Charter Schools Network, which also has a location located very near this property.
Moving through, these are just the photos of posting.
You can see that we put a variety of posters surrounding the lot on the existing fence line.
And to jump into what the actual plans will be, these are the site plan. This is going to be the
newly constructed building here. There is an easement drive aisle that will be accessed coming
off of Hunting Park to allow cars to get back into the area where the parking would be. Here
are some basic elevations showing the different frontages and sizes of the proposed structure.
And these are the floor plans. This is the ground floor that's showing the mechanical and interior trash storage and utilities here.
There's accessible units on all floors. There's a hearing and vision impaired unit on the ground floor and the second floor.
And then on the bottom here, we have some lobby, office and meeting space.
That extends to the similar footprint to the second and fourth floors. Again, accessible units on every floor.
just to orient the board this is the aerial view of where the subject property is it is this this
parcel here and it's a CA1 zoned property with some RSA5 that's separated by some train tracks
right here so we're not actually adjacent to any of the residential parcels there's a rail line
that runs here and on Hunting Park Avenue there's a variety of different zoned uses
The rest of the exhibit packet contains the standard materials, our notice to the surrounding
community, our tax clearance showing a zero balance, and the deed to the property.
And, you know, as I mentioned, this is an upgrade to the area serving a really specific
housing need that the neighborhood needs, and there's a lot of support and buy-in for
what we're doing here.
I would ask Angela Steele if she's available to raise her hand so she can briefly adopt my testimony.
Ms. Steele, you can unmute yourself.
Hello?
Angela, can you state and spell your name for the record please?
Yes, my name is Angela Steele, last name S-T-E-E-L-E, and my address is 169 Hansberry Street,
philadelphia one nine one four four you swear and affirm to tell the truth the whole truth
and nothing but the truth yes i do thank you thank you uh angela did you have an opportunity
to hear my presentation a few moments ago yes i did and do you adopt everything that i said
is true correct in your own yes i do thank you very much uh mr chair we have the architecture
team that's on the call as well i don't think it's in the best use of the board's time to have
them run through the plans in any more detail but if you have questions we're certainly happy to
Thank you. Questions from the board? No. Anyone else would like to testify in this case? If so,
please raise your hand. Mr. Charles Richardson. Mr. Richardson, you can unmute yourself.
Mr. Richardson, just identify yourself with the record. You're still under oath.
Charles Richardson from the Office of Councilwoman Cindy Bass, room 312 City Hall.
Councilwoman loves senior housing and definitely supports this variance.
Thank you very much.
Anyone else to testify?
No more hands, Chair.
Thank you.
Planning Commission?
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, members of the board.
The comprehensive plan recommends residential mixed use for this property.
comprehensive plan recommends residential mixed use for this property we submitted a letter for
We submitted a letter for the...
the applicant's financing application indicating that the affordable senior residence complies with
the comprehensive plan therefore we ask you to support granting this variance thank you mi 2020
that's zero zero two seven four six one seven three one west hunting park avenue my vote is yes
my vote is yes my vote is yes my vote is yes thank you very much and i uh thank you i appreciate
the board's willingness to hear this case in light of the you're quite you're quite welcome
thank you carol the five and six are five and six together okay calendar number 2118 2105
ellsworth street and calendar 2116 2107 ellsworth street
um good afternoon um good afternoon can you put your name and address on the record and spell
your last name sure sarah aldenford s-a-r-a-h-a-l-d-e-r-f-e-r 1500 jfk boulevard suite 800
Philadelphia. Do you swear or affirm to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth? I do. Do
you also agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy? I do. And have you
emailed the exhibit packet with the required documents five days in advance of this hearing?
They would be proof of ownership, tax compliance, refusal or referral, photos and or plans of the
property. And have you met with your RCO? And do you have a letter? We email the packet of
exhibits five days before and they included almost all of the required materials except for
proof of our tax compliance which we provided to the board yesterday okay so you may proceed
thank you um uh good afternoon uh my name is sarah aldifer i'm here on behalf of the owners of 2105
Ellsworth Street, which is 91C LLC. Their principal is Richard Baumann and the owner of 2107 Ellsworth
Street, Maidcon LLC. These principals were, it's Jason Couture, who's sitting right next to me.
I'm going to go ahead and share my screen with you.
okay so the properties are located here on the north side of ellsworth street between 21st and
22nd street which is the neighborhood of the city um there there are two sides of the twin
and photos of the property are exhibit 11 a and b which are on page 38 of the pdf
2105 is this side of the twin, which currently has a driveway and parking.
And then 2107, scrolling down to exhibit B, is the other side of the twin, which also has a driveway for parking.
These are two separate properties, and each of the lots are 42 feet 10 inches wide by 68 feet 3 inches deep.
Our proposal is to subdivide each of the existing properties into three and erect single-family homes thereon,
for a total of six homes for the project but three homes on the exist would be would come out
of the existing lot at 2105 and three homes would come out of the existing lot at 2107.
um as i stated earlier there are different owners for each lot and we're not proposing to subdivide
these in a manner that would change the that would cross the existing lot line between 2105
and 2107 the lots would be subdivided within the existing lots um the the properties are in the
rsa5 zoning district um and we have refusals which i'll show you at exhibit one um our refusals for
each of the newly created lots there are two refusals um one for lot width we're proposing
14.278 feet wide lots where 16 feet would be required and we're proposing lot area of 974.5
square feet where 1440 square feet of lot area is required um our original plan what we met with
the Point Breeze Community Development Coalition Zoning Committee and our region
Point Breeze Community Development Coalition Zoning Committee and our original plans that
we presented are Exhibit 3 which I'll show you on page 15 if you're following along at home.
I think the best described is the rendering which is actually page 18. This is what
we originally presented to the zoning committee. The zoning committee in response to that had a
number of comments excuse me the zoning committee had a number of comments and we made a number of
we made a number of
revisions to the plan accordingly um so they wanted us to bring down the height of the building which
wasn't by right height they wanted us to change the facade to include more in more interactive
free facade and they were concerned about um lot coverage and stormwater runoff so in response to
the comments from the zoning committee we're presenting today a revised plan which is on page
which is on page 27, Exhibit 7. To best show that, I'm going to scroll down to the rendering
of the revised plan, and I'll just give you a quick summary of the changes we made.
We reduced the height overall from 38 feet to come in at a total height of 34 feet 6 inches,
which is a below bi-right height. We increased the proposed rear yard depth from 17 feet 1 inch
to 21 feet 3 inches, which also resulted in an increase in the proposed open area from 25%
to 31%. We also changed the size and location of the front steps and added planters in the front
and then scrolling up to the revised site plan, we've also provided in the rear for
porous pavers to deal with the issue of runoff that the neighbors were concerned about.
In this design, we've tried to design the homes in a way that fits the context of the neighborhood,
but by also changing the overall aesthetic and providing a more traditional look with the window
sizes. And we've also designed the homes in a way that we believe they're going to appear
as if they were a traditional row home size, and they're going to look wider
from the street than they actually are. I'm going to show you guys now. We did a shadow study in
response to comments about potential effects on the on the neighboring properties on that share
the rear yard which the neighboring property space altar street um the top row is the shadows that
are created by the truck that would be created on the longest day which is the summer solstice
And you can see the shadows created by our property here.
And then also at the bottom, this shows the shadows created at 8 a.m., noon, and 4 p.m.
on winter solstice, December 21st.
After we had a community meeting with Point Breeze Community Development,
who have decided to oppose this project,
Their letter is at Exhibit 2, page 11.
The vote was from the board of the zoning committee, zero in support, one opposition.
From the community, four in support, seven in opposition.
They stated that their concerns were not providing parking, sunlight, the overall height of the building.
And then they had a set of concerns, and also they had a concern about the density of the project.
We went and we discussed the project with the surrounding neighbors, and I've presented for you at Exhibit 17, which is page 123, a breakdown of petitions that we got signed by the adjacent neighbors.
Apologies, I could not get this to scan the correct way, so I'm just going to rotate this for a moment.
um and i've mapped out for the board's convenience uh the properties where we have petitions so the
uh the properties where we have petitions so the light blue property is 2105 elsewhere street
light blue property
the dark blue outline property is 2107 elsewhere street and then the properties outlined in red
are all the properties where we were able to obtain letters and petitions of support and
those petitions then follow in the packet. So with that I'd like to have my
client testify. Mr. Cutaire, can you identify yourself for the record please?
How you doing? My name is Jason Cutaire. Jason, would you spell your full name please?
I'm sorry, J-A-S-O-N-C-U-T-A-I-A-R.
Do you swear in the firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Thank you. Please proceed, Sarah.
Mr. Kuter, you're a member of Macon LLC, is that correct?
And Macon LLC owns 2107 Ellsworth Street?
Have you heard my testimony?
Is it true and correct?
Do you adopt it as your own?
Is there anything else that you would like to add to support your application?
Yeah, so I went around for the past week to talk to all the nearby neighbors in support.
So out of all the support letters, they were actually all the people who answered their door and were willing to sign the petition.
there was about 16 homes that were either vacant or no answer and I had four people who just
refused to sign anything they didn't say they supported or opposed but they just wouldn't sign
so you know out of everybody that I was able to talk to I got a high percentage of signatures
with the petitions to be closed.
How many pages?
How many revised pages?
Two pages.
Any questions from the board?
Anyone else would like to testify in this case?
Please raise your hand.
Yes, we have a call-in user.
Will the caller please identify him or herself, spell your full name, name and address?
Yes, Tiffany Green, Concerned Citizens of Point Breast, 1518 South 22nd Street.
We're not going to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, always.
Please proceed.
I wanted to testify because this particular project was a real concern to the residents.
at the meeting, being that this project here was initially a city project of moderate income homes.
It was a different type of project, was a different type of design, more suburban-like,
where the house is a more ranch-style type home with a parking driveway on the side,
and federal funds were used for this particular project.
And so it's a real concern right now because what he wants to propose would definitely have a negative impact on the whole character size of the block, particularly the neighbors behind it, will be impacted in terms of shade and light and everything like that.
The concern we have is that Sarah, at the meeting, we asked them to make the changes and come back and present at another meeting. And they opted not to do that and take their chances at the ZBA. We are not aware, we have not seen any of these revised plans. We have not seen the shadow report or anything.
And so I ask that the commission please maybe have the developer come back to a meeting with the community again
and show these new plans and show this shadow report and let us have more conversation about the project.
They don't seem to want to work with the community or make any real changes.
To put three houses on one property that was designed in a suburban type of design is really an overuse of the property.
And it doesn't really, like I said, fit in with it, with the character of the property.
are you suggesting that the changes that we looked at today that were according to council
were the decisions that were made based on community input lowering the height of the
buildings some of the other structural changes in the on the front and facades of the building
uh some of the other structural changes in the uh on the front and facades of the building
the community group is not aware of that no we're not we've never seen it and if you look at the uh
the uh summary meeting page that was sent in the summary page sent about a coordinating rco and
ourself we agree you know we we we oppose the project and we say we know why uh too dense why
so many houses on one property we say lack of parking and that's how it was left we are not
familiar with these new uh designs or shadow report that they have there could you shed some
light on that i don't respectfully disagree with um uh miss miss green's uh representations which
are you know in my view factually incorrect these plans that are being presented today the revised
plans were presented at the uh point breeze community development coalition meeting there
was discussion at the point threes community development coalition meeting of um where they
would like us to proceed with a second revised plan and change the number of units um into a
by right plan which we declined to do um however these plans were presented to the rco and these
were the plans that were discussed with the neighbors at that meeting um and then with regard
to Ms. Green's comment about the context of the neighborhood, I would like to note that the ZBA
granted a similar variance for 2124 Ellsworth Street, and that permit is included in our packet
it at exhibit 16, page 104. Let me just rotate back. This was the permit and variance granted
for 2124 Ellsworth Street, which is across the street and on the same block as this property.
And it is a slightly more expensive variance, where here, variances were granted for minimum
lot with a 14 feet which is 0.278 feet narrower than what we're proposing and for a minimum lot