot area
and front porch setback, front yard tip.
MI 2024-005-563-5222 West Columbia Avenue.
I vote yes with a proviso.
Previously approved two-family household living use
to remain.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes with proviso.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes with proviso.
All right, we have our four votes.
You have your votes.
Thank you.
Sorry, I just want to remember when your volume is down really low, it's very difficult to hear you.
So I just wanted to let you know that if you need to make an adjustment.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Clark.
Thank you.
I'm going to go to the list here.
Number one, MI 2023-002-778-2848-North26.
6th Street. Zen Jin is the attorney.
There's a letter of support from
Swamp Poodle Neighbors Parcels Association
with Provisos.
Coming back in as a panelist, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon.
Counsel, you've already been sworn. Could you just
state your name for the record?
Yes, my name is Zen Jin, Z-H-E-N.
Last name is J-I-N.
could you identify your client the relationship to the property
yes uh my client uh is is melia llc uh mohammed diallo is the uh uh managing member of the llc
they're the owner of the property thank you our vice chair has a few questions
Mr. Chair, I think we're having some technical issues
with board member Shahid.
Are you able to ask the questions?
Yeah, I am, sure.
Do you stipulate to the refusal and its accuracy?
Yes, I do.
please proceed thank you we have previously submitted documentation I'm going to go ahead
and put it on the screen for the board's review these were submitted five days in advance per the
zoning board requirements can the board see my presentation on their screen I can thank you so
this is an application for the use of this property as a two-family dwelling the application
is refused because the area, the district is zoned RSA 5. A little history regarding this property.
My client essentially inherited this refusal. The original owner was William Darnell,
who actually worked with the RCO, Swampoodle, quite some time before my client actually purchased
the property and then subsequently again got involved with Swampoodle to work towards a
mutually agreeable way forward. So this refusal goes back quite a ways, but the property itself
is a property that's located on North 26th Street. Here you can see the posting as well
as the map location of the property. The property is originally modified with an addition that's
by the original owner. And then subsequently, the former owner started the process of renovating
the property and the zoning with the neighborhood regarding a two-family use. My client inherited
the property and continued to meet with the neighbors, meet with the community. He actually
went and talked to neighbors on the block, among other things, to try to get a feel for what
concerns there are primarily with the proposed use. The final feedback generally is that
feedback generally is that the neighbors understand the use. They don't really have
the neighbors understand.
an issue with that as much as they're concerned about people on the roof deck maybe partying.
And therefore, we had worked out with Swampudo that we would not use the roof deck
other than for mechanicals. This deck was in existence at the time my client acquired the
property that was legally put in. So it's not something that we can really, at this point,
remove. Rather, we would agree to simply use it for mechanicals and storage accessory to the
unit upstairs. The application itself is for the use of the building as a two-family.
The layout as proposed is as follows. The property would be, the first floor would be one unit. It's
a one-bedroom unit, smaller, but it does have access to a basement, which can be used for
storage, washer, dryer, and other non-living-related uses, such as storage. The second and third floor
is a bi-level second unit, which also has access to the existing roof deck. That one is laid out
with the living and kitchen space on the second floor, taking up basically along with the powder
room, the entire second floor. And then there's simply two bedrooms on the third floor, along with
bathroom closet space. So the sleeping areas would be upstairs on the third floor. The second floor
would be completely living area. And then the first floor unit really has a large living area
and kitchen as well with just a single bedroom in the back. We met with the community twice
in order to give a better outreach to the neighbors.
We did actually obtain a small petition as well.
It's not attached with the exhibits,
but that was presented to the RCO at our second meeting.
And because of the outreach
and the feedback from the neighbors,
we did ultimately receive a non-opposition position
from Swamputo.
I believe a letter was also emailed to the board,
but at the time of our submission,
We did not have the letter yet.
Essentially, Suan Puto would ask that we make sure that it's limited to no more than duplex, two units, trash to be stored inside except for collection days, and the roof deck would be for mechanical use only and no basement living.
So that's all agreeable to my client, and this was actually discussed at the community meeting as well.
So, given the position of the community and also the pre-existing partial renovation of the property, we would ask the board's favorable review of our request for this variance to permit this property to be used as a two-family dwelling.
I'm happy to answer any questions and redirect the board to any part of the exhibits.
My client should be here as well, Mr. Diallo.
He can verify my testimony.
Why don't we bring your client on, Mr. Diallo.
Mohamed, can you raise your hand virtually to be identified?
Okay, they've been about to speak.
Sir, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Good afternoon.
My name is Mohamed Diallo.
That's M-O-H-A-M-E-D, last name D-I-A-L-L-O.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Please proceed, counsel.
Thank you.
Mohamed, did you hear my presentation and also see my presentation before the zoning board?
Yes, I have seen and I've heard it.
Can you verify what I have represented to the board is true and correct and adopt it as your own testimony?
Yes, it is true.
Yes, it is true.
Thank you.
Questions from the board.
are there other um multifamily or duplexes um along that row um i believe there are i don't
have the specific addresses but there are a few not it's a mix of single family mostly single
family with some multifamily uh intermixed within the block so so the this request not to use the
deck uh was from the rco meeting yes yes yes from the community correct i just don't know the deck
the deck was actually installed before my client even acquired the property it was legally built
yeah i just don't know how you regulate that if it's already there and there's access how do you
you know how do you regulate that that's that's my question you know i don't think it has nothing to
with with the proviso but it's just hard to release i'm pretty sure that um the community would be uh
police i'm pretty sure that um the community would be uh the neighbors will be pretty on top
of any use of that deck i think again my client understands why they there are concerns and he's
more than happy to work with the community on that other questions or comments
questions or comments from our attorney hillary emberson
um just um briefly um mr jen going back to just the proviso so the the provisos that i
pulled out of swamp poodle's letter was maximum two dwelling units interior storage of trash and
recycling use of roof deck limited to mechanical access only and no household living in the
basement but those all all agreeable um are all agreed to by your client yes okay i thank you
thank you comments from the virtual audience
yes i have a hand up from the number ending again three five five two
i could you please state your name
adrian fernandez rompudo neighborhood process association rcio
adrian you've already been sworn please start your testimony
Okay. I just wanted to hopefully clarify first about the roof deck. The prior owner, Darnell Williams, he had properly applied for a roof deck, sort of like a deck porch, as a single family house.
So that was approved, the permit was approved, and it didn't require a neighborhood public meeting.