Could you
state your name as spelled for the stenographer?
Hi, Samuel Turner
here. S-A-M-U-E-L
T-U-R-N-E-R.
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth
the whole truth and nothing but the truth
could you turn your video on please
oh sorry
proceed counsel
yeah Mr. Turner you heard the questions about
storm order
and things like that can you just elaborate
on what Ms. Black stated
just to clarify I'm in any water
not just storm water since it's a
greenhouse
some of the details still need to be worked out during construction but for all the storm water
be reusing what's existing there's an internal drain towards the back towards the fair amount
facing side of the property so all the storm water can be gathered there and as far as the
internal like drainage it would all be kind of handled by the planner system and diverted
appropriately but like i said the the details will still need to be figured out on that understood i
mean obviously we're at zoning but uh when you talk about the planter system are you talking
about the green roof system specifically or is there a specific planter system that's being
built into that occupied section of the of the addition in the green portion the green roof can
be self-sustaining um but internally that's the part that we're still kind of working through the
details on yeah i wasn't asking i was actually not asking about the green roof i'm asking about
the greenhouse portion understanding that she has a lot of plants and that it's going to operate as
a greenhouse oftentimes greenhouses have lots of condensation condensation at roof planes on
contiguous properties are generally not something that's uh welcomed and so i just want to understand
what provisions or plans have been put in place to manage any water accumulation or condensation
that might happen at that upper level
so that it doesn't cause damage
both to their property
but also to the neighboring properties
from a material standpoint.
I would just defer to, you know,
the plumbing engineer
during the building permit phase
that will be looking at this
to kind of come up with a strategy
for any out, you know,
out of the ordinary circumstances
for like the moisture accumulation.
And we have been in direct communication
with the neighbors to the owners to the left.
We're actually making modifications
to their deck at their request.
So we're working collaboratively with them.
And I would anticipate that would be
along these lines as well
to obviously make sure we're not damaging
any properties to the left and right of us.
There are also, just to jump in,
there are also specific skylights
that have vents
in them, and
these are things that we're exploring.
Further along
in the design, if you are
amiable to this project, we'll be
looking at all of that. It's a concern, and
I'm glad you brought it up.
Any other questions?
Council, you said it was
46 feet?
That's right.
uh so any sprinkler system i know it's 45 in the city of philadelphia i defer to the architect if
So any sprinkler
system? I know it's 45 in the city of Philadelphia.
Thank you.
there's requirements about sprinkler system you know i don't know to provide you know from a
building code perspective obviously we have to comply with that so i'm going to defer to the
architect in that respect um mr turner uh yeah for a fourth story typically we'll we'll have those
called for um so yeah yeah okay any other questions from the board questions or comments
from our attorney not on time mr chair questions or comments from the uh virtual of the uh audience
questions or comments from the virtual audience
here i have a hand up from justino navarro i've allowed them to speak
hi could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer justino navarro j-u-s-t-i-n-o
n-a-v-a-r-r-o do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
i do you're from the rco right that's correct mr chair please so thank you thank you mr chair
members of the board it's great to see you guys again uh hopefully i'll get a chance to see you
guys in person one of these days when i'm feeling a little bit better but i just wanted to call in
and reiterate the support of the spring garden civic association i am here in representation of
the spring garden civic association and the zoning committee and commend the uh the attorney and and
and miss black our neighbor uh and architect for their flexibility in terms of design and for making
adjustments recommended by the his by the zoning committee that will make the property of the
project more compatible with the spring garden historic district i also want to commend her and
thank her for being one more member of the community that is once again committed to the
sustainability that we here in spring garden are fully committed to and as i like to say we heartily
believe in putting the green back in green street and putting the gardens back in spring garden so
i would urge the board to approve the request as presented today thank you so much for your time
thank you very much is there anyone else in the virtual audience
planning commission no further hands
thank you chair bergman and good evening david fecto with the city planning commission
chairman and board members the comprehensive plan recommends a change in zoning at this location
from cmx2 commercial mixed use to rsa5 residential single family there is no unique physical
condition or circumstance of this property that were prevented from being used in strict
conformity with the zoning code and the appellant has not shown that they will suffer an economic
detriment if they are forced to comply with the maximum height and rear setback requirements in
the zoning code the city planning commission recommends that the board deny both dimensional
variances uh i just really like to respond sure um if you look at where it's situated it's very
unique property in that it's labeled 17th street but it's on melon which is one of those side
streets. Behind us is a parking lot, which is a commercial corridor. The properties that are
surrounding us, if you, I live around there. So in Fairmont, those are higher properties
in terms of height. We kind of are in scale with those properties on Fairmont. The property to the
right of us, again, that stack is even higher than what we're proposing. So contextually,
I would believe that, you know, this falls in line with what the board should, you know,
granted in terms of a variance. Thank you. Thank you. MI 2024-006-170-649-North 17th Street,
I vote yes. Michael Johns, my vote is yes. Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes. Tanetta Graham,
my vote is yes. Iowan, my vote is yes. Ishmael Shahid, my vote is yes. Thank you.
Number seven, MI 2024-006-171, 1417 South Broad Street.
Andrea Solomon is the attorney.
Here's anonymous support with the proviso from South Broad Neighborhood
and a letter of non-opposition with proviso from Council Member Squillett.
Applicant also has support of 10 signatures, four from the neighborhood.
counsel salomon mr chair members of the board um andrea solomon from claire harrison harvey
bransburg land use and zoning attorney here on behalf of the owners of 1417 south broad
could you spell your name for the stenographer yes uh a-n-d-r-e-a s-a-l-o-m-o-n
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
I do. Could you identify your client, the relationship to the property?
Could you identify your client, the relationship to the property?
Yes, my clients are Debbie and Bill Lutz, the owners of 1417 South Broad.
Okay, our vice chair has just a few questions.
Counselor, do you agree to either read another refusal or stipulate to its accuracy?
I do. Have you emailed in all the required documents and exhibits that's needed to proceed with this case five days in advance of this hearing?
We did. Thank you, counsel. Please proceed and share the screen.
Thank you.
Not, oh, there it is, the sheer screen.
You're up.
Okay, thank you, everybody.
I'll get into the details later in the presentation, but this application is for the erection of a one-story addition with a deck atop an existing garage.
of a single-family home for use as the private home gym. We met with the community back in
November, and we're happy to have received the unanimous support from the coordinating RCO,
the South Broad Street Neighborhood Association. Ultimately, they understand that this is a solid
single-family home on Broad Street and understand the family's need for additional space,
And they would actually, they're actually particularly in support because this addition, they believe, will add eyes on the street, on Watts Street, in the rear of the properties, increasing safety and security on the block.
the letter they issued did include two provisos to ensure that this addition is not used as a
second dwelling unit as the board is aware if that were the case the applicants would need
additional relief because this is rsa 5 zoning so uh that's not part of this application that's
not the intended use as i mentioned it's for uh the an accessory gym to the single family home
The family loves their home. They want to stay in it. They have four kids and just want extra space. So they're not opposed to either of the provisos, the Saquon being that no kitchen be installed from SBSNA.
They also received support from many of the near neighbors, including the property directly adjacent to the south, 1419 South Broad Street, and directly across Watt Street at 1410 South Jupiter Street.
the refusal is a highly technical one there was a bit of back and forth um whether the existing
garage already constitutes a principal building or whether the addition would turn the garage into a
principal building but um the addition is atop the rear garage uh so the condition of the two
buildings exist already um in fact like i mentioned with the addition would be improving
the safety and security on the block and as to the roof deck if it were above the existing home
it would be permitted by right in the zoning district but since it's atop the garage it
requires this board's approval however the roof deck is dimensionally compliant
This is an aerial image of the property. You can see the garage is separated from the main
house structure and we'd be building on top of it. Like I mentioned, the 1419 neighbors are in
support. The neighbor is directly to the north. It's already a multifamily unit that has a second
story above the garage and that one actually is used as a dwelling, a separate dwelling unit.
This is another aerial image. You can see that the majority of the
blocks have a garage in the rear on Watts Street.
um this is the subject property the one with the basketball net we the for the requested relief is
to construct a second story uh a first a one-story addition atop the garage it would match the roof
line of the adjacent actually be a little bit lower than the adjacent property
this is an image of the existing conditions again the second story of the property above the garage
directly adjacent to them 1419 is in support you can they want to preserve their open space and
They want to preserve their open space and the dish end would be accessed from their interior yard.
Another view that shows the second story and the extent of their rear yard.
They want to preserve the open space.
This is their current home gym.
It's in the single family residence.
As I mentioned, the Lodzes have four kids. They're getting older. They want to be able to
use the space for additional bedrooms, but are very health conscious and want to also
maintain a space for working out. And that's why they're wanting to move this
setup that is their home gym to the addition of the garage.
Here we have the elevation. You can see what I mentioned, that the roof line will be below the one that's existing in the adjacent property, the floor plans.
You can see that the access to the addition will be solely from the interior courtyard,
so you'll actually have to go through the single family home to access the additional space.
These are images of the property from Broad Street. That's a beautiful
row home on Broad Street that they want to be able to stay in as a growing family.
And more views of the rear.
More views of their existing gym which they're seeking to relocate to the addition.
As I mentioned the property is zoned RSA 5.
we have the zoning poster and the photos of the posting on both street frontages
application for appeal and the project information form the notice to the
near neighbors and rcos certificate of mailing the code provisions relevant code provisions
the deed
and their tax compliance
which shows the tax balance
is only for the 2025 taxes
which haven't come due
and with that I'll ask
that my clients Bill and Debbie
Lutz be promoted
as panelists so they can adopt my testimony
how could you please state your name
they've been allowed to speak sir
thank you uh my name is deborah lutz could you spell please for the stenographer yes d-b-r-a-l-u-t-z
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
yes please proceed counsel hi debbie were you able to see and hear my presentation
yes i was was it true and accurate yes it was and would you adopt it as your own testimony
yes i would and just from the board i think bill is here as well if he could be promoted
as panelists who's that uh bill lutz to speak as well man uh is bill lutz here okay he's going to