just give me a count
sure take your time
Good morning, everyone.
My name is Bill Bergman, and I will be chairing this meeting in the Philadelphia Zoning Board.
With me is our board member, Cheryl L. Gaston.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Our board member, Tenetta Graham.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Our board member, Michael Johns.
he if he's not here he'll be here very shortly he just got on the phone our board member taya
winn mr chairman also here is our attorney ryan mcsherry and also our board zoning board director
ian haggerty and our board administrator administrator lakeisha dandy recording of
this hearing will be posted on the zba website by participating you consent to be recorded
This is an in-person meeting with remote capabilities.
Whether remote or in-person, if you're called to speak, you must state and spell your name
and then wait to be sworn in.
Once you've been sworn in, please state your name each time before beginning your testimony.
Any person may enter their appearance to become an interested party to a case.
There are three ways to enter your appearance.
You can identify the case property address on your Zoom webinar registration.
You can see a staff member, or you can call the CBA appearance line by the close of business tomorrow.
Call 267-270-5548.
Leave a message that includes your email address and address the property of the appeal case.
The filing guidance is for our remote attendees.
First, when directed, you must raise your virtual hand in order to be recognized to speak.
Second, if you're called to testify, you will be prompted to join as a panelist.
Please accept the request and turn on your camera.
Third, the webinar Q&A is for questions about the hearing.
Do not comment on cases in the Q&A.
Fourth, if you're participating by phone, press star 9 to raise your hand and star 6 to unmute.
For our in-person attendees, please refrain from talking, eating, or drinking during the hearings.
Verbal and physical aggression will not be tolerated.
Restrooms are across from the elevators.
A water fountain is just outside the room to the right.
When speaking on the record, you must speak directly into the microphone in order to be heard by all attendees in the court reporter.
In the event of an emergency, please follow the directions given over the public address system or by the staff.
The main exit is through the double doors at the rear of the room.
The nearest stairwell is to the left outside the doors.
In case of an evacuation, the rally point is at Love Park, directly across Art Street.
Please remain there so we can account for you.
Let's look at our schedule, please.
With you?
Number one, MI 2024-006-03-2113-Chelton.
E-Bron's is the listed applicant, Coney Investments, LLC.
Ian, are you here, Ian?
Ian, this is the one that Hillary thinks we have an issue with.
No proof of mailing, no RCO letter, summary of notice or notice.
That's correct, Chair.
We're missing required exhibits for this case.
Do we see any hands?
Good morning, Mr. Chair.
This is Jason Hand.
I will be your co-host for this session.
I have a hand up from both Joseph Ficarro
and Charles Richardson.
I'll let Mr. Vaccaro speak first.
Morning.
Mr. Vaccaro, please state your name and spell for the sonographer.
Good morning. My name is Joseph Vaccaro, V-A-C-C-A-R-O. I was just raising my hand to confirm the address that you were talking about.
Good morning.
My name is Joseph Vaccaro, V-A-C-C-A-R-O.
2113 Chelten Avenue, sir.
That's not my case.
Oh, thank you.
I'll hold my hand. Sorry.
Mr. Richardson.
Is Mr. Richardson in the audience?
They've been allowed to speak, sir.
Good morning, Mr. Richardson.
Good morning, Mr. Chair.
Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Certainly.
Charles Richardson, R-I-C-H-A-R-D-S-O-N, Office of Councilwoman Cindy Bass, Room 508 City Hall.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Mr. Richardson, do you have information on this case?
There's been no RCO meeting and no contact from the applicant to the coordinating RCO.
So looking for a continuance on this.
Thank you very much for calling in.
We appreciate it.
So MI 2024, 000603, 2113 Chilton Avenue.
This case is continued to 102225 at 930 a.m.
Number three, MI 2024, 002-712-2300 North 25th Street.
Joseph Vaccaro is the attorney.
There's a request for continuance from Council Member Young's office.
Mr. Vaccaro.
okay mr vaccaro has been about to speak mr just for the record just for the record could you
please state your name because you've already been sworn thank you uh good morning joseph
vaccaro va cc aro on behalf of the applicant and i would join in that request for a continuance
In fact, I sent my own letter.
Okay, thank you.
So MI 2024-002-712-2300 North 25th Street.
Cases continue to 10-22-25 at 9.30 a.m.
Thank you very much.
That concludes my business.
Can I have an excuse?
Yes, you can.
Thank you.
number seven mi 2024 003 554 636 west algandy avenue um this is the second listing we do not
have any um exhibits is anyone from um mildred elmo elmo construction listed owner mildred books
is the task, Business Consulting and Management.
Chair, I have a handout from a number ending in 0859.
I can allow them to speak if you wish.
0859, you have been allowed to speak.
Please don't wait to be sworn in.
Hi, good morning.
Hi, good morning.
Could you please state your name?
that's spelled for the sonographer?
Angelique McKinney, A-N-G-E-L-I-Q-U-E-M-C-K-I-N-N-U-I.
I think you were involved in the case prior, am I right?
2113 Shelton Avenue.
Yeah, okay.
So that case is being continued.
But I turned in everything.
I got my email saying they received all my information.
Hold on.
First of all, spell your name for the stenographer.
A-N-G-E-L-I-Q-U-E-M-C-K-I-N-N-E-Y.
You swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
We do not have all of your paperwork. And have you ever had an RCO may need?
You did?
Yes, I had one on the 25th of March.
Okay, so we do not see your proof. We don't see your proof of mailing. We do not have a deed from you. And we do not see your proof of tax compliance.
I sent all of that in and I got an email from
let me get her email
yeah so listen to me listen to me
this case has been continued all the office and the office will help
Call the office and the office will help figure out where you stand and what you need for the next hearing.
figure out where you stand and what you need for the
Thank you.
All right.
Thank you.
Number seven.
Do we see anybody from number seven?
Yeah, I do not see any hands raised for that matter.
Thank you.
So MI 2024-003-554-636 West Allegheny Avenue.
This is the second listing.
We still do not have any documents.
I vote to dismiss.
Michael Johns, my vote is to dismiss.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is to dismiss.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is to dismiss.
Ty Owen, my vote is to dismiss.
Number 13, MI 2024-007-221-3014 Wesley High Avenue.
This case is continued to 10-22-25.
And number 17, MI 2024-007-232-2100 Master Street, TA-25589.
This case is continued to 10-22-25.
Are there any other requests for continuance?
Yes, sir.
I have a hand up from Adib.
I did have a hand up from him, but I...
It was a hand up from Adib Mahdi.
I have allowed him to speak.
Good morning, sir.
Good morning, Mr. Chairman.
Could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer?
Yes, Adib, A-D-I-B, last name M-A-H-D-I, Mahdi.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
What case are you talking about, sir?
West Allegheny Avenue
you just made a ruling on it
Mr. Chairman
no one answered
we had a request for a contingence
from Council Member Young's office
we have no exhibits
this is the second listing yes uh mr chairman i've uh prepared the architectural work for the
uh the owner uh they have secured a um a hearing before the um the rco of the area the coordinating
committee uh coordinating of rco um 12th and cambria hold on hold on let me tell you where
we stand. We have dismissed the case. What I want you to do is have the owner or his representative
contact the office and talk to them about next steps, okay? Thank you very much. Thank you.
Okay, so no, any anyone else requested continuance?
number five mi 2024 003 407 2020 west 65th street this is the second listing
um no exhibits cecilia peterson oh yeah you're you're here
um we one of you come up a minute
miss patterson could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
cecilia patterson c-e-c-e-l-i-a patterson p-a-t-t-e-r-s-o-n right do you swear or
affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth yes miss patterson we do not have
any exhibits from you. I have everything here and I did make some phone calls. I don't know how to
scan these and I have the deed. Okay. Okay. This is what we're going to do. We're going to have to
continue. We're going to continue the case, but what I want you to do is contact the office
and they will tell you how to take care of that. Okay. Okay. All right. And thank you very much
for coming down. We do appreciate it. Okay. All right. Thank you. So, um, excuse me, Mr. Bergman,
May I have a date because I need it for my ward leader?
So the date is going to be 10-22-25.
So MI 2024-003-407-2020 West 65th Street.
This case is continued to 10-22-25.
This case is continued to 10-22-25.
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thank you.
And number six, MI 2024, 003-511-5724 Vine Street.
No exhibit, second listing.
Antonio Montgomery is the tenant applicant.
yeah i do not see any hands for this matter but uh there is a hand up from a three five five two
that may be miss uh fernandez oh from miss from who miss fernandez miss adrian fernandez okay well
i don't believe she's involved in this 5724 vine street so let's handle that first then we'll get
there okay so mi 2024 003 511 5724 vine street um this is the second listing we have received
exhibits so i'm going to continue this mark must be heard it will be continued to 10 22 25
bring miss fernandez on
you've been allowed to speak
morning Adrienne
could you please state your name as spelled for the sonographer
Adrienne Fernandez my last name is spelled
F-E-R-N-A-N-D-E-Z
do you swear
or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth
and nothing but the truth
I'm asking about three
pardon me
I'm asking about
3101 North Bancroft
Street
which one's that
so I'm getting ready
to call that right now
we do not have exhibits for that
particular case
so MI 2024
MI 2024
808-3101
North Bancroft Street.
No exhibits. The listed
owner is Bulldog, LLC,
Mildred Brooks,
and TAS Consulting.
Ms. Fernandez, you have
comments about this case?
Ms. Fernandez?
Yes, I'm mute.
The owner
said that she was going to contact her attorney.
She had two addresses.
One was continued.
That was 3014 Wesley High Avenue.
However, even though she said she would ask him to continue both,
I didn't hear it mentioned, so I didn't know what was going on.
All right, so this case here, MI 2024, 006808, 3101 North Bancom Street.
No exhibits, first listing.
this case is a continual mark must be heard to 10-22-25 at 9 30 a.m. Thank you for calling in.
Thank you. You're welcome. Number 14, MI 2024-007-222-526-66th Avenue, this case has been withdrawn.
Okay, let's go to our add-on list.
Number one, MI 2024-005-574-1510 North 25th Street.
The vote in this matter has been continued until Wednesday, April 9th at 9.30 a.m.
Number two, MI 2024-004-380-1914 Lithgow Street.
The vote in this matter has been continued to Wednesday, April 9th at 9.30 a.m.
Number three, MI 2024-007-026-1149 Jean Street.
I vote yes with proviso.
Single family household to remain.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes with proviso.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes with proviso.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes with Proviso.
My vote is yes with Proviso.
And Chair, just to clarify the address on that last one was.
1-1-2-4-9.
Yes, correct.
1-1-2-4-9 Jeans Police.
And the next one, number four, MI 2024-007-029-1212 Jeans Street.
I vote yes.
would provide a single household living to remain.
With proviso, single household living to remain.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes, with proviso.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes, with proviso.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes, with proviso.
Taya Nguyen, my vote is yes, with proviso.
Okay, we're going to go to our regular list.
Number 10, MI 2024-2024-004-695-4708, Roosevelt Boulevard.
Do we have a Spanish interpreter?
Good morning again, Mr. Chair.
I have a hand up from Rosa Martinez.
I will promote them to panelists immediately.
chair i believe martinez is the appellant um if there's a spanish interpreter in the virtual
audience could you please raise your hand thank you i also have a hand up from brenda
Schwartz I have to speak. Okay. Hello. Do we have an interpreter?
Good morning, Ms. Schwartz. Good morning. Bernadette Schwartz. B-E-R-N-A-D-E-T-T-E.
last name shorts like a pair of pants
S-H-O-R-T-S
I was in reference to the
location on
North 66th Street
and I just wanted to double
we're handling case
we'll get back to you shortly okay
do we have an interpreter
I don't see any other hands raised Mr. Chair
hello you're gonna hold it all right we're gonna hold that case for a little bit
while he's looking at that for a second yeah yeah i'm gonna cover the hearing
hello are you the are you the interpreter rosa martinez now miss martinez we're gonna
come back to this case shortly we're trying to see where the interpreter is all right all right
thank you thank you and and number um 11 mi 2024 004 699 4715 pearson avenue do we have an
interpreter for that case once again chair i do not see any hands raised so we're going to hold
both those. We're checking right now to see
where the interpreter may be, and then we'll get back to it.
Okay? Wait a minute, Tom.
Sorry to interrupt, but I have a hand up
from Marlon Valderales.
Marlon Valderales?
No, Marlon Valderales.
I have allowed him to speak.
Excuse me.
Is this Pearson?
What if you're my interpreter?
Yes, I'm Marlon Valladares.
I need my interpreter.
Yeah, but we're going to have an
interpreter come on. We have to wait. We can't
hear the case yet, okay? We're going to come back to it. Okay. All right. Thank you.
You're going to proceed, Mr. Chair. All right. Number two.
MI 2024-001-377-4742 Rose Hill Street.
I'm promoting them to panelists to meet at late.
Good morning.
Good morning.
Good morning.
Good morning.
Could you please state your name and spell for the snogger?
I'm H-U-O-T.
That's my first name.
My last name is Y-I-M.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
So this application is for use as a two-family household living in an existing structure.
two-family household living is prohibited in the RSA 3 zoning district. Accessory parking is
required for the increased number of dwelling units. Have you submitted all of your appropriate
exhibits? Yes. Okay, could you please start share your screen and start your presentation?
Okay, could you please start, share your screen and start your presentation?
It's on a, not that phone, it's on, how do I screen?
Mr. Yim, could you turn on your computer?
I don't, I don't know how it is.
okay um all right so um here's what we're going to do we're going to have to
continue your case and i want you to call the office and they will work with you on your next
presentation on the proper way to do it okay oh so you're okay can i can i have the my my daughter
us talking a little bit.
Yeah, but you have
to make the presentation, sir.
it be shared
on McQueda Coates' screen?
Say that again.
Can McQueda
Coates share her screen?
If someone can share the screen and
put it up now, he can testify
from that, but please do it
right away and he's the only one allowed to testify thank you yes yes she can share her
share the screen right now yes okay by the kind of quotes she's been promoted to panelists she'll
be coming back in shortly i mean thank you so much
I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I need.
Oh, I need one.
okay could you please start him and maybe if you could could you make that just a little larger
start your presentation please sir okay
hello hello yes sir okay tell us who is what you want to do
I want the zoning to duplex right now, so.
Yeah, but when I hired the contractor, I thought he had everything, but when we paid them and
And then now they don't have like, you know, there's only, I mean, the paper, like, can
I let my daughters explain a little bit?
You've got to do the testimony yourself.
Would you please show us the rest of your photos?
That's the first floor.
This is the step to go to the basement, yeah.
And this one is the two parking.
And the two parking in the backyard.
And the front door, I mean the front.
The front of the house.
Yeah, the front of the house.
They have the tree before, but it's broken down now.
And what else?
This is the toilet.
on the bed, on the first floor, and the second floor.
I don't know the first floor.
That's the first floor.
Okay, they are, you know, the construction are done,
but we need the paper, I mean.
Did you do the construction with permits?
uh we uh you know we hide them them but we don't know they have the
they have the permit they have the permit or not you know
and how long has the property been like this
about almost almost three years and have you had it rented no and we live in downstairs for now
And we're leaving downstairs for now.
Questions from the board.
Were the utilities separated?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
how many bedrooms is the second unit one bedroom and kitchen and one bathroom
okay and then it's on the first floor and in the basement no the first floor I think
living room
two bed
rooms.
You live on the first floor?
Yeah. Where's the new apartment?
No, no.
The new one is upstairs.
Okay, on the second floor?
Yeah. Okay, so you live
on the first floor with access to the basement
and this new apartment
is only on the second floor?
Yeah. Okay, and they
intern exit through the front door
to the property?
You both intern exit through the same front door
to the property?
Front door, and then
we go in, and then we separate right there.
Is there other duplexes on your block?
How many?
Do you know?
What I know is one on the
corner that's duplex,
and my next door
that's duplex.
A few, I think, yeah.
Other questions from the board?
The pictures that are on the screen now,
can you move them up or down?
Thank you.
Are those the only pictures that you have?
Yeah, yeah.
And these pictures again are showing which floor?
The second floor?
This one is the first floor.
I'm sorry, say that again?
It's the first floor.
And one other question.
So the two parking spaces, I'm assuming one would be for each unit, right?
Do you have any pictures of this second floor unit?
Oh, hi. Yeah, I tried to check the picture. I think it's only one picture.
And where is that? These, these, these are, from what I understand, these are the first
floor units. So you put in a second unit. Where are the pictures of this second unit
that you put in in the bathroom kitchen in the bathroom what's the kitchen yeah the kitchen
or the kitchen and the bathroom that's uh yeah that's all i have the second floor
okay because he said before it was the first floor but it's
yeah all right so do you okay
questions from our attorney
Ryan McShurry
no chair
questions are from the audience or the virtual audience
chair I do not see any hands raised
for the matter
planning commission
Ron Bednar city planning
first name Ron R-O-N last name
Bednar B-E-D-N-A-R
do you swear
or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing
about the truth? I do. Please proceed. Comprehensive plan recommends no change to the RSA 3 residential
single-family zoning at this location. There's no unique physical circumstances or condition of the
property that would prevent it from being used in conformance with the zoning code. City Planning
Commission recommends that the Board deny the proposed use variance for two dwelling units.
Thank you. MI 2024-001-377-4742, Rose Hill Street, I vote yes with proviso. Certificate of Occam C to be obtained.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes with proviso.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is no.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes with proviso.
Tywin, my vote is yes with proviso.
Thank you. Number...
number nine mi 2024
number nine mi 2024 004 579 150 brown street lewis and vanessa porto are the owners
it's a pro se there's a letter of authorization received
there's non-opposition from council member squilla and a letter of support from northern
liberties neighbors association this is coming back in as a family home to a duplex
i'm sorry they're coming back in as a panelist
Louis Porto.
Good morning, Chair.
Good morning.
Could you please state your name and spell for the sonographer?
Absolutely.
Louis Porto, last name P-O-R-T-O.
You swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
I swear.
This application is for uses of two-family household living in an existing structure.
The proposed use, two-family household living, is prohibited in the RSA 5 zoning district.
Have you submitted all your exhibits?
I have.
Why don't you start your presentation and share your screen?
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Are you able to see my presentation right now?
So this is a rendering of the home right now.
I have the LNI refusal and the mailings that were sent out to all of the neighboring properties as required.
exterior photo of the home it's a very large home 3200 square feet three stories finished
basement currently is a four bedroom three and a half bathroom with an office
this is a picture of the backyard facing north
and same backyard just facing in the other direction
this is one of the bedrooms
living room, kitchen space, as it is today.
Master bedroom, the finished basement with an exit well.
The proposed renovation would be to make the building into two, two-bedroom apartments.
The first unit, which would be the first floor and the basement, would be a bi-level unit,
two-bedroom, two-bath with the backyard at 1,600 square feet. To access the property,
you would be coming in right through the front door and going to your right. That would be the
first floor unit. The half bathroom that we have currently would be made into a full bathroom,
so there will only be a small modification to accommodate the change.
In the basement, there will be no work required.
Everything would stay as it is today.
For the second unit, which would be bi-level for the second and third floor,
when you come up the steps, you would end up here.
the front bedroom would be turned into the kitchen living space. The bathroom would remain
where it is today. The office would remain where it is today. And the rear bedroom would continue
to remain at the same location with no changes. The top floor would continue to be a master bedroom.
No changes would be made on this end. This property has had various uses recorded in the
past it actually used to be a grocery store on the first floor which was here and then it had
a separate entrance for for the residential unit which was on the second and third floor
and this is just like a rendering of what it probably looked like back then
150 brown street it's a it's a much larger lot than all of the neighboring properties
It's unique because it faces two streets, olive on the south and brown on the north, which makes it ideal for a multifamily property also because of the size of the lot in comparison to the neighboring single-family homes in the area.
It's not the only property that would be a multifamily.
There's actually commercial uses and multifamily uses on the same block.
commercial uses and multi-family uses on the same block and on much smaller lots than this property.
As I mentioned before, 150 Brown is a larger size than its neighboring properties in both RSA
and RMN1 districts. It is larger by about 700 square feet, enough to almost build a separate
dwelling based on the size. In fact, on just about a block away on Fairmount Street,
two multifamily homes were just built on much smaller lots than this one.
Mr. Porto, how many on your block itself, how many are multiple family now?
Oh, I think there's about six properties that are multifamily currently.
In that on your block?
Correct.
Right. And you live here right now?
And you want to give us the reason why you want to do the conversion.
It's mainly because of real estate taxes and the cost of maintaining the home is a very large home.
That would be the main reason why I chair.
And why don't you explain the basement living to us?
Yes, absolutely.
So I can show you what it looks like today.
This is actually a rendering of, this is the basement.
This is a picture of the basement as it is today.
It has an egress well in the rear.
It has a full-size bathroom here.
It is approximately 650 square feet, I believe, is the basement alone.
I don't think I have that measurement independently, but it's a large basement that is currently finished.
That is a picture in its current condition.
Are there any other windows in the basement beside the egress well?
There isn't one.
Other questions from the board?
The egress well is a walkout.
It's like it's a regular sized door and then you walk out to the backyard.
It has a small ladder.
You walk up.
Right.
That might not legally comply as a bedroom, just letting you know.
If that is the case, then I would be satisfied with making it a one-bedroom on the first floor.
If it's denied by the ones we, I guess, apply for the building permits.
Other questions from the board?
Questions from our attorney?
No, Chair.
Questions or comments from the audience?
Virtual?
Do you let any hands with the Chair?
Planning Commission Ron Bednar city planning comprehensive plan recommends no change the existing RSA five residential zoning at this location, the applicant's property is close to commercial corridor and transit station and it's irregularly a lot large lot for zoning district, therefore the city planning commission recommends that the board grant variance for two family household living.
So, all right. So, MI 2024, 004-79-150 Brown Street. I vote yes with proviso. No bedrooms in the basement.
Are we saying no bedroom or no basement living?
So, Chair, if I could recommend a proviso to be no household living at the basement level?
Right. All right. So instead of bedrooms, no household living in the basement.
I don't agree with that. So how do I say I don't have a problem with what with household living in the basement in this situation?
Because you've got the clear, got the egress that works.
How do I how do I vote on that?
OK, so so let's let's let's let's go again.
I mean, it may not sound right, but where you are, Michael, you don't want bedrooms in the basement, are I correct?
So long as it complies, I really don't have a problem with the bedroom in the basement so long as it complies with code.
It's got a door that has a window, so it's got light and air, and it's got a full egress out to, you know, not just a window, it's a door.
So I actually like that better. So I don't have a problem with the health of living in the basement or bedroom so long as it complies.
OK, so let's. And if I may.
Here's what we'll do is that obviously we have a couple of different views of this.
What we'll do is we'll vote on this for you next Wednesday morning at 930.
next Wednesday morning. Do I need to be
Next Wednesday morning, do I need to be present?
present? You don't have to be present, but you
You don't have to be present, but you can listen in.
can listen in.
The case is closed
and we'll just vote on it next
Wednesday at 930. And then we'll figure out
where we stand, okay?
Thank you. Number 15.
2024-007-223-2858
North 26th Street.
John's is the owner applicant.
Mr. Chair, they have been promoted to Panama City. We'll be rejoining shortly.
Could you please state your name and spell for the sonographer?
Can you hear me?
I can.
Hi, I'm going to...
State your name as Bell for the stenographer.
My name is De'Ara Johns, D-I-E-R-A-H, last name J-O-H-N-S.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, sir.
So this application is for uses of two-family household living in an existing structure.
The proposed use, two-family household living, is prohibited in the RSA 5 zoning district.
Have you submitted all your appropriate exhibits?
Yes. Share your screen to start your presentation, please.
How do I?
There could be a green button on the bottom.
i think it's asking me to update my settings okay
it says zoom will not be able to record the content on your screen and until it isn't quit
let me see do we have a tech person can give her some advice
miss johns could you repeat the the message that came up for you
it was asking me to put something in quick okay you know how to make this bigger oh my goodness
that's all right that's no problem um do you have the documents that you want to share already open
on your computer i do can you see it okay so no not yet but um if you click that green share button
at the bottom of the screen it should ask you if you want to share a window or an application yeah
there you go beautiful thank you okay so the refusal um the permit we have your refusal we
see that okay so why don't you explain to us what you're trying to do so basically um 28 58 north
26th street um previously as of last year it was um it had a zoning um
usage that allowed it to be used as a multi-family however um i i was receiving
bills from the trash department and i couldn't understand why i was receiving the bill so when
I went to court to have the, to eliminate the bills. I received, I won the case. However,
I kept receiving bills. So when I reached out to my OP guy, I explained to him that the house was
zoned as a single family and that no one was living in a home and it continued to stand as
a single family. I didn't know that when I stated those things to him, that that was going to
interrupt my usage code I do have proof of those emails
and so he emailed me back and let me know that the usage
would be updated to 050
050 so that actually
interrupted my
the variance that I did have on there this was
the messages that I had from him and I
Could you show us photos of your property, please?
Oh, yeah, I can show you the photos of the property.
Let me reset.
So this is the front of the property.
I recently had the porch redone because there were some violations that I needed to get cleared up.
As you can see, on this side, there is an entrance to the first floor and then there is a basement.
As you can see on this side, there is an entrance to the first floor and then there's...
And then on this side, there is an entrance to the second floor and then third floor.
So that's why I said it already stands as a multifamily because it has two separate entrances, two separate electric water and all of that.
This is a side view of the property.
Another side view.
Another side view.
So, this is the first apartment. It was demoed last year when I was trying to get everything reconstructed. I'm still trying to get the funding to have this completed. So, this is the first floor. Towards the back, there was a bathroom back there, and then you see the door. That door leads out to the backyard.
Or, and on the side here where you can't, where like the refrigerator is, there's a stairwell that leads down to the basement and the basement also has a door as well.
This is the bathroom that I was talking about that's towards the back here.
This is the bathroom.
And this is like the forward facing.
So this would be the living room of the first floor apartment.
and this is the same thing the first floor this is just undemo same thing the first floor just
not demo and then you can see the entrance to the basement right here this is the entrance
of the second apartment this is the stairwell leads up to this right here is a bedroom and
here would be the kitchen and dining room area. This side is also the same floor, the living room
area. This is the bedroom I was referring to in this picture. This is the bedroom on the
second apartment, first, second floor. This is the stairwell that leads up to the third floor.
and this is the third floor hallway this is the bedroom within the third floor
this is the bathroom on the third floor
um i wasn't able to obtain pictures of the backyard because this door
um on the first floor apartment that leads to the backyard is nailed shut and then the gate
that leads to the boards the alleyway is also um locked up but i was for um given a picture by my
oh wait how long have you owned the property um so my father purchased it for me back in 2016
16, I didn't come into actually owning it and taking over until 2023.
Right.
I was too young to.
And it's been vacant since 16?
No, it hasn't been vacant since 16.
It's been vacant since I want to say 2020.
I received, I had to go through the board where I had to learn,
I learned that I had to get a vacant property license.
and then when I let him know that I was getting work done to it he told me that I would be okay
that I wouldn't need the vacant property license because I am getting permits to have the work done
for it but when I reached out to him because I was receiving a trash fees I didn't know that I
I couldn't find on the website anywhere that it was on for multifamily so when I did get a chance
to actually go through this process and speak to my rcl she explained to me well it's not going to
change the zoning it's going to change the zoning usage because to change the zoning i guess she said
that would be more work i had to go to before the city council so the usage was already prior to me
reaching out to the guy and explaining no a single family it was already um granted as a
as a um as a use for multi-family which is why i was receiving the trash bills there's also a um
so this was granted back in 1951 and i believe it was standing within that usage from 1951
but me being unaware that the usage code was what it was i kind of interrupted that
questions from the board I have a quick question so the RCO asks for interior trash storage
am I going to assume that the trash storage would be in the basement
um the trash storage um maybe it could be in a backyard um okay so the um one of the provisals
the trash storage maybe it could be in the backyard
that the rco said was that they wanted interior trash storage so do you have anywhere in the
interior that you could store the trash um yeah i can store it in the basement i'm i'm confused
by what you mean by trash storage um so the rco swamp poodle neighborhood parcels and she may be
here to back that up but they asked for a provision in order for your for them to support
this project and they said they wanted interior trash stores so that means they looking for you
to store the trash somewhere within the unit and i was just asking you do you have a place within
the unit to store the trash right i'm i'm i'm guess i'm not really understanding your question
if the purpose would be for them to rent it out so i would assume that they would have trash cans
and then they would take... So you would put
trash cans in the basement for the first
floor unit and
for each of your units?
Oh, yeah. They have some space in the basement for them to
store the trash before they take it out
to the curb? Oh, yeah.
That's fine. Is that something you're okay with?
Yes, that's fine. Okay. Does the second
floor unit have access to the basement?
Does the second unit?
Yeah. No, the second
unit doesn't have access to the basement or
the first floor. So the second unit,
I can go back to the picture
if you'd like me to do you have plans of what you're proposing to put back in yes
um second and then do you know roughly what's the square footage of the first and the second
floors um i have it all outlined here okay yeah this is the um basement um
okay so yeah this is the basement and then this is i guess the backyard because there is a door
here and steps up yep right so then this is the first first floor you come in this is the living
room you go downstairs that's the bed that's the um basement you come into the kitchen
and then bathroom and then a bedroom right here and then out the backyard
this is the second floor for the second apartment um
where's the okay so you go up the steps and then you have the living room here
i guess a washroom here the kitchen and then the bedroom
and then you come up the steps again you have the second bedroom the bathroom then that's just
open there's no um there's no room here there's like a door here there's no room okay
other questions from the board so do both uh units have access to the backyard
do both units have access to the backyard so one of the units currently have access to the backyard
with the back door which would be the first unit the second unit will not have access to the
backyard okay so just to help satisfy the rcl where would the second unit store their trash
because it seems like the first unit can do it stored in the basement or the backyard but the
second unit where would they store their trash basically you need a closet a vented closet or
something okay so yeah on the second floor there is like so before you go out well you can't go
out there is like a little closet here um i can show you go to the pictures it's fairly it's like
a good size so i can make that a storage but i'm i just never under i don't understand the idea
because i need to take your you got to put your trash somewhere you can't put it in front of the
house and they don't have access to the yard or access to the basement so where in your second
floor apartment would you store trash so there is this um closet right here on the third floor
that i could possibly put a trash can or some type of trash bins in there for them to store it in
there um is that a doorway on the third floor right here yes that is a doorway but it's going
will be closed off because let me see if I can go to the picture. I'm not sure why that
it was just like that when it was given to me.
And while you're pulling up the pictures I would just suggestion to
put all the permits on file because it does look like there were no permits on this when it was
put all the permits on file
because it does look like there were
converted. But if it was converted in 1951, that would make sense. Yeah, that's what it was. It
was converted long ago. Yeah, but even your demo currently, I would make sure you get permits.
Okay, no problem. This is that door on the third floor that goes out. So that's going to be
completely sealed off it's not going to be access to the roof unless the con the um architects
comes around and find a way to put a to make that an actual part of the third floor i was thinking
about that but right now then you'd be coming back the zoning right
one thing about your plan on the first floor having uh having to go through a
bedroom to go to a yard is horrible so if you're if you're in the process of looking at a plan you
should talk to your architect to make sure you don't have to walk through a bedroom to go to the
backyard to go to a bedroom to go to the backyard okay yeah all right yeah right
other questions um no but i will say that this board questions for this oh i will say the basement
also goes to the backyard as well.
There's a door in the basement that goes to...
I just don't have pictures of the basement because
there's a lot of stuff there.
Questions or comments from our attorney?
No, Chair.
Questions or comments from the audience?
I do not see any hands raised for this matter, Mr. Chair.
Planning Commission.
Ron Bednar, City Planning.
Well, the comprehensive plan recommends
no change to existing zoning
at this location,
Given the documented history and its physical condition of the site, I recommend the request of variance to be granted. Thank you.
Hello, Mr. Chair. I'm very sorry to interrupt you, but I have a hand up from a number ending in 3552, Mr. Fernandez, Ms. Adrian Fernandez.
Good morning, Adrian.
Hello?
adrian adrian you've already been sworn just for the record state your name
okay adrian fernandez swample to rco please proceed with your presentation
okay i just wanted to request um that the three provisos if they would be permitted
with this letter of support which are limit of two units fashion recycling stored indoors except
on collection days and no basement living no bedrooms in the basement thank you is there
anyone else in a virtual audience? Planning Commission, do you? Good. Okay. So MI 2024-007-223-2858
North 26th Street, I vote yes with proviso. Maximum two dwelling units, interior trash storage,
no household living in basement. Michael Johns, my vote is yes with provisos.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes with provisos. Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes with provisos.
tie when my vote is yes with provisos thank you thank you chair pardon the interruption um
items number 10 and 11. uh we had requests for spanish interpreters for each of those cases
the interpretation service is unable to provide interpreters for this hearing so we're going to
offer a short continuance for both of those cases to april 23rd at 2 p.m so if you could call those
out, please.
Can we break with you?
Number 10.
11. MI 2024-004-695-4708 East Roosevelt Boulevard. What's that date?
The date is April 23rd, 2025 at 2 o'clock p.m.
April 2025 at 2 o'clock p.m.
At number 11. MI 2024-004-699-4715 Pearson Avenue. That case is continued to do April 25.
April 23rd.
April 23 at 2 p.m.?
Correct. Thank you.
Number four, MI 2024-003-406-1406 East Point-Mencing Avenue.
The attorney is Rachel Dennis.
We will be coming back in as a panelist shortly, sir.
It will be coming back in as a panelist.
My counsel, could you please state your name and spell for the court sonographer?
Hi, good afternoon, members of the zoning board.
My name is Rachel Dennis.
I represent Skywide Real Estate LLC, and my name is spelled R-A-C-H-E-L.
Last name Dennis, D-E-N-N-I-S.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client relationship to the property?
My client is Skywide Real Estate LLC, and it's President Tim Gu, who is the owner of
the property at 1406 East Moyamensing Avenue.
Do you waive the reading of the refusal, and do you agree with the accuracy of it?
Okay, please start your presentation.
I also have my client here who I'd like to take his testimony as well as an expert who I'd like to take his testimony as well.
I'm just requesting, do they become part of the now?
Should I ask them to raise their hands?
Well, why don't you do this?
Why don't you start your presentation, then we'll bring them on when you're done.
Okay, great.
Good afternoon, members of the Zoning Board.
As I stated earlier, my name is Rachel Dennis, and I represent Skywide Real Estate LLC and
its president, Tim Gu, the owner of 1406 East Moya-Mensing Avenue, who is seeking a
variance to allow the completion of this renovation project.
This case is about rectifying an unintentional architectural oversight that led to the height
discrepancy.
tim relied on professionals licensed architects to ensure compliance but the architectural plans
miscalculated the building's height due to inaccurate documentation of the existing structure
and miscalculations of the the floor heights of that existing structure this mistake went
undetected through multiple approval stages including by the city of philadelphia which
allowed the property to pass the framing inspection the inspection stated that framing
was installed in accordance with approved plans and building code, so they moved forward with
the construction, thus showing the challenges and identifying the issue in this case. Now the
property stands at 40 feet 11 inches tall, just under 3 feet above the 38-foot height restriction
in RSA 5. Demolishing and reconstructing the top floor is really not a viable option here,
unfortunately. As you will hear, the building cannot be brought into compliance by reframing
the fourth floor, as doing so would create a ceiling height less than the code minimum.
In addition, it would create substantial financial burden for my client.
Additionally, the variance will not set a precedent for other properties to exceed height
limitations, as this issue is uniquely tied to these architectural miscalculations, rather
than an intentional attempt to evade zoning restrictions.
We have community support, as my clients collected signatures from neighbors.
Can I make a suggestion? If you would, in your presentation, maybe should show what you're talking about on the thing and stuff. Right. Okay.
Sure, sure. Yes, I would get that with testimony. We have community supporters. My clients collected signatures from neighbors who want to see the project completed.
Importantly, the height does not obstruct sunlight, alter the neighborhood's character, or negatively impact any adjacent properties.
As you can see in the picture, this is the building. It's already 75% complete. It was originally a three-story building, and it was renovated to become a four-floor building.
As you can see, this is what it looks like right now. This is the back of the property right in the middle here, and then these are pictures from the front of the property.
the red line in this picture shows where it cuts off because of there's also a deck that's not
actually part of the property kind of making the property look a little bit taller than it actually
is because there's this deck on top and that's the siding for the deck which is not obviously
part not part of the calculations in the height you will hear from my client tim goo he's the
homeowner who will testify about his reliance on professionals and how this issue could not have
been caught prior to substantial renovation of the home and the complete addition of the fourth
floor. You'll hear from our architectural expert, Jesse Smith, who's going to explain the
miscalculations by the original architect on the project, which ultimately led to this issue.
And finally, I'll bring in Annette Deutsch, who is the wife of Tim and who was planning to live
in the property, and will speak to the community support for the project's completion. We ask that
the board recognize the unique circumstances of this case and grant the requested variance
and grant the requested variance to allow Tim and Annette to complete their home and move into it.
to allow Tim and Annette to complete their home and move into it.
I would like to, you know, call Tim to testify and ask him a couple questions that might clarify for the board some of the issues that occurred in this case.
Tell me what happened when you went to the RCO. Did you go to the RCO?
Yes, yes, we went to the RCO and we presented there.
And, you know, by the end of the RCO meeting, there was an opposition related to the height.
There was quite a kerfuffle about people being concerned that it was going to be an Airbnb, which isn't the issue here.
And it's not going to be an Airbnb that requires special permitting.
So by the end of the meeting, everyone there was either in support or they just at that point said they didn't oppose.
They wanted the building to be complete and finalized.
You know, we left feeling pretty good about the RCO.
So they submitted their letter. Ultimately, the letter says that there is community support and that there is specific individuals that came up and expressed their concern with the fact that the zoning permit was passed, that the framing inspection happened and that was passed.
And then this fourth floor was constructed based on that. And so they wanted to know why at that point it had passed the framing inspection, shouldn't it have been caught?
And I think that really outlines the complexity of the height of this house. But nobody at the RCO meeting had an issue with the actual height. The building's a beautiful building and, you know, they're kind of excited to see it complete so that it's no longer, you know, looking like a construction area.
Ultimately, the RCO did oppose, basically saying that they, I'll let them speak for
themselves if they're here on why they opposed it, but it was not because of lack of community
support.
Okay, so you want to bring your client on to adopt your testimony and take additional
testimony?
What is the client's name, may I ask?
Tim Gu.
Okay, then we'll be rejoining us in Panama shortly.
Thank you.
Hi, could you please state your name, sir, and spell for the stenographer?
My name is T-I-A-N-Y-U-A-N.
My last name is G-U.
Tianyangu.
do you swear or firm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
yes please proceed counsel good afternoon tim uh can you tell me your relationship
to the property at 1406 east moya mensing avenue um yeah so me and my wife um plan to move into
this property once it's built and we yeah that's and are you the owner and president of skywide
real estate llc that's right i am can you describe the nature of the renovation project at 1406 east
moya mensing avenue um yeah we uh nature you mean like how many floors and whatnot yeah what was
the basis of the project what was it going to look like and and what you know was it a renovation
versus rebuild can you just explain to the board a little bit about what the project was
yeah basically uh we we we bought we bought this house and then um planning to have our family
move in here me and my wife's gonna live on the property and then we're gonna have how
other family members potentially live with us and then we um because so we we our understanding is
that we are allowed to build a fourth story um so so so we um based off that fab we designed
our home um for the master to be on the fourth floor and then the guests our family live on the
third floor. And the second floor will be kind of like the family gathering area. And the first
floor will just kind of be kind of like an entry area, decoration area. And then that's pretty much
what our original plan was. And the fourth floor, was that supposed to be a master bedroom? What's
on the fourth floor? The fourth floor is going to be where me and my wife is going to live. It's
going to be the master bedroom. So there's no other, on the third floor, there was never any
master bedroom created, correct? No, because it was for like guests and family, friends and whatnot.
So when you were looking into renovating the property, did you hire an architectural firm
to do the plans and drawings of what the property would look like with a fourth floor?
Yeah. So when we hired the architect Plato Associates, we basically, you know,
show them this is what we wanted to do um we because um so they said that everything is okay
we can do a four story um we are able to you know that that that's when we you know thinking yeah
we are able to you know that that's when we you know thinking you know we have to put like a
we have to put like a
master on the fourth floor so that way it makes sense for the layout for the entire building
great and i want to put i would like to put a document up on the screen so i'll stop share
my current screen and then share this document here yeah great and
And Tim, does this document look familiar to you?
This is the plan that the architect wrote.
And do you see that there's a plan approval in the corner, a sticker in the bottom left corner?
The city approved it.
um and at any point did plato studio tell you that it would not be feasible
due to zoning requirements to add a fourth floor to the pre-existing structure
um and you know looking at this document did they create this drawing and plans that included
the fourth floor? Yes, they do.
And to your knowledge, you know, was it your understanding that these plans complied with
the zoning height requirement of 38 feet? That's right. And do you have any background
in architecture? You have a degree in architecture? No, I do not. I went to school for finance.
Did you have any reason to believe that your home would not be in compliance with the zoning
height restriction? Not at the moment when I first started the project. And you, you know,
as the company that built it, you built it according to the structural plans that were
provided to you by Plato Studios. That's right. And in order to move forward with the renovation,
you were required to also pass framing inspection? That's right. Wish I already passed it.
And I'd like to share another document on the screen.
Tim, are you able to see this document?
yes i am are you familiar with this document yes um i i met with the inspector on site and then
he passed me um and this this is the inspection report for the framing correct right and can you
read to me the inspector's comments in this document framing install in accordance with
approved plant and building code fire blocking and draft stock install where you required great
Right. And this was normal to you. You know, any project that you've ever done, this was what looks like a normal inspection.
Pretty standard. There's nothing crazy going on.
So when did you first learn about the height discrepancy?
So I guess one day the inspector, this specific inspector called me and just say, there's an issue.
He want me to meet me on site. And then me and he met on site.
and then he he he didn't bring a tape so i actually provided with him with a laser tape
and then um and then me and him went upstairs and then he was saying that they they have received a
report saying that our building is taller than what it's supposed to be so then me and him on
site measured it we we weren't even we weren't really able to measure the exact height of the
building so we actually measured it from the third floor so when we measure on the third floor
approximately is like a couple of feet taller.
That's when they say, well, you know, I'm sorry,
I have to stop this work right now.
So, and then you have to figure out from there.
That's when I find out, you know,
the building was built too tall.
And how far along was construction at that point?
That's, we are ready for drywall.
So that's the point where we are ready for drywall is like,
the next thing we're going to do is drywall.
But he stopped me before I was able to put the drywall in.
And would you say like if you had to give that a percentage of, you know, out of the house being built 100 percent, what percentage was the house built?
I would say at least like 75 percent, 80 percent done. Framing, electrical, everything is in, you know, windows on site.
I'm just going to put in the drywall and then just finish that. That's it. We're done.
What would it take to bring the building into compliance without a variance?
my understanding is i had to remove uh i have to remove the fourth floor and then i have to remove
um i have to change the layout of the entire building because um because of i have a fourth
floor i actually had like a tall ceiling on the second floor but i had to take everything down
take everything down and then basically we lay out the building and then take the floor down
and then basically lay out the building and then take the floor down to
to so you would also have to take the third floor down correct
um and what impact would that have on you financially and logistically um i just don't
have the money right now to do it just because i had a budget and then i i'm running out of
the money and then i'm paying for a loan um it's been two years i'm paying for like a high interest
long right now just to get this project done and I've been waiting you know it's just to get
something so pretty much I don't really have any plan I don't I don't really have the money to get
everything done. And you are planning to move into this home you were planning to move into it a year
ago when it was almost supposed to be complete where are you currently residing? So right now
I'm in an Airbnb with my wife we're just kind of waiting to get this to get approved and to get
this house built and then me and my wife can actually move into it um have you spoken to
the neighbors about the issue um yes i did and but my wife is the person who went around and
talked to the neighbor if you want to bring him on um and what would it mean to you to be granted
the variance uh you say what what it means yeah what would it mean to you to be granted the
variance? I think that it would change my life because right now I don't have anywhere to go.
I'm willing to get on to move into the building. I don't have any money to pay down the building.
I mean, I think it would just be life-changing for me. Thank you, Tim.
Do you need to, which architect are you bringing on? A new architect or the one who designed the
building? I have a new architect who reviewed the original plans that were set out by the
original architect you're bringing him on now yes all right name of the architect uh jesse smith
excuse me they'll be coming back in as a panama shortly thank you
good morning mr chair and the board hi could you please state your name and spell for the
stenographer yes my name is jesse smith j-e-s-s-e-s-m-i-t-h wait do you swear or firm that
the whole truth the whole truth nothing but the truth yes i do please proceed counsel thank you
hi jesse um can you give me a little bit of background about your education sure um so i'm
the principal of jls architects i have a degree in architecture i'm a registered architect who
focuses the majority of my work in the greater philadelphia area and my team and i work on about
100 plus projects a year in philadelphia and um where do you currently work
i'm currently located in glenside pennsylvania and what's your title at the firm that you work
at i'm the principal of jls architects can you um explain the nature of your investigation
into the height discrepancy at 1406 east moyamensing avenue absolutely and if i may
i will also share my screen of the discrepancy document
so we prepared a document showing the discrepancy in the height between what was documented by
mr gu's architect and the actual field conditions and i want to go through those items and explain
how we got to where we are today so one of the main issues is that the average grade plane wasn't
being accurately reflected in the original documents. Mr. Gu has a property where from
the sidewalk at the front of his house to the rear door exiting into his backyard, there's a
two-foot change in grade. And what that means for us is the average ground level is not actually at
the sidewalk, it's actually a foot taller. And that's going to become more relevant as we start
talking about how we dimension the height of the building. And as neighbors and the Civic Association
and Mr. Gu dropped a tape measure from the top of the building and measured that height, that's
not accurately reflective of where the average grade plane is on the project. So we analyzed that
and said, where do we come up with such a large bust? Pennsport Pacific Association acknowledged
that there was a assumed bust of about four feet, eight inches. And we're here today to explain that
that bust is actually much less and it's much closer to about two feet, 11 inches. Still a
zoning bust, but less severity than has been documented. The documented dimension between the
first floor and the second floor, according to Mr. Gu's architectural drawings, was eight feet
nine inches. In reality, that dimension is actually nine foot two inches. That bust of five inches is
something that Mr. Gu was not aware of until this issue came to light. As we move up each floor of
until this issue came to light. As we move up each floor of the building, that documented bust
the building.
becomes greater and greater. So on the second floor and the third floor, there was also a
architectural drawing that showed that height as 8 foot 9. It was actually 10 foot 2. So we take
the 5 inch bust from before, and now we're adding another bust of 17 inches. Similarly, when we get
up to the third floor and the fourth floor, third floor was documented as 8 foot 9. It's again 10
foot two, another bust of one feet, five inches. The fourth floor and the underside of the roof
was documented at eight feet, which meant that Mr. Gu would have an eight foot ceiling in his
finished building. It's actually on site today at the lowest point, seven feet, 11 inches. So that
was an inch that worked in our favor. So this decreases the building height by one inch.
Something else that we uncovered during our investigation was that the roof structure
documented as part of the sign and sealed architectural drawings from Mr. Gu's architect
documented the roof to be about one foot thick. However, structural details and further architectural
details that Mr. Gu followed ended up requiring that assembly to be about one feet two inches
thick, which added an additional dimensional bust of two inches. And lastly, we had a roof structure
that was documented without a drainage pitch. So when Mr. Gu built the roof according to code
standards and best practices, he added a quarter inch per foot slope to the roof, which means that
the roof is a little bit higher at the front of the building and a little bit lower at the rear
of the building. That distance between the front and the back as measured in this angle over here
is about one feet four inches. So what happens is we add all these dimensional busts up and we come
up with what is a perceived bust of four feet eight inches. And we believe this is what Pennsport
Civic Association had documented. However, the issue at hand, which I'll zoom in a little bit
further on this document, is that we're not actually measuring from the average grade plane
as I originally noted. So the average grade plane is plus one foot above the sidewalk.
When we measure from that plus one foot up to the top of the roof, we're coming up with a height
that goes from our average grade level of one foot up to the top of roof at 41 feet 11 inches.
We subtract those two numbers and we get a building height that is permitted to be 38 feet, but in this case is actually 40 feet 11 inches. So we have a bust of 2 feet 11 inches. Are there any questions on that so far?
No, Jesse, if you would just also explain what documents you reviewed in order to come to this conclusion related to the miscalculation in the floor levels.
Absolutely. So we reviewed the documents prepared by Plato Studios, the sign-sealed architectural drawings, we reviewed the sign-sealed structural drawings, and we reviewed on-site measurements that were provided to us by Mr. Gu and his contracting team.
um so part of the problem here to break it down in pretty simple terms is that the original
architect that mismeasured the floor it's had the wrong measurements of the floor so when they said
you could add a fourth floor being eight you know eight feet tall um it would have made it above the
um the height for you know the the height maximum um but and because their calculations were off
though they expressed in their original drawings that it would not be is that correct that is
correct. And would these miscalculations be apparent to the builder at the time of construction?
No, they likely wouldn't be apparent to the builder at the time of construction because
the intent of this project was to match the existing floor levels. So in the field,
the contractors are intending to match the existing first, second, and third floor of
the existing house. And those minor discrepancies often go unnoticed until we're at a moment like
this. Would it be possible to add a fourth floor to this property in compliance with zoning height
requirements without first lowering the height of the pre-existing building floors? No, it would
not. So as I mentioned, the existing height at that fourth floor today on site is seven feet,
11 inches. So we're just above the code minimum for habitable space. In order to come into
compliance and drop the fourth floor by the two foot, 11 inches that's needed, that would create
a fourth floor ceiling that would be five feet. In your professional opinion, is this something
that an architect would normally catch and advise the client of when they're doing the initial mock
up? It should have been something in my opinion, it should have been something that would have
been caught during a professional field survey. And that part was unfortunately missed. And
now we're suffering those repercussions. Would it be possible to bring the building
into compliance by reframing the fourth floor? No, it would require removing the third floor
and the fourth floor framing and lowering those by that difference of about a foot and a half each.
In your opinion, how does this situation differ from maybe a situation where someone deliberately builds beyond the zoning limits?
In your opinion, how does this situation differ from maybe a situation where
I don't think there was intent for any harm.
This is something where the architecture team and Mr. Gu were assuming that the height of the building, as per the sign seal drawings, was accurate.
And they unfortunately didn't know that the height was not reflective of their documented height.
And in your opinion, is this something that normally would have been caught at the framing inspection by the city?
It could have been caught during the framing inspection.
That's up in the air as to whether or not it would have definitely been caught.
But those things sometimes are caught during the framing inspection.
They're sometimes caught like they are now by more of a community involvement.
Thank you.
And I'd just like to, you know, to the extent that it needs to be, I'd like to offer this document that's on his screen into the record as an exhibit in this case.
All right. Thank you.
Exhibit one. Thank you.
Is your presentation done, Counsel?
I would just like to actually call Annette Deutsch, that's Tim's wife, and just take her testimony real quickly.
And then I'll conclude my presentation.
But Tim's wife will be the same testimony, am I right?
No, she's going to talk about, she's the one who canvassed the neighborhood, and there's a petition that she got signed.
Okay, go ahead. Please, let's try to move this one.
Yes, I'll move it along. Thank you.
Her name's Annette Deutsch. She should be in the waiting room.
You should be patting this down.
Ms. Deutsch, are you present?
Hello.
Hello.
you're allowed to speak i could you please state your name and spell for this stenographer
hey we're having some internet problems annette are you there
there. That's fine, Tim, you can have her on. I believe that's
I don't know. Could you please state your name is spelled for
the stenographer. So my name is Annette Deutsch. Can you speak up a little bit, please? Can you
hear me? A little bit closer to the mic, if you would. I don't know where the mic is.
Okay. So my name for the record is Annette Deutsch, spelled last name D-E-U-T-S-C-H.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
yes please proceed counsel I'm just going to share my screen
hi Annette can you tell me your relationship to the homeowner and to the property at 1406
East Moy-Mensing Avenue I can't hear you Annette can you can you repeat that
I'm his wife.
I think she's going to have to find a way to get closer to the mic.
We're having a hard time hearing her.
I'm his wife.
And it is your plans to move into the property with Tim?
And, you know, what efforts have you made to speak with the neighbors about this variance request?
So I went around the entire neighborhood and collected signatures from for support and explained to them the situation with why we are running into this discrepancy.
And how did the neighbors respond when you spoke with them generally?
So generally, most of the neighbors were in support. I collected, I believe, four pages of signed support from the neighbors. There was no discrepancy when it came to the reasoning for the building.
So generally, most of the neighbors were in support.
Um, did you show them a picture of the building when you were explaining the request for the
variance? Yes. I had a printed out paper. I had all the documentation to show them,
um, for any evidence as I was explaining. And, um, does this document on the screen
look familiar to you? Yes. Can you explain what this document is?
So this is the petition that I was handing out to the neighbors to be able to write their name, address, how to reach them, and if they were in support or against.
And this document, again, is four pages of signed signatures. Is that correct?
And then you also have a couple letters in support as well. Is that correct?
uh yes and uh those are up on the screen is one from gregory jones
yeah and he lives on east moyamensing avenue yes um one from suzanne ward
on third street and one from looks like uh crystal fair
at Dickinson. Yes. That's all. That's all I have for you. And I'd just like to introduce
this document into the record exhibit two. All right. Thank you. Questions from the board.
Yes. I have two questions. One, when the roof pitch was added, was that documented
in the building plan record um in the original architectural plan it was not documented there
i know ellen i listed that on the on the permit um but i i believe in the ultimate permit request
and tim can you clarify that question whether or not in the the the ellen i permit that did have
the um the pitched roof so on lmi permit it doesn't have but it's required by building code
like i mean we have to pitch the water on the roof somewhere but on the lmi document the roof
says it's flat if you know that part i understood but i'm asking did you get documentation or did
your contractor just add it in the field i i guess they just added in the field got it and
then my second question is did you have a construction administration contract when
you were under construction uh i don't have a construction administrative contract you mean
like somebody managing it. It's supposed to be the architect. So was Plato studio hired to do
construction administration during construction and sign off on the contractor's invoices?
That's not, I don't think that's typical, but. It is. That's actually pretty standard
construction process, but thank you for that answer my questions. Other questions from the
couple questions um was there a site survey done initially a topo survey yeah i believe
i think plato was a person who came out to do the survey they did they did a survey or had
their sub consultant do a survey so they would have been they came out to measure the building
so no one did a topos all right to determine the grades
no i i didn't know that they they can and measure everything i don't know like that
can you go back to the um the original plan that the cover sheet
i just want yeah let me i'll be happy to do that for you just and
And as you were going through the testimony, it sounded as if the floor to floor to or the ceiling heights on floors had changed from eight feet to nine feet to nine feet or eight feet to 10 feet.
And I can't imagine that during construction, a contractor didn't notify you of the difference between an eight foot height ceiling and to go to a nine foot height ceiling.
the cost of lumber is going to be different so that's that's a little worrisome to me that a
contractor would would spend more money on materials to build higher ceilings wait it that's
not that's not true though because particularly particularly since they have a set of plans that
have certain heights and and and you're you're building higher floor to floor to ceiling heights
and and and you're you're building higher floor to floor to ceiling heights that's that's that's
That's that's that's.
a little odd to me um did you pull up can you pull up that sheet the coverage not not second
if i could clarify uh this was not a build from the ground up so they didn't build the first
three floors they only built the eight foot floor at the top which the actual measurements of the
final floor was seven foot 11. So they weren't, they didn't build each floor and get the, you
know, for that, they just built the fourth floor above the pre-existing structure.
Post-single-family dwelling and a three-story building, right?
Modifications of existing three-story building.
So what part was, so three floors were existing and you were building a fourth floor?
If I can clarify, this is Jesse Smith, the expert witness. I'll pull up this comparative section. So the hatched area on either side, this is as it was drawn from Plato Studios on the left, and this is the actual, what we'll refer to as, as built on the right.
So the explanation of why the existing.
The shaded area is existing.
That is correct.
So why is the existing different from the existing on your point?
So that's a discrepancy from Mr. Gu's architect. So his architect documented it on the left. They built it. And upon building it, they realized that there was a discrepancy between what was documented and what the actual conditions are. And that is a height difference from actual documented of three foot three.
Okay, so the floor-to-floor heights and the floor-to-ceiling heights in actuality of the existing building are different than what was drawn initially.
That is correct.
So that height difference of 3 foot 3 inches is what we're trying to analyze.
And through that 3 foot 3 inches, we have a height bust of 2 foot 11 inches.
other questions from the board is the original facade intact it's wrapped in the images that
we've seen 10
yeah the original facade it's uh it's not intact we actually took the original facade of the front
down and then that the only um demolition that was done uh yeah that's the only demolition and
i guess the um the back of the house was uh demo too the back of the house but the middle of the
houses keep the same was there an extension done to the existing floor plates extension yeah the
fourth floor and the front front of the house is an extension yeah wait a minute but based on this
and I'm stuck. So the shaded area is the existing
house, correct? So there's an addition on both
ends, an addition on the height for fourth
floor. Yeah. So the house has been sort of almost
doubled in size. Okay. All right.
Questions or comments from our attorney?
No, Chair. Questions or comments from the virtual audience and their
current audience here?
yeah i have a handle from craig melanosian i'm about them to speak uh i right now i have somebody
from uh uh pensport
could you turn on your mic please just for the record state your name and spell for the
stenographer sure my name is pat fitzmaurice p-a-t-r-i-c-k f-i-t-z-m-a-u-r-i-c-a
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Please start your presentation and identify your representation of it.
Good morning, board.
My name is Pat Fitzmarice.
I'm the president of the Penn Sports Civic Association, so we're the RCO involved in this.
We submitted our letter a few months ago, and then we resubmitted it yesterday just for clarity.
I think our position and the reasons for it are pretty obvious in that letter, so I'll try to keep my remarks brief.
I just wanted to note in response to some of the comments made today, the owner of this building is Skywide Real Estate LLC.
It's not a person.
The contractor is Skywide Real Estate LLC.
That's noted on the materials that were just presented.
So they own it as a business.
They built it as a business.
They submitted documents to the city.
They didn't build in conformity with it.
And they got caught.
And now it sounds like they almost want to be rewarded for it.
Um, I know there's been comments about the individuals that live in this, but right now
I know there's been comments about the individuals that live in this, but right now that's just
that's just not what's reflected on Atlas.
When you look up the owner, um, you know, there was a mention about not being able to
pay the house until they finish it.
I don't know how that's possible if they're going to live in it or what their plans are,
but there's just a lot of conflict, I think, between what's being represented and what's
showing up on paperwork.
Um, I would note that if you go on the skywide real estate LLC webpage, they hold themselves
out as a builder in philadelphia of building houses i know that at our meeting they represented
and they represent on their website if you look up their portfolio that they built a house in
pence for well mercy street we wrote a letter for that and didn't oppose it because we just don't
randomly oppose things um but for this i mean like i said earlier i think that this is just
a situation where they built they got caught and now they're just seeking to be rewarded
um the only justification i heard was a financial one which they caused um so as far as hardship
goes which is the metric we're supposed to be looking at i just don't see it being present here
um as far as the height in our letter um we didn't go out and measure this building
um that figure either came from the city or from the applicant themselves um
i would just note that and i think the board's kind of picking up on this everything here is
kind of focused on this fourth floor um again this llc decided to put a fourth floor on um that was
their decision and obviously they built non-conformity um the last thing i'll just
mention and again this is in our letter but as far as the petition that was put up on the screen
and the prompt it says that this is by right obviously that's not the case here um so i just
wanted to kind of point that out for the board so i would just rely on the letter that we submitted
for any other questions or comments.
Counselor, do you have any questions?
No, you're on.
Can I ask one question?
So can I ask one question?
So is that true that this is owned by this company
and the company is the builder?
Yes, I represent Skywide Real Estate.
I apologize that that wasn't clear.
That was not our intention.
Well, no, it wasn't.
I mean, and probably I should have read up
and saw it clearly,
but it that is even more disturbing right and this that didn't let me finish that this that this
entity is a builder and and built something that doesn't the plans don't match what's built
and and they're a builder that's problematic it's it's not it it was presented almost as if
I'm this sort of homeowner and while I didn't know my Sylvia architect right didn't didn't
prepare plans correctly and oh by the way the guy that built it kind of just built stuff because you
know that's what he does and kind of didn't match and let me do it but the fact that it's the
builder and the owner is the builder that's problematic and that's that's i mean you don't
have to respond that's that's just that's just a comment that's just no i would yes i would like
to respond um the first question that i asked mr you is what his relation was to the company and
the building and the property, which is that he's the president of Skywide Real Estate. He is
planning on, he built this property, it's different than his other properties because he built this
property to live in with his wife. And he's testified under oath today that he will be the
one residing there and living there. So he's here both as the, you know, the builder who owns Skywide,
you know, he's the builder, he's president of Skywide Real Estate. And, you know, he ran the
project. That's not something that we're trying to hide from. That's just a fact here. But he is
planning on moving in, so to the extent that that wasn't clear, I thought that it was, and I
apologize if it was unclear to the board. I don't want to go back and forth, so I understand.
Well, and my final statement would just be that he's not an architect, though, and this was an
issue that, as you heard Mr. Smith discuss, that this is an issue that normally would not necessarily
be picked up by a builder who was just adding that floor there, and so this is an architect
issue that he's not the architect. He did hire the architect and that's part of it, but he expected
them to do the job according to what he hired them for. The issue is that he did not have
construction administration, which is the point when the architect would catch that. I also want
to know that I pulled up the original sale listing from Redfin and the heights of the original
building were not 10 foot two. So I think there's a lot of things. I think that the plan that we're
looking at is the existing conditions based on what has been constructed
and is not the original condition of the building at sale, which is the issue
today. Other questions from the audience?
Yes, Mr. Chair, I have a hand up from Craig Maladossi and I have allowed
them to speak.
Craig.
I'm sorry, you can proceed
I have another hand up from Dakota Callick
Is there anyone else in the audience?
yeah decola cock i've allowed them to speak sure hello can everyone hear me hi yeah i can't could
you please state your name and spell for the stenographer yes my name is dakota d-a-k-o-t-a
last name is callick k-a-l-e-c-k would you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing but the truth i do all right are you in favor of this project or against i'm in favor
Okay, could you give us a quick reason why?
Yeah, the only reason I'm in favor, I mean, I can't speak to what everybody else has spoken to.
I'm not an architect, and I'm not a builder.
I'm just a neighbor.
I know Tim.
Tim's a good builder, and I am a neighbor here locally in Pennsport.
The project looks amazing.
It looks beautiful, but it's been halted for a long time.
My only concern is if based on what everyone's saying, if you'd have to bring the fourth floor down and it creates such a financial hardship, if the current owner can't complete the project, it's going to sit a lot longer.
And I'm not sure that any additional builder will be able to pick it up financially as well.
So my only concern is just I would love for the property to be done and finished with.
It's created somewhat of a construction site there, which I see every day.
And I think that if we had to go through the hardship of taking it down and the owner is not able to do so, it's just going to sit for a lot longer.
Thank you very much for taking the time to call us. Is there anyone else in the audience?
Yes, Mr. Chair, a Daniel Evanchen.
How many more hands do you have?
Just one after him.
All right, sir, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Yes, Daniel Evanchen, E-V-E-N-C-H-E-N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Are you a neighbor?
I am. I live at 1421 South 2nd Street.
Are you in favor of this or against?
I am in favor.
All right. Any different reasons than what we've heard?
The only thing I'll add to the previous, I believe his name was Dakota's reasoning, which is the same as mine, is the property prior to construction and now currently, as it's just been sitting boarded up,
has become a little bit of a hotspot for vagrants.
And so walking my dog at night past this property
feels rather unsafe.
I would love for this to be a finished project
and a home in the community.
So that way, you know, it is no longer attracting,
I'll call it unsavory behavior.
Thank you very much for taking the time.
Do we have one more hand?
Yes, Mr. Chair.
Patrick Williams, I've allowed him to speak.
hi could you please state your name is spelled for the stenographer
so i'm gonna start working on that Patrick Williams
Mr. Williams you're breaking up
Mr. Williams
thank you
Mr. Williams
yes Patrick Williams
P-A-T-R-I-C-K-W-I-L-I-A-M-S
That's where we're referring to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth.
Yes, sir.
Are you in favor of this project or against?
In favor.
Thank you very much for calling us.
We appreciate it.
Planning Commission.
Sir, Ron Bednar, City Planning.
The comprehensive plan recommends a change in zoning at this location to RSA 5, Residential Single Family, to RM1, Residential Multifamily.
the applicant has not shown that complying with the height requirements in RSA 5 district would
cause a detriment to the property. The City Planning Commission therefore recommends that
the board deny the proposed height variance. Okay. Counsel, you're still here? Yes, I'm here.
All right. Counsel, we're going to hold this vote until next Wednesday so the board can really have
some time in the executive session to talk about exactly where we stand next Wednesday at 9 30 a.m.
we will do the vote okay okay thank you thank you okay we're going to do number 16 MI 2024
007 230 635 West Roosevelt Boulevard Lynette Marie Santiago is the attorney
Lynette Marie Santiago is the attorney.
Good morning.
Good morning.
We're sorry we left you there so long.
Could you please state your name as spelled with a stenographer?
Good morning, everyone.
My name is Lynette Santiago-Lorenz, L-Y-N-E-T-T-E-S-A-N-T-I-A-G-O, and here with me are Todd Philippi, the church's architect, and I represent the applicant, Zion Assembly of God.
Excuse me, this is the court reporter. Could I ask the attorney to pull the microphone closer to her? Thank you.
Absolutely, thank you.
Again, I'm Lunette Santiago. I represent the applicant, Zion Assembly of God, the church.
My name is L-Y-N-E-T-T-E-S-A-N-T-I-A-G-O.
And here with me are the applicant's architect, Todd Phillippe, and Pastor Jose Colon, the church's pastor.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
I do, sir.
Do you waive the reading of the refusal? Do you agree with its accuracy?
Absolutely.
Why don't you share your screen and start your presentation?
This is Ian Haggerty, the director.
This application, I believe, has a revised plan that includes a pretty significant change
in the amount of additional square footage that's being proposed.
And we believe that this might require a new refusal.
Is that your understanding, counsel?
that it would require a new refusal yeah i i think what why don't we do you have the numbers
there uh the original application was for a 300 square foot edition whereas their proposed plans
show it's 1771 square foot edition is that is that accurate why don't you bring your architect
Yes. Thank you. Sir, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer? It's Todd
Phillippe, T-O-D-D-P-H-I-L-L-I-P-P-I. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth,
the whole truth, nothing but the truth? Yes, I do. Please counsel, I ask your questions so we
see where we can start. Would you kindly identify yourself and modest your relations with the
applicant? Yes, I am. When do you get a little closer? Principal architect for church architects,
I've been specializing in churches for 25 years, have been licensed in Pennsylvania since 1987, have testified at multiple zoning hearings throughout the state, represented the church for architecture for the last about 12 years.
We had previously received a zoning approval for the same type of application regarding parking.
The reason that the proviso was submitted afterwards is that our first effort was to get the denial for the parking.
We knew that was the one area we would not comply in order that the church could re-approach the city about obtaining the vacant land surrounding the church.
It's part of the Logan Triangle. And about 12 years ago, they had been told that they would be given land as part of the redevelopment that was proposed in order to put parking.
So the first step that we needed was to get substantiation to go to the council person to let them know that the church cannot do their project by right without the parking in hopes that it would begin negotiations again in order to get the adjacent land.
that was not successful not because the council person was not in favor of it but because
they really had no authority to be able to do anything relative to the land
so in order to expedite the denial from zoning we removed that section of the plan just so that we
could get the denial the inclusion of that will not require a variance for the only rejection
that we would get, again, would be for the parking, for the 31 parking spaces that would
be required.
So from that standpoint, we did not want to appear before the board without showing the
same project that was shown to the community board when we met with them, and they supported
the project.
So that is the reason why we added the proviso, so that it would not be a different building
than we showed to the community group.
than we showed to the community group this is what the church would like to construct
This is what the church would like to consider.
it does comply with zoning with the exception of the parking and so that's why we are here for that
one very council i i i think ultimately we would need an amended refusal to to go forward yes so
the issue um i'm sorry to say is that we are not in a position to be able to verify that there is
There are no additional refusals generated by the proviso plan, correct?
So only L&I has the authority.
And so there's going to have to be a process for which a plan examiner looks at the amended plans
and then determines whether or not it generates additional refusals,
which would need to be considered by the board.
The board can't take up consideration of the project because if it approves the proviso plans,
it's thereby granting a variance for everything that's been considered here and we've skipped a
step of identifying potential additional refusals it um and we can't just take your word on it so i
you know with my apologies i i do believe that you will need to leave to amend this um uh with the
with lni and receive an amended refusal before the board can consider it in that event would we be
able to get a remove the provisio from it and get the variance just for the 31 parking spaces and
then it would be our obligation to come before this board again should there be another issue
raised by the zoning hearing so we would remove the procedure i i mean ultimately if you're willing
to proceed with with the original plans and and and not you know provide the not proceed with the
revise plans, then yes.
So we're talking about just parking?
Yes. Correct.
Great. All right. Why don't you start?
We'll keep it right to parking,
okay? Okay, great.
and madams,
this is a fairly simple case.
Basically, the church
right now, the sanctuary
is located on the
lower floor of the basement, so
So we would like to switch the sanctuary to be part of the main level, and I'm happy to
show you pictures.
And right now Sunday school is being held on the main level.
So we would like to switch the levels to put Sunday school in the basement and allow accessibility
for other lead members and anyone that needs assistance to be able to take an elevator
and go to services on the first floor.
But aren't we aren't we just doing parking?
Correct sir.
it was denied because it's cmx 3 and it requires 31 parking spots right okay continue
so the building has been there my understanding is for a very long time over 100 years old and
the church has been there for nearly 40 years sir and i will go ahead and oh by the way so the rco
does support our application as well as cancel woman bass and i will uh hand it over to our
architect Todd to explain the projects and the scope? So the the building was originally intended
if you can bring up maybe the photo of the front of the building the building was originally
intended to have a sanctuary on the what would be considered the main level and it was built with a
temporary roof over top of that and this is going back now about a hundred years and that
floor that was determined to be the future sanctuary is where the sunday school classes
are now currently and the church has been meeting in the basement it has a capacity of 190 seats
in the basement our intention is to construct the church on that floor that it was intended
to be and it would have a capacity of 299 seats and for that we would need 31 parking spaces at
the required ratio of one to ten there is no place on the property where parking can be constructed
parking has been on the street for the last hundred well maybe not a hundred years but
parking has been always on the street for the church currently there are no constructed
properties surrounding the church. It's all part of this Logan Triangle. All the parking today is
on the street. It would continue on the street. And so that's why we're asking for the variance
from the requirement to construct 31 parking spaces. Questions from the board? What would
be the plan once the Logan Triangle is redeveloped? The hope would be to be able to get
hope would be to be able to get parking to get property next to the church to be able to construct
parking to get property
parking and would the plan be in the future to consolidate the lots with whatever the new parking
lot is yes other questions no so i may add ambassador cologne if you could kindly confirm
uh the previous pastor passed away but they were in conversations with the land bank sure
With the land bank or with the developer of the site?
Because you said both in your previous testimony.
Why don't you let him be next to the mic?
First of all, could you state your name?
My name is Jose Colon, J-O-S-E, last name C-O-L-O-N.
Do you swear or affirm the tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Please proceed.
I believe our late pastor, he was in conversations with the Redevelopment Authority.
who he was dealing with in reference to the land.
Do you know what year that was and if it was before or after the city's RFP
for the property in 2012?
I want to say it was 2012.
And then when the subsequent RFP went out in 2016
and it was awarded to Goldenberg Group,
had you been in conversation with the then DeLavella prior to the site?
I could not answer that.
Our pastor, he was the one dealing with that,
and he's no longer with us.
understood right any other questions questions I would just note that you
know or it is inclined to vote yes that the proviso be made that that this is
just for the original plans and I think what I'm what we're going to do is if we
go through this the vote the next week next Wednesday and then we'll have what
we want to say in the positive way okay questions or comments from the virtual
sure um okay so you're saying that you're going to switch the floor so that the services will be
on the first floor and you're going to increase the number of seats um well i guess so where are
people parking now and now you're going to have this increase of uh what another 100 people or
so where are these people going to uh park the the parking is now on the street the parking would
continue on the street it's surrounded by uh both 7th street which currently is blockaded off at the
end and then also on wyoming avenue so there's vacant property all around and the parking would
continue on the street. And this is just
on the street proper. It's not on other
sites. Correct. There is no parking around there
now, just on street parking. Thank you.
Questions or comments from the audience?
Yes, Chair. I have a header from
Charles Richardson. I forgot them to speak. Hi, Mr. Richardson.
and you've already been sworn, just state your name, please.
Charles Richardson, R-I-C-H-A-R-D-S-O-N,
Office of Councilwoman Cindy Bass, room 508 City.
Yeah, you've already been sworn.
Just please proceed.
Got a question here because of the fact that it looks like the plans are
different than what, you know,
now we're talking about parking spaces versus, you know,
in addition to the building, that type of thing.
And I'm a little confused now because of the fact that it's, you know, and I know that they were talking to the Redevelopment Authority, and that was prior to, I believe, even the pandemic, you know, trying to get Lander in that area.
um you know the councilwoman at this point is going to withhold any uh statement on that on
this because of the fact that this it sounds like things have changed since the uh rco
was considering something completely different and we were going to uh go with non-opposition
but now at this point we need to actually look back and reassess what's going on there
mr mr richardson thank you we appreciate anyone else in the audience
Yes, Chair. I have a hand up from Daniel Trutman. I've allowed them to speak.
Hi, could you please state your name and spell for this thonographer?
Sorry, that was a mistake. I've lowered my hand now.
All right, thank you very much. Is there anyone else in the audience?
No further heads, Mr. Chair.
planning do you want to vote now or do you want to wait to see uh yeah what our proviso is we'll
vote uh this is ron bednar city planning property is currently indicated for commercial mixed use
Property is currently indicated for commercial mixed use on the city plan.
on the city plan given a document
Given the documented use history, its physical condition, the site, we recommend the variance be granted.
All right, thank you.
We're going to vote on this next Wednesday, and you don't have to come down, but you just listen in, okay?
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
MI 2024-004-578-1722 Ridge Avenue.
Bernard Anastasio is the attorney.
There's a letter of opposition from Francisville
and a letter of opposition from Council Member Young.
They'll be coming back into Zepanima shortly.
Thank you.
Good morning, Mr. Chair.
Good morning, Counselor. I don't think we've observed you yet today, so could you please state your name and spell for this thought?
Sure. It's Vern Anastasio, V-E-R-N-A-N-A-S-T-A-S-I-O.
Do you use Vern to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Did you identify your client, the relationship to the property?
Yeah, my client is Danielle Lawless.
Mr. Chair, did you say that you received letters of opposition?
We have a letter of opposition from United Francisville.
We have a letter of opposition from Council Member Young.
This is all news to me, to us.
We were notified yesterday via email from the RCO of Francisville that it was a split decision.
There were actually as many people in support of the project as there was opposed.
So we have seen nothing.
They list here a vote of five to four opposed, right?
And one abstained.
And then the councilman wrote a letter that basically says it does not fit the character of the neighborhood and places hardship on the community.
We're still seeing the image of the church.
okay thank you mr chair i i was unaware of either of those letters um so taking a little off guard
on that but that's okay we were told that it was a split decision right do you waive the reading
the refusal do you agree with its accuracy the refusal of course yeah right why don't we proceed
thank you here's the property in question right here on this island
and a very odd sort of triangle.
What we are proposing is sort of like a mini flat iron building
because this is prima facie evidence of a unique physical condition of the property
that makes developing this site incredibly challenging,
which is why for many years it has, while development has been around
and CMX2 development all over this particular neighborhood.
This particular property has not enjoyed any of that,
and I'll show you what I'm talking about here.
Pull this out a little bit.
This is the shack that's been sitting on this weird triangle parcel for a very long time.
and it sit there year after year after year as brand new residential multifamily development
as you can see here on my left go up all up and down ridge avenue
1700 block of rage 1600 block 1500 block all new construction
and all surrounding this very odd piece of real estate
that not only has had this vacant shack on it for many years,
but also serves as a de facto parking lot for illegal parking.
So that's the current use,
which I would argue is an extreme detriment to the community.
And what we are proposing here is, as a matter of fact,
very low impact. What we're asking for is a first floor ground level commercial,
which is consistent with the CMX classification. We simply want to put a professional office on
the first floor. As you know, that the property itself is owned CMX 2.5. So it could certainly
be a lot more than that, a lot more impact, but we're going to go for a low-impact commercial
with a professional use, a large majority.
with a professional use. A large majority of these refusals are dimensional variances
and that's because of the unique physical condition of the property making side yards
impossible, making any kind of real outdoor space impossible. So what we've done is we've done the
best we could to improvise here. Here's the parcel in question. There'll be a roof deck,
a pilot house. Let's take a look at the proposal. First, we'll get rid of the ugly old shack that's
been there forever and clean it up as far as illegal parking is concerned. This is the basement.
It'll be just storage for the commercial first floor.
Nothing more than that.
Here's the commercial unit.
400 square feet in total with an ADA accessible restroom.
And again, it'll be for professional offices, administrative offices only.
Above that, on the second floor,
you're going to have a nice one-bedroom apartment, which would be by right.
As you can see here, we have a living room, a kitchen, and a bedroom.
And the second floor, pretty much the same. Kitchen, living room, and a bedroom.
Each, we've agreed to interior trash storage for both the commercial and residential units.
We've also, of course, agreed to commercial trash pickup, exterior lighting, and exterior cameras.
Here's the roof deck.
And that'll be for the benefit of the residential units below.
As you can see, there's a shared stair here.
Here are some renderings with the Ridge Avenue elevation.
As you can see, the design is very much in tandem with homes across the street.
This is all CMX2, most of it, that surrounds this property.
There's RM1 across the street, which is residential multi, and there is some RSA5 as well.
So what we are proposing is completely consistent with, especially given the development constraints that such an odd little parcel provides us, is completely consistent with the community.
Because of the weird shape of the parcel, outdoor space is really not necessarily something that could be offered on the ground level, so we added it here.
so each unit has a nice little terrace for some outdoor space and as you can
say all of these here this row of homes all brand new multifamily zero
road commercial, although it's zoned for commercial mixed use, and what we would do would be actually
more consistent with these all 100% residential homes in the CMX 2.5 district.
the fact that all this residential development has happened surrounding this little island
while this island sits blighted uh is in fact evidence of its unique
and challenging condition that would make compliance impracticable in this particular
case. Because of those development challenges, getting those two units will make all the
difference. And yet there's only two bedrooms on that whole island. We're still only going to have
two bedrooms, which is actually fewer bedrooms than if there were a single-family home.
This is all the information
And all the addresses that were mailed
82 individual households
Were notified
We have proof of tax
And the deed
And as I said at the beginning, it was my understanding that it was a split decision, but we received no official correspondence from anyone that we met with.
And as I said at the beginning
It was my understanding that it was a split
And my client did, in fact, meet with the RCO more than once.
So because of the unique physical condition of the property and the situation in the this, you know, we're looking at a unicorn here.
As you can see, this is the only parcel like this anywhere near there, given that the what I would consider a very close decision from the RCO with one vote separating those who supported us versus those who did not.
Given the viability challenges of building anything on this unusual space, given its close proximity to public transportation, and because there's absolutely no evidence that this will negatively impact the community with trash on the inside, security lighting, security cameras, property management.
And my client actually operating her office on the first floor, we respectfully request the granting of the variants, considering the unique physical condition in this particular case.
And with that, I'd like to bring Danielle Lawless.
Danielle Lawless, we'll be joining as a panel shortly.
Thank you.
Hello, this is Danielle.
Hi, Danielle, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Yeah, so you can hear me. Great. Danielle Lawless, D-A-N-I-E-L-L-E. Last name's Lawless, L-A-W-L-E-S-S.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, sir.
Would you turn your camera on?
Oh, gosh. I'm not sure that I know how to.
Okay, so I'm a police machine.
Thank you. Ms. Lawless, did you hear my presentation to the board?
Yes, I did.
this afternoon is it true and accurate to the best of your knowledge it is and may i also add
something to that yes of course so as you can tell it's almost like a billboard so that building is
completely graffitied constantly intact um at all times and so much so that the city of philadelphia
just routinely comes out um and then paints it and paints it and paints it it's been going on
for decades um so it's it's a major blight to the community i also have lived in francisville for
last 14 years, and I'm a real estate agent, and I would be putting my office on the first floor.
So, you know, I see it as a great thing coming to the community. So that's just my two cents.
Verna, you done? Yeah, let the record reflect that the evidence is submitted, that the property is
and has been historically continually blighted while other development rises above it.
with that, I have nothing else. Questions from the board. Could you talk about the commercial
activities that'll be happening on the site and how many people you'll anticipate being in that
space? Yeah, sure. She's a realtor, so it's going to be a real estate office, but it's only 400
square feet, so it's going to be her and maybe another other person. Nowhere near the kind of
activity that a 2.5 commercial designation could bring, but no, it's not necessarily a place
where hordes of people will be coming.
And is the assumed activity
is just going to be people coming in
to talk and sign paperwork?
Yeah, most of the time that's all done off-site,
but yeah, that would be it.
And then is there a reason
that this was conceptualized as two units
instead of one,
given the small nature of the floor plates?
Yeah, marketability.
I can bring my client on to testify
that because she knows the area and she works in this area as a realtor, one bedroom apartment of
this particular size would be more approachable to folks who are looking in this particular area,
which are mostly younger people. So two smaller units will be a bit more likely to be filled
than one larger emptier unit. Other questions? Yeah, I have a quick question. Could you tell me
the height of the building in relation to the other buildings that you pointed out
in the surrounding area? Yeah, the ones that I pointed out across the street
are, hold on for one second.
Are, hold on for one second.
Their height is less than theirs, but I'll bring that up.
yeah we're at uh at the top of the pergola is 33 feet uh and then here we have is 38 feet
I think she's talking about what are the other buildings in the area in comparison.
They tower over this.
They, too, are zoned CMX 2.5.
And the newer construction homes that I pointed out to you in the photos earlier are above 38 feet and nine.
Ours does not exceed 38.
Question.
What size are the units on the first and second floor?
The commercial space is about 400 square feet, and then not counting the bathroom.
Here we got 483 square feet in each of the living units.
What did you say?
Okay. And are you planning to basically mirror some of the exterior with respect to this building?
I can barely hear you.
I said, are you planning to mirror the exterior of or use the same exterior kind of building materials as the surrounding new construction for this?
I'm going to be polite and say that some of the newer stuff is not necessarily something that my client would be interested in.
The cheaper press board doesn't seem to last longer than 10 years.
So as you can see here, we're doing pattern, we're doing bricking to be more consistent with some of the smaller homes also in the area.
Okay. All right. Thank you.
You mentioned trash storage in the units, but I don't see anything designated when you planned.
On the interior, you wouldn't, because that came out as a result of our RCO meeting.
But interior trash storage will be in each of the units.
So you're going to add that?
Yes, sir.
Can you point out on the plan where you intend to have that go?
uh it's not on the plan uh it came out but can you just point out on the plan where the
interior trash storage would go sure
understanding that we can't see it but yeah i can give you a roundabout yeah yeah yeah it's
going to be right right up uh between the kitchens and the living rooms hold on i'm sorry
there we go
I'm trying to keep it big
so you all can see it so my apologies
yeah so each of the unit
has a sort of a natural divide
between the kitchen and the living area
so we're thinking of a bump out here
do you know what the width is between that
and the refrigerator
I personally
do not
it looks too tight
to fit a closet
with an old garbage receptacle
it looks like it's three feet
i don't know what this area here is but the plan is to put something between the living room and
the kitchen that will store the trash and if you can't dimensionally fit that what would be the
alternative plan it no there is going to be a closet in each unit for the trash and that could
be a proviso. Other questions? Questions from the audience, virtual audience?
I do not see any hands, Mr. Chair. Council? Yes, I do not believe we have received a proof
of posting for this. We have not? No. Byrne, do you have that? You know, I can get that
to you separately if you'd like I don't I didn't see it in my exhibit packet and my apologies for
that but I can certainly get it to you in that case we need to continue the matter until we
receive that before we can vote just you want to postpone the vote for a week until I can get it
to you sure planning you want to take a position yeah we will
well planning you want to take a position yeah we will so ron bednar city planning
comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing cmx 2.5 commercial mixed use zoning at
this location the applicants uh property is undersized and irregularly shaped however
the variance is not the least modification possible of the use um in question the um
City Planning Commission therefore recommends that the board grant the dimensional variances, but deny the variance for two-family household living.
Thank you.
I appreciate that. Just for the record, again, the unique physical condition of this property and the development challenges are going to require any smart development to be two units, but at the same time, manageable in size so that they could actually be occupied to remove the blight. Thank you.
So this matter is closed, and we will vote next Wednesday at 9.30, and hopefully you'll have that information for us.
Yeah, we'll send it to you right away.
All right. Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Is there anyone in the audience whose case has not been called?
Yes, Mr. Chair. I have a handout from David Schuette.
That's our mistake. Thank you.
should you please unmute
good afternoon hi counsel sorry we uh almost missed you there not a problem
so mi2024007253717 east chelton avenue david schudy is the attorney council could you please
state your name and spell for the stenographer we'll be coming back in as a panel shortly mr
good afternoon
David Schody
I'm with Chapman Pepper Lock
we represent the property owner
why not
prosper Inc in this matter
just for the record could you spell your name
for this tonight
last name is spelled T-S-H-U-D-Y
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth
the whole truth and nothing but the truth
I do. Have you submitted all your appropriate exhibits? Yes, we have. Yes, we have. Um, do you, um, do you, do you waive the reading of the refusal? Yes. And agree with its accuracy? Yes. Please proceed. Okay. Um, let me just figure out how to share my screen here. Okay. So I think there should be a green button there, right? Green button. Oh, there it is. It says share. Yep. Uh, and.
sent a letter of support
yeah you find your
you're coming up okay great great yes we represent the property owner why not prosper who owns
717 East Shelton Avenue. In
2016, the property owner was granted
a use permit following a zoning
hearing to allow for the use of the property for five women that were
recently incarcerated to live and a proviso
of a five-year expiration. That five-year has since
expired, but the property has continued to be used by
Why Not Prosper for that use. Why Not Prosper is
a 501c3, originally founded in 2001
to support formerly incarcerated women. Since
2006, when it started owning
the property, when it acquired the property, based upon the
deed here, which we'll scroll down to.
since it's owned, the property has been using the property to assist women that were recently incarcerated.
In the virtual audience today is Reverend Michelle Simmons, who is the founder and CEO of Why Not Prosper.
We're really not asking to do anything to the exterior or interior of the building
it to continue the use of the building for the for the transition transitional care and
transitional living of of our recent incarcerated women i'm showing you some exterior shots of the
building and some interior shots of the building and where properties located in the cmx2 zoning
And we're properties located in the CMX 2 zoning district, which does not permit for the transitional use that that we're discussing here.
So, again, we're just merely asking to continue the historic use of the building for the charitable purpose.
Want to bring your client on? Yes. Reverend Simmons, do you want to come on?
Okay, excuse me, they have been promoted to panelists to be rejoined shortly.
hi could you please state your name
and spell for the stenographer
yes my name is
Michelle M-I-C-H-E-L-L-E
last name
Simmons
S-I-M-M-O-N-S
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth
the whole truth and nothing but the truth
that is correct I do
please proceed counsel
Reverend Simmons
good afternoon
And did everything I say in the introductory and presentation, is that true and correct?
Yes, you did good.
I'll just add one little thing to it.
Yes, we're just asking for the same use.
We've been in this location for 20 years.
Matter of fact, yeah, 23 years.
And every five years when I first came to zoning, when we first went in 06, they said it was provisional, like to see what we was doing.
because of the population and make sure we've been you know okay and then we continue to have
to come back every five years so this is like our standard come back in five years however
COVID hit us this year and I didn't do the reapply thing um and so they made us start over
from scratch but we've been a beacon in this community for 23 years and we have support
of the community and support of the councilwoman um and and our hayward our state rep um so i think
everything is absolutely the same um so i there's nothing else i could add about the use it's the
same thing we've been doing since we move in here and we do have two other matters um i wish they
could all be brought up today we have uh 56 16 and 56 24 um which is all why not prosper all the
same purposes i think it's on the docket for 330 um so yes there's no changes there's no construction
um and i just want to request that we don't got to keep coming back every five years i don't know
if i get to request that um and then also that we could bind them all on the same um
docket which may be too late to do that right um council you have anything further no i mean
you know as as uh reverend sims pointed out uh uh we'll be back before you at 3 30 this afternoon
for another property yeah questions from the board can we see any interior pictures of where the
the residents would actually be residing?
Oh, I don't think we have.
That's the kitchen.
So it's a shared kitchen?
Uh-huh.
For 717.
What's happening on each floor of the building?
Okay, so the first floor was the community floor.
You see, with the balloons,
where now this is the second floor,
which is a kitchen.
That's community.
This is kitchen.
Keep going.
and upstairs is just uh two bedrooms and how many people are gonna how many beds are in each
bedroom uh when we first went they gave us a total of seven but um we are also licensed by the state
so there's no bunk beds allowed so we just have five that's the only amount of people we could
hold in this space it's two bedrooms and the uh perter square footage two go in one and three go
in the other okay and then so it's shared shared bedrooms and bathroom facilities yes it's uh two
bathrooms uh uh it's two full bathrooms and two bedrooms correct ma'am okay and then in terms of
just like living space are they able to occupy the first floor when it's not in community use
yeah it's their space uh anyway but we just call it the community room
and then are there staff on site 24 7 yes ma'am
and then are there staff on site 24 7 yes ma'am i have a quick question uh so in the time that
you had the uh the last uh variants has there been any incidences um um from the community
perspective any complaints at the community no we haven't had any instances um the only one thing
we did have a young lady had a seizure that was medical but the community love us we give our food
twice a week um from shop right give us meats and breads and so the community absolutely love us it
was 30 community members at this rco meeting so we haven't had no instances with the letters you
know why not prospect uh heaps of type ship bar as point systems and violations or rules and things
of that nature so like i said we've been here 23 years and we've graduated uh thousands of
women's from this house.
Other questions
from the board?
Questions or comments from our
attorney? No, Chair.
Questions or comments from the
virtual audience?
Yes, Chair.
I have a hand up from Charles Richardson.
I have allowed them to speak.
I'm Mr. Richardson.
There will be
rejoining as panelists shortly.
Mr. Richardson
There we are
Mr. Chair, hi, Charles Richardson
Office of Councilwoman Cindy Bass
Room 508 City Hall
Councilwoman is
supportive of the
granting of the variance
Thank you
Anyone else in the virtual audience?
I do not see any free of our hands, Mr. Chair.
Planning Commission.
Ron Bednar, City Planning.
While the property is currently indicated for commercial mixed use on the city plan,
there are insufficient social services to meet residents' needs in this area.
Therefore, the City Planning Commission has no objection to the granting of the request of variance.
MI 2024-007-253-717 East Cheltenham Avenue, I vote yes.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes.
Hi, Owen, my vote is yes.
Thank you, counsel.
See you this afternoon.
Thank you.
Is there anyone else in the audience?
No, Chair, do not take any further of their hands.
All right, thank you.
See everybody at 2 p.m., except our counsel, probably.
I think so, yes.
good afternoon everyone my name is bill bergman and i will be chairing this meeting of the
philadelphia zoning with me is our board member charlotte l gaston present mr chair or board
member tenetta graham present mr chair our board member michael johns present mr chairman our
board member tya winn as it mr president is hillary emerson our attorney and our board
director, Ian Haggerty. Also, here is our board administrator, Lakeisha Dandy. Recording in this
hearing will be posted on the ZBA website. By participating, you consent to be recorded. This
is an in-person meeting with remote capabilities. Whether remote or in person, if you're called to
speak, you must state and spell your name and then wait to be sworn in. Once you've been sworn in,
please state your name each time before beginning your testimony. Any person may enter an appearance
to become an interested party to the case.
There are three ways to enter your appearance.
You can identify the case property address on your Zoom webinar.
You can see a staff member, or you can call the ZBA appearance line
by the close of business tomorrow.
Call 267-270-5548.
Leave a message that includes your email address
and the address of the property of the appeal.
The following guidance is for remote attendees.
First, when directed by the chair, you must raise your hand in order to be recognized to speak.
Second, if you're called to testify, you will be prompted to join as a panelist.
Please accept the request and turn it in on your camera.
Third, the webinar Q&A is for questions about the hearing.
Do not comment on cases in the Q&A.
Fourth, if you're participating by phone, press star nine to raise your hand and star six to unmute.
For our in-person attendees, please refrain from talking, eating, drinking during the hearings.
Verbal and physical aggression will not be tolerated.
restrooms are across from the elevator water fountain is just outside the room to the right
Restrooms are across from the elevator.
Water fountain is just outside the room to the right.
when speaking on the record you must speak directly into the microphone
in order to be heard by all attendees
in the event of emergency please follow the directions given over the public address system
or by the staff the main exit is through the double doors at the rear of the room the nearest
steer well is to the left outside the doors. In case of evacuation, the rally point is Love Park
directly across Art Street. Please remain there so we can account for you. Let's look at our schedule.
number four mi 2024 zero zero three nine two seven fifty three forty four
5344 ray street this case is continued it will be continued to 9 10 25 at 2 p.m number six
MI 2024-004-374, this case will be, Vern Anastasio will come in and request a continuance.
Vern Anastasio has been about to speak, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair.
Fern, you've already been sworn.
Could you give us an update, please, on 1427 Diamond?
Yes, Mr. Chair.
We are in the process of negotiating with the RCO.
We're very close.
We have one more meeting, so my apologies to ask for yet another continuance.
But I do need to do that to button this baby up.
Thank you.
So 1427 Diamond Street will be continued to 9-10-25.
Thank you.
Right.
And then number 10.
MI 2024-006-066-1921 West Norris Street. This case has been continued to 9-10-25.
Are there any other requests for continuance?
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair. This is Jason Handel.
be your calls for the session. I do not see any hands raised at this time for continuances.
Thank you.
We're going to our add-on list. MI 2024-006-883-219-25 Cecil B. Moore Avenue.
I vote yes with provisos. Her refusal dated 3-14-25. Revised plans, two pages,
stamped by ZBA, March 26, 2026. Maximum 15... Excuse me. I'm sorry, Mr. Chair. That should
have been April 2nd since today's April 2nd, 2025. Oh, okay. On April 2nd, 2026. 25. 25.
Okay. Maximum
15 dwelling units. The new min overlay district
applicant acknowledgement form must be reused by the planning commission
prior to the permit and interior trash storage for both
commercial and residential uses.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes with provisors. Cheryl Gaston,
my vote is yes with provisors. Tynetta Graham, my vote is yes with provisors.
I win. My vote is yes with Proviso.
Number two, MI 2024-007-329-1102-204-East Columbia Avenue.
I vote yes.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes.
Tannetta Graham, my vote is yes.
I win. My vote is yes.
Number three.
Excuse me, Chair. I'm sorry. This is the reporter.
Could I ask Member Gaston to repeat her vote, please?
My vote is yes.
Thank you.
Can you hear me?
I do now.
Thank you.
Number three, 2024-007-379-4913 to 15 Frankfort Avenue.
My vote yes.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes.
ION, my vote is yes.
And number four, MI 2024, 005-747-3513 North 23rd Street.
005 747 3513 north 23rd street the resulting resumption hearing for this matter has been
rescheduled to wednesday may 14th at 2 p.m don't worry what's the first uh pro say do you have the
number i don't think we have any on the 2 p.m list yep you can go in order okay
number one mi 2024 001 867 1112 roy street rachel pritzker is the attorney
no council
um could you please state your name and spell for the slump
for it. Rachel, R-A-C-H-A-E-L, Pritzker, P-R-I-T-Z-K-E-R. Do you swear or affirm to tell
the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Yes. Could you identify your client,
a relationship to the property? Yes. My client is Phoenix Multisport, Inc. And joining with me
today in person is their Philadelphia manager, Lauren Johnston. And online, we have our CEO,
Scott Strode, and our Signature Events Senior Manager, Chris Bellina.
Do you waive the reading of the refusal, and do you agree with secrecy?
Have all your documents been sent in five days prior?
Please share your screen and start.
See my screen?
This is a little bit of a trick doing it in person.
Okay. So this is 112 Roy Street, which is going to be, it's really five parcels that we're
consolidating to one. So it's 112 to 20 Roy Street. And we're proposing a consolidation of
those lots. And then for use as assembly and entertainment gymnasium with eight off street
parking spaces. You'll notice that on the refusal, the zoning district is I2. You'll see when I show
the zoning maps that it's rm1 there was an accidental remapping of this parcel that's
being corrected i believe next month so it is going to be i2 and it will stay i2 but
just want to address that when you see some of the documents on the zoning page are different
the only refusal that we have for this project is for the use which again is assembly and
entertainment gymnasium, which is not permitted in I-2. I'm going to skip forward to
this is the zoning map of the property. As I mentioned, it's coming up as
um rm1 but it is i2 and as you can see this is sort of an irregularly shaped parcel
um it basically is uh these four lots here and then we're consulting with this large lot where
there's an existing warehouse before i go through um the hardship argument i'm going to just show
you the property and then explain the use of the structure and the organization behind it and then
go through hardship and have the architects come on as you can see aerially again pretty large
parcel it's on the corner of roy street and north 11th street this is a good aerial just showing
you the existing structure it's going to be a partial demo of this structure but it's mostly
going to be a reuse of the existing structure that we're keeping and used for two levels for
the gymnasium space this is the exterior of the property it's been vacant since the last permit
on the properties from 2002 so and it was a warehouse and storage use at that time it hasn't
had any permits pulled in the last over 20 years this is the first submission so talk about a
little bit the hardship on the industrial side and the industrial zoning but it's mostly surrounded
by commercial light industrial and mixed use as well more zoning posters just to show the size and
scale of this. Then go down. Just all the posters. I just to show some exterior and
interior photos. Again, this is a two story. It's 36 feet warehouse. It's about 6000 a
little over 6000 square feet, the warehouses and then the land is a little over 11000
um the warehouses and then the land is a little over 11 000 square feet once consolidated
thousands per feet at once.
just so you can kind of see it from the street
and then just some interior photos of this space also mentioned the zoning permit additional photos
inside and then i mentioned the prior permit which was granted by this board a variance
granted by this board for the use at that time back in 2002 so it just shows that there's been
since at least the last 20 some odd years a need for variance is granted for the use of
this site based on its zoning classification this site is going to be used by the phoenix
which they are not only going to be the tenant but they're the owners of the building as well
i want to share a little bit about their organization before i discuss the hardship
And also, it's worth mentioning that right across the street at 1052-54 Royce Street, this board granted a variance for the same use.
For assembly and entertainment, we're doing a gymnasium.
They did a nightclub.
We're not doing a nightclub.
But just to show that this is not out of character with the neighborhood as well.
And that was a CMX 2 parcel.
The Phoenix is a national nonprofit organization established in 2006.
And they basically provide different life fitness, wellness events, yoga, community outreach, different programming with both their organization and in partnership with other organizations and communities all over the country.
They've been in Philadelphia, correct me if I'm wrong, since 2017.
And they have about 85 volunteers here and have helped, I think, what, 15,000 individuals in their time here.
This is going to be their first brick and mortar in Philadelphia.
This is not their first experience with Philadelphia.
They're doing some projects in the 4th Councilmanic District, working in collaboration with other community groups as well.
So they're not really new to Philly.
This is just the first time they're going to establish an actual location here.
Different than other organizations that help with people who struggle with substance abuse and are in recovery from addiction, this is not a clinic or a treatment center.
this is a substance-free gym with an organization that provides group fitness boxing line dancing
rock gyms and activities like that there's no medical treatment there's no needle exchange
this is a substance-free gym and we'll go through the architectural plan so you'll see that
i think a lot of the confusion around this project which i'll talk about briefly was
just related to not understanding that this is a substance-free gym this is not a clinic this is not
something worth any kind of medical treatment. And I think that given what's been going on in
our city and across the country, organizations like this that are bringing this sort of positive
change into neighborhoods, cleaning up a blighted warehouse and offering a substance-free space
with sort of productive activities like this should be welcome. I just want to be really
clear again, this is a sober community. This is led by volunteers. They're already in Philadelphia
since 2017 and this is not a treatment center it's not a detox center we're applying for use
for a gymnasium just to show some of the community activities that they do and then
we also just included some of the outreach that we did and just this brief presentation
just to show the kind of activities and community engagement that this organization does and the
The sober component is just that they require that anybody that wants to use their facility is free from drugs and alcohol for at least 48 hours.
They have people trained there to make sure that they can identify those individuals and help people.
But it's not their mission to help with any kind of medical, but just keep a safe and sober environment for people who want to engage in athletic activities and community activities around folks who may have similar ideas.
so this is a little bit about them i want to just um if we can promote our architects uh briefly
that's evan from low design i'm going to just go through the hardship a little bit here and then
he'll go through the presentation for the architectural side so to find an unnecessary
hardship for use variants we're arguing that there are unique unique physical circumstances
and conditions, such as the irregularity of the size and shape of the lot, which we discussed
earlier, that cannot be inconforming with the code. Also, given the physical characteristics
of the existing warehouse, and also just the base zoning of I-2, the ability to use this
in a medium industrial manner, given the vacancy, the size and scale, the lack of location near
any kind of ports or transportation has made it so it's sat for now 20 years with no active
with no active uses on the space. It's an 11,000 square, a little over 11,000 square
uses on the space. It's an 11,000 square, a little over 11,000 square for parcel.
foot parcel with a 6,200 square foot building. And the other important component of this,
which I'll discuss the community outreach stuff was that, you know, there is protections under
the Americans with Disabilities Act for organizations and individuals who are who
struggle with substance abuse and have a substance abuse disorder to make sure that there's no
discrimination, both from the zoning and other perspective as far as allowing them to work and
be organized in the community. And this is a kind of space where that is exactly what the Phoenix
does. They help support these kind of individuals as long as they are sober. So I just want to
Evan Lippin from Low Design. They've been about to speak. Thanks, Evan. Can you share your screen
and just go through the plans
briefly. Hi, Evan. Could you please
first state your name and spell for the
stenographer? Sure. It's
Evan Litvin. That's L-I-T
V-I-N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell
the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
I do. Please
proceed, counsel. Evan,
are you able to pull the plans up and just
go through them? Yes.
Thank you.
Okay. Well, thanks, Rachel.
and thank you to the board. I will give a brief presentation or brief description of the project,
as Rachel mentioned. Start here. As Rachel mentioned, we are consolidating five parcels
into one. The building will include a level three alteration to the existing building on the site.
And as Rachel mentioned, the only refusal in this project is for the proposed use as a gym
and community space with eight accessory parking spaces, including one accessible space.
The building is in shell condition today and requires a significant amount of work to stabilize
it. While the building is in rough shape, this project will not only bring it back to life as
a piece of Philadelphia industrial history, it will now include an active use. The project will
include a significant masonry restoration, new windows, and storefront including along the full
extent of each street frontage on Roy and 11th Street. It includes an outdoor landscaped courtyard
including several murals. There will be ample exterior lighting. Signage will be part of a
future zoning submission. We're not going to discuss that today. And trash will be stored
inside and removed by a commercial service. The interior will maintain many of the industrial
elements of the project, including exposed brick and structure. These spaces will be repurposed
to include an open gym space, yoga studio, a lounge, and various gathering spaces,
locker facilities, multi-purpose spaces, small offices, and other ancillary spaces.
The Phoenix is making a significant investment in this building and location, taking on a complex restoration project.
When completed, this project will both preserve a unique piece of this neighborhood's history while repurposing it for a much needed highly beneficial use that will bring vibrancy to this block of Roy and 11th Street.
And I'm just wanting to share a few renderings to give a sense of what the interior will look like once completed.
This is the main interior gym space. We'll be creating a small double height space
within the existing structure to get a sense of the new entrance
and the investment that will go into windows and masonry.
There will be much improved street frontage and street presence with eyes on the street and a
clear, active use and transparency, and the landscape courtyard that will be used for
various uses ranging from exercise to other group activities.
And I will leave it right there. Thank you. I just want to make sure if the board has any
questions for the architects. Why don't we wait to see at the end of your presentation and we'll
see what kind of questions i have okay um i'm gonna just um re-share my screen to just go through
so we met with um the nice town table improvement team back in may and we did a virtual meeting with
them um and sent out notices to everybody who lived within 250 feet of the property on the
same block and they authored us two days later a letter uh three yeses and two nos at that meeting
there's three yeses and two no's at that meeting i was present um lauren was present or chris was
i was present
present um and the only concern was that um there was a neighbor on the call who was sitting with
another neighbor who wanted to ask some questions in person so they asked us would you have another
meeting because there was low turnout you know um to to answer some questions we said no problem
that meeting um was supposed to be an informal q a as per the emails um it was not supposed to be a
formal meeting as there was no notice then i would have sent formal notice for a second meeting
i also was not in attendance at that meeting because it was an informal q a and i didn't think
that the attorney needed to show up for an informal q a between what will hopefully be a very uh well
respected community partner and the community um and they ended up not only uh and the rco was not
supposed to attend that meeting, they not only ended up attending that meeting, they
ended up authoring a whole new letter for that meeting and bringing people to sign a
petition in opposition of this. The letter that they, the petition that they sent, which
I have emails going back and forth, you couldn't read half the names, there was no addresses,
there was no signatures, so I couldn't verify if the people that attended this meeting had
even been in the community, where they came from, you know, so we could make sure if they
were not getting mail or whatever. And again, like I said, I wasn't there because it was
supposed to be an informal Q&A. After that meeting, our organization decided to author a new letter
that they submitted to the council office with 24 people and opposed and one yes. And as you can see
on the screen, was the Q&A meeting with the near neighbors scheduled? We did. We told them when it
was going to be scheduled and made sure that we knew that this was going to be no formal notice.
This was a Q&A with the near neighbors to ask more questions about it after we had a yes
vote and support. After they got that letter, I wrote them and said, hey, listen, there's a lot
of inaccuracies in this letter. First of all, saying that I was there. Second of all, you guys
weren't supposed to even be a part of this. And they said, oh, no, we're just authoring the letter.
Your team is the ones that told us all this information. Well, obviously, that was not the
case. And we tried to go back and forth. Instead, where we kind of got nowhere, we decided to hold
a couple other informal meetings with people who really did want to know more about how we were
going to work together, answer concerns that they had. And really, the only opposition was them
thinking that this was going to incite more drug activity, that this was going to invite more
people to come to the neighborhood, as opposed to really understanding that the mission of this
is to provide a substance free space. This is not a clinic. There's no medical anything going on
here. And as of right now, I've been to this property probably 15 times going back and forth
with them through this. There's a ton of drug activity going on there now. And this is a blighted
building with no fencing and no lighting, and it's not cleaned up. So I don't know that it's,
I'm not an expert in these facilities to say that it wouldn't bring people there, but there's no way
it would be at the level that they're thinking. And instead, it would provide a safe environment
where people could go and people 18 and older could go if they needed a safe space as well.
And all the lighting and security and the investment that they're providing, I think,
will do almost the exact opposite, hopefully. I just included the petition so that you could see
there was no information that they provided on their petition that i could identify where these
people lived half of their names where they came from why they weren't at the meeting before any
way to contact them so um that's just made it very very difficult um for that second meeting
um we then uh spoke with the council office i am sure conlon's on the call
but before we go to the council office i also want to make note that this project has been
worked in collaboration with the state and state centers and state reps as well, has received a
grant for $500,000 for them to help renovate this space. So this is something that has been
supported on a bigger level than just locally. And I do think when we go through our letters
of support that you'll see, given the outreach, that it wasn't me, it was Lauren. So kudos to her
and her team for spending hours and weeks and months going out and trying to engage with people
and share with them this mission and get them involved and just really they want to be a great
community partner and educating them on the mission of the phoenix so they can be a resource
but it is worth noting that there is state support for this project as well
and and financial investment given the value that they're providing in the mission of
both this mayor's administration and i think the entire city and trying to help
support this this epidemic with substance abuse in our city and other resources besides just
clinics to help support that cause we basically submitted i think about 200 or so odd letters
postcards that have been mailed both to the zba and the council office just to really evidence
that there is real support for this and we included people's names and their signatures
and their phone names and their addresses just both people that live close by people that live
a little bit further over and then people just in that district as a whole and just wanted to make
and just wanted to make sure that we provided that information as well just given the the
sure that we provided that information.
great work that that this organization seeks to do in our city so i think this has been sent to
you all and uploaded so i won't belabor every single last one but it is well more than anybody
that has ever voiced any opposition to this this project given all of this that was submitted to
the councilman's office the councilman wrote a letter basically stating that
I don't know if Conlon's on and wants to read it but it basically states that
we have it he's aware that there was multiple meetings on this and that there was a yes vote
and then a no vote and he also knows that they've gotten an outpouring of support as well and his
letter just kind of recaps that at the end you know kind of just says our office received postcards
and a petition various interest showing support for the project um so that's kind of all i have
on this uh this matter happy to answer any questions and we have our team on as well why
don't you have your client adopt your testimony? Yeah, I'll need Scott Strode. He's the CEO
to adopt the testimony about it. Is he online? Yes. Okay. Scott?
They have been promoted as a panelist. They will be coming in shortly. Okay.
This is Scott Strode with the Phoenix. Good afternoon, sir. Could you please state your
name and spell for the stenographer yes my name is scott strode s-c-o-t-t-s-t-r-o-d-e
you swear or firm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
i do please proceed counsel thanks scott have you heard my testimony today and do you adopt it
as your own and do you believe it'd be true and accurate yes i have and yes i do and just on the
behalf of the phoenix you have the authority to uh speak on their behalf correct yes i do thank
you questions from the board yes okay i have two questions one what are the surrounding uses
on the block currently so there's a mix it's a lot of vacancy but right across there's a cmx2
at 10 52 to 54 there's a assembly and entertainment it's a nightclub
and then there's some residential um on the um not on the roy street side
industrial and r block okay so and then it's a mix what's the hours of operate the intended
hours of operation for the gym yeah can is she recording yeah please i could you please turn your
mic on i could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer my name is lauren johnston
L-A-U-R-E-N
Johnston
J-O-H-N-S-E
Tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth
Please proceed, counsel
You were just asking
what the proposed hours of operation would be
Yes, so the proposed hours of operation
would really be
what we'd work with the community to determine
the specifics for that
but from our other locations in Denver
and Boston, it ranges from 6am
to about 8pm
Okay, and then
um what happens if a person comes in for gym services and then they don't they test positive
for drugs so we don't do any sort of um testing think of it sort of the same way you go out in
the community and attend a normal establishment um if you are visibly intoxicated uh we'll ask
you to leave and come back another day okay other questions yeah i do have a question because so
So I think you mentioned in the testimony that a client would need to be clean for 48 hours.
And I was trying to figure out how do you determine if somebody's clean for 48 hours?
How do you know?
So it's the same thing there.
It's a self-verification honor system.
So the intent of that is also to protect those individuals that identify as in recovery in the space and also allow for friends, family, allies, and supporters who might not identify as in recovery
to be able to use the space as a free resource in the community how far how far is this facility
from from sort of the epicenter of the drug um issues in philadelphia um it's not in kensington
so it's like there's not active drug use going on in the area um people would not my like myself
a person in recovery like it's not an area that um would be triggering for anyone
um so the the funding that you receive from the state
did it require community support or advocacy from the community to get
did it require community support or advocacy from the community to get the funding we had
the funding before we had to submit any letters of support or anything like that
so the community wasn't aware that the state was funding something that was going to come into
their community so far as you know yeah we had letters of support from the uh elected officials
but you're asking if the community had we had applied for it the grant we didn't know if we
were going to get it or not get it so just the timing of that worked out that way but they didn't
ask us to meet with the community they knew that we were involved rep burgos has attended a number
of the meetings they knew the work that we were doing but it wasn't like contingent on that now
obviously if we don't get the zoning we can't build the project there's rules around the grants
and stuff like that but we don't have it like in hand at the moment as far as like in a bank account
it can take a year two years three years to get grant money from the city but there was not a
direct. Hey, can you meet with the city? They knew we were going through zoning now. So.
Question. Okay. So how do you, how do you, I'm sorry, I'm having trouble. Okay. How do you
restrict access of this to just folks who are in recovery here? How do you advertise this? Or how
How do you I mean, is this if if somebody who isn't considered to be in recovery in some way, can they come to this gym just like anybody else?
And do you have like a membership or is there some kind of how do you how do you control this?
Yeah, that's a great question. So one of the things the way that the Phoenix was started was it was built as a community of athletes that were in recovery to support one another.
and bring more as we've kind of evolved we recognize that one recovery is very multifaceted
and it does not only um cover like substance use meant pretty much everyone in the community is in
recovery from something so we stick to this is a substance free a sober space um whether that
be how you identify or not the aim of it is to promote healing and bring safe spaces within
community and also actively say we are a sober organization and this is a substance-free space
and this is normal and healthy for the community to have you and i could walk into this gym there's
as far as how do you access it there's a website where you can sign up for classes okay um and then
there's also um so you can sign up for classes it'll show you if it's in person or virtual and
then there's an app they have as well so you can schedule like if you any like any other gym like
if you want to go to yoga or you want to go to whatever if i walk in a gym nobody's like worried
if i'm sober or not i am but it's kind of the same idea and the idea was not to put some
like stigma around it so that people who wanted to have a place like that but maybe don't have
haven't announced that they've you know been struggling with addiction the way that they've
sort of branded this is like that's people who know do know that and that's the environment that
they're creating and they do a lot of outreach to educate people on that but you don't want people
to feel uncomfortable if to go to a place like this or if I have friends or family this is a
place we could go to take a class together which might be more comfortable because they're surrounded
by people who are involved in the same mission as they are but if you were to walk into it there's
not signs that say it makes it that obvious but um and just to the question about people just
walking and we did discuss that at nauseam with the community because we totally understood like
that concern it's it's either easily identifiable i think a lot of us could pick it up but they
are working with another organization that has trained individuals that stand sort of in the
fronts and around the facility because the whole point is to keep this a safe place so you have
someone walking in that is not adhering to those guidelines there's trained people that can help
remove them or or talk to them or pull them aside in a way that doesn't damage the entire environment
but that was a question that a lot of people had asked you just can't stop people and drug test
them and then wait and be like now you can use the dumbbells like you just can't do that but
But we're very sensitive to making sure that that gets addressed.
And I think also with all their outreach they've done in the community, they'll get to know some of the people because they'll be there and they'll have a stable place there.
You start to get to know who lives here and who lives there.
And Lauren's done a great job with especially the near neighbors and the near businesses who have all been sort of very helpful in addressing concerns, talking about hours operations.
Can we do different events here?
So it really becomes that kind of a space over time.
Thank you.
What's the occupancy?
The number of number of individuals that at one time, Evan, are you able to answer the occupancy or estimated occupancy?
or estimated occupancy. I don't have the max occupancy at hand. I can, if you let me come back
I don't have the max occupancy.
to it, I can give you an approximate answer. Okay, let's go. Questions from our attorney.
Just a couple of questions. One, this is, this is being described as a gymnasium and normally
that falls under personal services, not assembly entertainment. Did you have an explanation from
lni as to why it was put under assembly and entertainment i think evan and team had submitted
that initial application i don't know if it's a size and scale issue um evan do you can you weigh
in on that she said why is it assembly and entertainment versus personal services um
um I well let me answer the previous question um about occupancy we are and we haven't submitted
for a building permit yet so but our I believe it's about 100 105 people is in the main space
for the occupancy and as far as the specific use um I I don't have a specific answer for that
that's how they had I had gotten to it well after it had been applied for um so
All right. That's fine. And then my other question was with the, you know, there were revised plans and they added exterior stairs and fencing, which can generate refusal.
So I'm all by right. It is all by right.
Yeah. Can you confirm that, Evan, that the additions are by right?
Correct. All by right.
Okay. So the fencing is behind the property line, the six feet?
Yes. Yes, there was. Yes, it's all been modified to be be by right.
Okay. All right. Thank you.
Questions or comments from the audience and also the virtual audience.
Yes, Mr. Chair, I have a hand up from Connell and Crossley. I have allowed them to speak at this time.
Good afternoon.
Hi, counsel. Could you please, counsel, could you please state your name and spell for the sonographer?
Conlon, C-O-N-L-A-N, Crosley, C-R-O-S-L-E-Y.
You swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth.
Yes, sir.
Please proceed.
Councilman asked me to personally come out and give a statement about this particular project.
I'm going to read it. This project seeks a variance to use the property zoned I-2 as a gymnasium with a clientele base of those impacted by substance abuse.
A refusal was issued because the gymnasium is not allowed in a property zoned I-2.
The surrounding community has mixed residential and industrial uses.
The zoning map for this area was recently changed to reflect less heavy industrial uses desired by the community.
Two community meetings were held by the RCO, Nicetown-Tioga Improvement Team.
The first meeting, five residents attended.
A letter of support was issued based on a vote of three yes and two no.
At the second meeting, 25 residents attended, including members of the 43rd Ward Executive Committee, with a vote of one yes and 24 no.
A new letter of opposition was issued.
Our office received postcards and petitions from various residents showing support for the project.
Thanks for the opportunity to talk.
That's it. Thank you, Chairman.
Thank you. Anyone else in the virtual audience?
We did have individuals who wanted to testify in support or whatever they want to say.
I don't know if they still are.
Are they in the audience?
I'm sure I have a virtual.
If there's anyone in a live audience, we can have to speak first.
If not, I've got four hands raised at this time.
The first one is Cynthia Barnes.
I've allowed them to speak.
Cynthia, could you please state your name and spell it for the stenographer?
Can you hear me?
I can.
Speak just a little bit louder.
Cynthia Barnes, C-Y-N-T-H-I-A.
last name barnes b as in boy a-r-n-e-s you sure affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and
nothing but the truth yes sir please proceed cynthia yes i am the um co-director of the
nice town tiger improvement team and this um ish zona issue was brought to us in may
with only a turnout of five people and at the time the the folks in attendance i was in attendance
were not sure about what was actually going on and when one of the neighbors brought out that
she never got a flyer and she lives on the block down the street from where this all was happening
on hilton street so we said that since the community that was the near
on hilton street so we said that since the community that was the near neighbors weren't
there we would host another meeting to get the input and that's when the 25 people came
but the other thing is it was a lot of um negative uh um texas back and forth and um from the lawyer
that was very
unpleased that the community
didn't want this
in the neighborhood, saying that
this is why we don't have
anything, because everybody
always votes no against it.
I'm sorry, I'm going to object.
It's not accurate.
Can she object to me?
Why don't we do that?
That's slander.
I didn't say nothing to her.
Listen to me.
Let her finish her testimony.
I'll give you a chance at the end to respond to orders.
i have copies of her texts and her emails so the problem is when they just kept saying
um sober gym which put up alarms is like why like planet fitness do you go in there and say i'm going
to a sober gym you know and then offering all these other things to the community just for us
to approve it this is a very high drug area and this always has been i live two blocks down the
street so i already know that not only two blocks away is bethune elementary school that it has
children and also be a jump crossing which is a new apartment with like 42 residents in it and
that's where the meeting was actually held there is i haven't had one person in our community that
that was for this gym.
And it is close to Kensington
because of the way they're moving Kensington,
that people are moving up to like Lehigh
and we're not that far from Lehigh Avenue.
Okay, all right.
Thank you, Cynthia.
We appreciate your comments.
Next hand, please.
I have a hand up from Casey Cahoe.
I've allowed them to speak.
Could you please state your name
and spell for the stenographer. Yes. Hi. Can you hear me? I can. Yes. My name is, sorry about the
picture there. My name is Casey Kehoe, C-A-S-E-Y, latest name Kehoe, K-E-H-O-E. Do you swear or
affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth? Yes. Please proceed. Are you a
neighbor? I am not a neighbor. No, I am a Phoenix member now volunteer for the Phoenix. I just
wanted to come on and just say that um you know this program uh is is very near and dear to my
heart um you know i originally started as a member and then through the phoenix i was able to be
sponsored to obtain my athletic training certification and i'm now able to um volunteer
and train classes so um i definitely support this community this building and um yeah that's pretty
much all i wanted thank you very much for your comments how many more hands do you have
not sure i've got uh six left six okay um first is brian rothbart i've got them to speak
all right i could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer yes hi my name
is brian rothbart b-r-i-a-n-r-o-t-h-b-a-r-t you should i refer him to tell the truth told
truth nothing but the truth yes i do are you a neighbor i'm not a neighbor uh i run a business
catering to the sober community okay and i have work hold on a moment are you in favor of this
project or against i'm in favor yes all right thank you very much for taking the time to calls
next hand please next hand is suzy payne i've allowed them to speak hi suzy could you please
state your name and spell for the stenographer hi there we uh we have a group here so i it's
actually meek is gonna state his name we're just all on a all together on the zoom here
okay could you state your name and spell it humble meek re that's h-u-m-b-l-e middle name is m-e-e-k
last name is r-e-i-d right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the
truth? I do. Are you in favor of this project or against? In favor. Are you a neighbor? I am.
All right, next person, please.
Susie, do you have more people there? Yes, my name is Joseph DeMilto.
I can spell your name, please, for the stenographer. Yes, it's J-O-S-E-P-H-B-E-M-I-L-T-O.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes. Are you a neighbor? No, I work in the community. Okay. Could you, uh, are you in
yes are you a neighbor no i work in the community okay
favor of this project or against? In favor. Thank you very much. Next person, please.
Good morning. How are you doing? Good afternoon. Thank you. Hi, could you please state your name
and spell for the stenographer? This is Najee Faison. It's spelled N-I-Z-J-A, last name F-A-I-S-O-N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, told the truth, nothing but the truth?
Are you a neighbor?
A neighbor, yes, sir.
Are you in favor of this proctor or against?
In favor.
Thank you very much for taking the time to call.
Next person, please.
Hi, my name is Jennifer Carroll, J-E-N-N-I-F-E-R-C-A-R-R-O-L-L.
Right.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, told the truth, nothing but the truth?
Do you?
Are you a neighbor?
No, I work in the neighborhood.
are you in favor of the project or against in favor miss pain how many more people do you have
there two more we have two more folks okay please next person yeah good afternoon louis soto
could you say your name again and spell for the stenographer uh louis l-u-i-s soto s-o-t-o
right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth told truth nothing but the truth
Yes, I do.
Are you in favor of this project or against?
Yes, I do. I'm in favor.
And are you a neighbor?
Community member.
Thank you very much. Next hand, please.
You're welcome.
All right, good afternoon.
My name is Thaddeus Parker.
My name is Thaddeus Parker, T-H-A-D-D-E-U-S, Parker, P-A-R-K-E-R.
All right, do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Are you in favor of this project or against?
I am in favor. I'm a neighbor and a community worker.
All right. Thank you very much. Is that your list, Ms. Payne?
Yes, that's our list. Thank you.
Next hand in the virtual audience.
I'm Mr. Ava, Ty Jones. I've allowed them to speak.
Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Hi, my name is Tyra Jones, T-Y-R-A-J-O-N-E-S.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth,
the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Are you a neighbor?
I'm a community partner.
Are you a favor of this practice or against?
I'm in favor.
Thank you very much for calling.
Next hand, please.
Yes, Tito Capa, I've allowed them to speak.
Could you please state your name as Bell for the stenographer?
Yes, my name is Tito Capa, T-I-T-O-C-A-B-A.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth,
the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Are you a neighbor?
I am a community partner.
Are you in favor of this project or against?
I am in favor.
All right.
How many more hands do you have there, Chase?
I've got at least two more hands, Mr. Chair.
I got a barrel cold with their hand raised.
I've allowed them to speak.
All right.
Please state your name and spell for the stenographer.
Oh, wait.
I'm sorry.
They put their hand down.
Last hand is...
oh wait i'm sorry they put their hand up again a barrel cohen okay thank you um
army yeah i'll call him please uh wait to be sworn in okay what what's what's state your
name and spell for the stenographer my name is beryl cohen b-e-r-y-l-c-o-h-e-n do you swear
we're referring to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth i do are you a neighbor
uh no i'm a phoenix volunteer i could do um are you in favor of this project or against
i am in favor all right thank you very much for taking time to calls
uh council before i go to uh planning could you have any comments yeah so i'll say this i don't
think in 10 years of doing this i would ever say to any organization this is why you have what you
have or whatever i don't speak like that so it's offensive to me um that anybody would say that
about me, number one. So I have to address that. Number two, I left out a lot of what went on
in out of respect for the organization and some of the ways that they decided to handle this.
And there was things that went on early on before we even got to address the formal community
where there were emails and things about what this was that was not coming from our organization.
I left that out because we want to move on from these things and work together with people.
So I'll leave that there. I also want to make sure that we made it clear that these are a group of people that are ADA protected. And the only opposition to this project from that organization was because we're trying to help people with substance abuse disorder.
It had nothing to do with the size of the building, the dimensions of the building, the lighting, the color, anything. It all had to do with we don't want you servicing those people, which is completely federally illegal. And so let's just.
you servicing those people which is completely federally illegal and so let's just make that
plainly clear okay um last thing i just want to mention when i that i didn't get to was
if you look at the comprehensive plan for this area and i'm sure the planning commission will
address this it's suggested that this be rezoned icmx and if that was the case we wouldn't even be
here so we are proposing something that makes sense for for this area and i think that over
time people will actually really appreciate that this is thank you very much planning commission
Excuse me, Mr. Chair. I'm sorry to interrupt you again, but there's two more hands raised. They're both named Clayton Pickens. I'm going to allow the first one to speak, if you must.
Please state your name as Bell for the stenographer.
Hello? My name is Clayton Pickens. I am living in the neighborhood.
Do me a favor, Clayton, spell your name for the stenographer.
And I'm speaking because they voted no for that project.
Clayton, Clayton, please spell your name for the stenographer.
My name is spelled C-L-A-Y-T-O-N.
Last name is Pickens, P-I-C-K-E-N-S.
Thank you.
Do you swear or affirm the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
And Clayton, you're a neighbor.
Yes, I am.
Please proceed.
Are you in favor or against?
Against.
All right.
Thank you very much.
we appreciate you taking the time the calls next last hand please
okay that's all mr chair planning commission
thank you chairman and good afternoon dave defecto f-e-c-t-e-a-u with the city planning commission
do you swear or firm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth yes sir i do please
proceed thank you sir uh chairman and board members the comprehensive plan recommends a
change in zoning at this location from rm1 residential multifamily to icmx industrial
and commercial mixed use the proposed use would be allowed in the recommended zoning district
so the city planning commission recommends of the board grant a proposed use variance for a gymnasium
thank you um council we've had a lot of testimony on this we'll go to this next wednesday at 2 p.m
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much for your testimony.
Number 12, MI 2024-007-375-2024 R Street.
Robert Careless is the attorney.
My counsel, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Yep. Robert Careless, R-O-B-E-R-T, Careless, C-A-R-E-L-E-S-S.
You swear we're a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
I do, Mr. Chairman.
Could you identify your client and the relationship to this property?
I represent 2000 Arch Associates LP, which is the record owner of the property.
Right. Do you waive the reading of the refusal and agree with its accuracy?
I do, Mr. Chairman.
Okay. I'll share your screen and please start your presentation.
thank you again mr chairman members of the board we are here today regarding the new 18 story
professional office building under construction for chubb at 2000 art street the specific subject
matter of the application before the board concerns our request for a two foot five inch
dimensional variance regarding the placement of a portion of the outer railings on the ninth floor
roof deck along again along a certain portion of arch street to our north and 20th street to our
east although the nature of the application is requesting to adjust the placement of the railings
outward what we're really asking is that they be permitted to remain in the place in which
they're currently located where the infrastructure is currently installed and where they have long
been designed to be placed um we will discuss this in detail but essentially as a visual what
i'm asking is that i'd be permitted if i'm on the deck to take a step forward if the code were to
come to me and put the guardrails in my chest and push me backward to step backward the cost
associated with doing that would be with a million dollars in addition to the financial detriment
that would come to the applicant by virtue of having to comply with that dimensional regulation
we would also suffer delay damages in delivering the building to chubb and a critical amenity
to the city of philadelphia just so it's clear to the board we have filed a companion application
for a special exception so if the dimensional variance is granted it would result in a net
403 square feet of additional occupiable space the the use being permitted by special exceptions
that that explains the demand the companion application um the the important theme here
The important theme here is that the roof deck is not an afterthought to the office building.
is that the roof deck is not an afterthought to
I don't know.
It is as important of an amenity to the office building as any other amenity would be within the building.
And today, I'm sure the board understands that having the best amenities in the office buildings are critical to attracting the best tenants, like Chubb, to the city of Philadelphia, the best employees to the city of Philadelphia.
Very briefly, the history of the building is very important to the application today. The building was approved for zoning in 2022. At the time, the use of the ninth floor outdoor area was different. The use was entailed having a covering structure over the entirety of the occupiable space. So if I walked out, I would look up at a structure, I wouldn't look up at the sky.
um l and i at the time of the approval did not interpret that to be a roof deck under the zoning
code the reason that that's important here is because since it was not interpreted in 2022 to
be a roof deck the associated five foot setback of the railings was not accompanying that
interpretation so uh where we are today and i'm sure this board understands and hears all the
time that you know when you get a zoning approval and then you work to start construction of the
building even as the construction is going on the design changes that's the whole reason why we have
zoning amendments we have building permanent amendments so fast forward to last year two years
later the decision was made the design decision was made to remove the pergola by removing the
pergola it now became a roof deck under the code and by removing the pergola the railings would
have to move back with it. So that explains, you know, why we're here today. Turning quickly to
the exhibits, I would note for the record that all the required exhibits are included in my
packet. Exhibit A1 is our deed into the property. Devin is our standing to bring the application
today. Exhibit A2 is the certificate of tax clearance. Exhibit A3 is our application to the
board. Exhibit A4 is a good place to pause here. If I could, I'll zoom in for just to orient the
board as to where we are. To our north is Arch Street. To our east is 20th Street. Over here to
our west is largely the Walden Wall Condominium Association. The hatched area where my cursor is
here is our green roof going downward is additional non-occupiable area this is the
setback is a large setback to walled walk and an even larger setback at 62 and a half feet from
walled walk this is there is no impact on this there is no change to this setback here there's
no change in this area of the deck here these structures right here are supporting a roof
overhead so you walk out you're walking out to a roof beyond these structural components
is the open air roof deck that was approved by the board last summer for a special exception
in the square hatch there's the lighter the currently the current occupiable area of the deck
in the gray area where my cursor is indicating here is the area in which that we are asking
the board to authorize by dimensional variance to keep the railings where they are and it shows the
additional 403 square feet of additional occupiable area that we're seeking to have
this is the same plan just with the uh area marked for the board so you can see that the
there is only a portion of the deck in which we're asking for this adjustment
exhibit a5 is just to show you as a better aerial i know this shows a prior condition with the
building is currently up in the air but it shows you that that condition to our west with the
residential again there is no impact on the western side or the northwestern side of the deck
you see arch street here with 20th street here these are just some street perspectives we'll
go through very quickly currently you're standing on arch street looking east toward 20th street
with the with the office building to your right here you're turning around looking the other way
west with arch street you're standing on north 20th street in this visual looking southbound
toward cuthbert street and here's standing the other way looking north on north 20th street and
you can see up here is where the ninth floor roof deck area is or looking out from 20th street
exhibit a6 is our refusal referral notice again the refusal being tied to the requested
dimensional variance the referral being the companion application for the special exception
exhibit a7 are the applications for the variance in the special exception that were filed to this
board. Exhibit A8 are the required postings. Here I'll flip through these on the left side so you
can see along with the diagram showing the approximate locations of the required postings.
Exhibit A9 is a rendering that was prepared by our architect Stantec. You can see we're standing
at the western side of the deck looking toward the northeast corridor. You can see the guard
you can see the guard rails here marked at the required height with the parapet just behind it
rails here marked at the required height with the parapet just behind it.
and this is the structural components which i was referencing in the site plan here you can
see it with the open air roof deck at this point uh turning to this diagram right here as i
mentioned the the cost that would be associated with taking out or adjusting the the deck to the
current five foot regulation or the the code required five foot dimension this steel beam
would have to be would have to either come out or get replaced into the current five foot location
we'd have to cut into the concrete into the metal deck attach a railing support we'd have to impact
our tenant chubbs and current improvements their ti improvements on the eighth floor impacting their
conduits their piping their sprinklers and their duct work we'd have to cut out the existing railing
post and we'd have to cut the glazed railings on two ends that would now be shorter lengths when
railing is moved backward um we have a letter of uh opposition from logan square which i will make
two comments on um the first comment being that this is a one-off for us with logan square
neighborhood association we have had a a great relationship with logan square they have been
an incredible partner in bringing this building to life um we have agreements with them going back
before even the pandemic before the name chubb was even into existence um so i think what happened
here at this meeting, and Logan Square can speak for themselves, is the anomaly that
is between the 2022 plan and taking the pergola off and the resulting adjustment for the
railings was a concept, was a nuance that just got complex.
It's a very straightforward issue, but it just got complex in the meeting.
I would also note here that we had 31 voting members, 13 of them are imposed to this, which
is less than the majority.
We had six people not opposed.
We had 12 people abstain.
I know for a fact that there are two of those people abstained for legitimate reasons because of their employment. The 10 people, I would question whether they actually had legitimate reasons to abstain here, and if they were not inclined to take a position on this, in my opinion, what I would argue to the board is that's not an opposition, which would be the majority position in this application.
um mr chairman i i have uh three witnesses i know we've already been through a lot but i will be
endeavor to be brief here i i did prepare and submit to the board a legal memorandum which
is marked under my exhibit at 11 i would just like to summarize a couple positions there for
the board and then we'll go to my witnesses as i've noted the outdoor space here has long been
designed to place the outer railings at the approximate two foot seven setback um mark the
infrastructure is in place that i showed uh in order to bring the railings in compliance with
the five-foot setback we would suffer as i mentioned a one at approximate 1.25 million
dollar financial detriment and and we can speak more to the construction elements that would have
to occur and to bring the property compliant um that's just in hard cost and redesign cost alone
um i i would argue to the board that the cost associated with rigid zoning compliance with
the code results in a substantial financial burden that is disproportionate to the policy
requiring the railings for a roof deck to be at the five foot setback mark um what's also likely
to happen here was not quantifying that 1.25 million dollar number the construction delays
that would have that would occur as as having to redesign the deck um and the infrastructure that
support the excuse me that support the railings along with adversely impacting the schedule
delivering the new the great new office building to to chubb who's going to be a major tenant in
city. And in turn, if we delay the building to Chubb, that in turn delays the payment of taxes
such as UNO to the city of Philadelphia. And nobody wants that. We want to deliver this building
on time to deliver a promised amenity, a great amenity to the city of Philadelphia and a great
tenant. Further, I would argue that the design change of removing the covering structure really
has an unintended effect of triggering a technicality in the code here where, you know,
subjecting this subjecting us to the five foot setback which would not otherwise apply under
the current 22 approval as the cases that have come out on a dimensional variance of the dimensional
variances of a lesser moment than a use variance in terms of the quantum of proof that needs to
be presented what that and the zoning code traces and is in lockstep with the line of cases that
come out since the hertzberg decision in 1998 and i'll read you section 3038 e
sub uh point three from the code which provides that to find an unnecessary hardship in the case
of a dimensional variance the zoning board may consider the economic detriment to the applicant
if the variance is denied the financial burden created by any work necessary to bring the
building into strict compliance with the zoning requirements and the characteristics of the
surrounding neighborhood and the cases as you'll see in the memo go on to say that as i mentioned
that the grant of a dimensional variance is of a lesser moment, then a use variance in the quantum
of proof that is required to establish a necessary hardship is indeed lesser when a dimensional
variance as opposed to a use variance is involved. So I would argue to the board that this is exactly
So I would argue to the board that this is exactly why Hertzberg and Section 14303 AD exists, this type of a situation.
why Hertzberg and section 14303 AD.
Just briefly to wrap up here, I would argue to the board that all the other remaining criteria that are necessary for the granted dimensional variance are met here.
This is the minimum variance and represents the least modification possible.
Again, what we're asking for is to maintain the railings and the location they are now because of what was approved in 2022.
um we believe that this application remains harmonious with the comprehensive plan this
is going to remain a deck that's accessory to a professional office building this is not a bar
this is not a restaurant this is not a hotel where i could otherwise see some some a different
analysis of reducing a setback for railings um the resulting 403 square feet of occupiable area
will be absorbed in line with the board's unanimous decision to approve the accessory
roof deck of the office building and i incorporate those use arguments now sensitive to the board's
time um i we would argue that the granting the request of relief here would have no adverse
impacts the contrary i i you know about on the other hand i would argue that allowing the best
use of the open air roof deck will contribute to good health social excuse me social interaction
of the employees and the guests of the office buildings um there's no adverse impact to public
streets or the public facilities there is no relief that the relief will not injure uh the
use of adjacent properties of note what i as i mentioned earlier the setbacks will be maintained
the long setbacks will be maintained along our western side where our residential uses are
and the slow parapet will act as an additional safeguard as well
mr chairman i have three witnesses they are all here would the board prefer to swear them in at
one time or would you prefer to swear them in at one by one why don't we swear them in at one time
and then they can testify and that's fine right so i want to could we stand up and maybe speak
into the mic everybody identify themselves please and spell your name for the stenographer
kristin sage k-r-i-s-t-i-n-s-e-a-g-e mustantex okay thank you sir
brandon siegel b-r-a-n-d-o-n s-e-g-a-l managing director of heinz philadelphia and the president
of NAOP, Philadelphia Greater Chapter. Thank you.
Good afternoon.
Wale Mabogunje. First name, Wale.
W-A-L-E. Last name, M as in
Mary. A as in Albert. B as in
Boy. O as in Orange.
G as in Gun. U as in
Umbrella. N as in Nancy. J as in
Juice. E as in Egg.
Vice President of Real Estate at Parkway
Corporation. Thank you.
Do you all swear and affirm to
tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Why don't you start your presentation?
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Wally, why don't you sit here first?
Wally, you've already given your current title to the board.
You're here as a fact witness, and we will be brief, but could you briefly just describe
your professional background?
Yes, I am a real estate professional, started my career in Philadelphia 26 years ago, and
had had the privilege of working on notable projects such as Lincoln Financial Field,
Barnes Museum, Morgan Lewis Office Tower, Constitution Center, and a host of others
in various capacities, ranging from a superintendent, cost engineer, and ultimately currently serve
as a real estate executive at Barclay Corporation.
Excuse me, this is the court recorder.
I'll get them to move up.
Yeah, move up a little bit, please.
Or pull the mic to you.
Pull it right back to you.
Perfect.
Pardon me, I'm getting over a cold.
Wale, did you hear the testimony that I offered to the board just now?
Yes, I did.
And would you adopt and affirm that testimony as if you're your own?
Yes, I would.
And specifically, given your years of experience in the industry, with respect to the financial detriment that I cited to the board, did you or did you have prepared under your direction the $1.25 million estimate?
That is correct.
And based off your years of professional experience, do you agree with that estimate?
Thank you.
No further questions.
Next person, please.
And then I'll give the board a chance to answer.
That makes sense.
And get as close as you can to the mic.
Mr. Chairman, in the interest of brevity, I have Mr. Siegel's resume marked as Exhibit A13.
I'm going to offer him to you as an expert in real estate development.
He has 20 plus years of experience.
He leads the development in Philadelphia in the Mid-Atlantic region for Hines, and he's
currently the president of the Philadelphia chapter for NAIOP, which is the Commercial
Real Estate Development Association in the city.
Thank you.
Mr. Siegel, did you hear my testimony to the board?
And would you adopt and affirm that testimony?
Is it for your own?
And Mr. Segal, I'm correct that your experience extends beyond just Philadelphia in terms of real estate development?
Correct. My experience is up and down the Mid-Atlantic from Philadelphia down to Washington, D.C.
And do you have experience designing commercial office buildings?
Yes, I do.
And do you have an opinion on the importance of the amenities that are associated with new commercial office buildings?
Yeah, the amenities today are critically important to the future success of office.
The amenities today are critically important to the future success of office. We've seen a bifurcation in the value and the use and utility of office buildings. The ones that are not amenitized are the ones that are failing and are ripe for conversion. The ones that are highly amenitized really provide the ability to attract and retain talent to support employers like Chubb and make the decisions to be within the city of Philadelphia.
We've seen a bifurcation.
So you would agree with me that the accessory roof deck, such as the one proposed for the Chubb building, is just as important as any other amenity within the office building?
Correct. I agree.
And based off your 20-plus years of experience in the industry, have you seen the importance of these amenities on accessory buildings evolve over time?
Correct. They started out fairly basic, and the concept of hospitality has merged from hotels into residential and now into office space where people want to find a communal area where they can be together and socialize and create a better work experience.
Again, that helps attract and retain talent, which is critically important to amenities and employers to make their employment and location decisions.
And do you have a professional opinion on the application that's before the board today?
My professional opinion will be to grant the requested variance.
And based off your 20 plus years of experience, do you have an opinion on the hardship that was cited by the applicant for the grant of that variance?
I would agree with the testimony provided that there is hardship based on the impact to potentially change the location of the wall.
um thank you uh kristen same thing mr chairman miss sage's resume is marked as exhibit a10 she's
been before this board on a number of occasions she has 17 years of architecture she'll be offered
as an expert in architectural design we will be brief here kristen did you hear my testimony
to the board uh would you adopt and affirm that testimony as if you're your own yes i would do
you have anything you would like to add to the testimony that i presented to the board
nothing to add okay mr chairman that concludes the questions that i have for my witnesses we
We're happy to answer any questions for the questions from the board.
Good question.
Why did you decide to remove the covering?
Is there a particular reason?
So that, that was a, in conjunction with the long-winded answer.
So we, we, we get the zoning approved in 2022.
That, that is an advance of when we start the tenant design.
So we are getting the approved world before we have Chubb involved.
Once Chubb gets involved, the, the idea is to create the best function and flow of the
space.
So what we found was when we actually put our fingerprints on the design of the building, that the roof deck didn't work as well with that large pergola structure on it.
And the decision was made that it would function better afterward.
And again, all the testimony here in terms of if the deck was an afterthought, we would have kept it not going through all this heartburn.
I can assure you that.
But this is all aimed to provide the greatest new office building for the city of Philadelphia.
And we are happy to go through this process to get there.
It is just an anomaly in the code that is bringing us here.
And I'd argue that there's really no reasonable relationship between moving a pergola and the railings. It's just an anomaly or technicality that's causing us to be here.
Yeah, I have two questions. I'll go ahead, Mike.
No, if you could sum it up, what would you say was the community, the opposition's biggest issue?
I will take blame for it. It was me trying to explain the nuance in the code that really was lost.
them i'm not so sure that um if we had gone in there with an aesthetic reason or some other
reason i we were really i was trying to tell them that it's really an anomaly in the code that's
keeping us here and it really dove the conversation in my opinion into a complex discussion um and
and there were other uh comments that started evolving into the construction of the building
and irrelevant issues and to be honest the meeting really just kind of took a left turn
yeah what were the comments that the rco made in for those that were in opposition for the 13
votes that voted against the project what were their primary concerns uh i i from my perspective
is it was really just not understanding why we were here with the with the nuance in the code
yeah but then they still had to have like a reason that they took opposition right again that that
That was really the sum of the discussion once we were present in the meeting.
Okay, and then at what point was the design decision made to remove the pergola?
Summer of last year.
And it was already approved through building permits?
Correct.
Understood.
And so the plan that we saw today that showed the piers for those concrete piers no longer exist?
No, the piers exist.
What doesn't exist is the pergola structure.
Once you walk out from the piers and the roof, you look up and you look up at the sky.
in 2022 if you walked out and looked up you'd look up at a structure so there was a structure
at the edge of the concrete slab yes all the way to the edge of all the way to the edge of the
occupiable area what uh how deep from the edge of the building is the open air deck now uh two foot
from the setback line it's two feet seven inches and there's an exact inches dimension on the plan
okay so council the real issues too you you had just been to the community
I'm sorry. The last time you were here, right, was last summer. We were here for the special exception. But I'm saying you've been to the community then, too. We were that community then, too. And then you had to come back to me. Yeah. And thank you, Mr. Chairman, for actually raising that because it was I'm sure this board will appreciate. We broke this up intentionally because, as the board appreciates, the legal standard for a special exception is dramatically different than that of a variance, even a dimensional variance.
I'm sorry.
The last time you were here, right, was last summer?
We were here for the special.
and it was critical for us that those that those standards not be conflated so we wanted to get
the use of proof through the special exception and we were transparent at that time that we
were going to come back in a two-step process and come back and deal with the dimensional
variance for the railings other questions from the board questions from our attorney
not at this time mr chair questions from the virtual audience or the current audience
yes chair i have a hand up from a amelia maya i have allowed them
hi amelia could you please state your name it's spelled for the sonographer
she'll be rejoining as a panelist shortly
hello can you hear me i'm milia yes could you please state your name and spell yes stenographer
my name is emilia e-m-i-l-i-a and last name is m-a-i-a right do you swear or affirm to tell
the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth of course amelia are you a neighbor yes i live
right next door okay please proceed i i am calling because i already oppose uh this change i live
right next door and it's going to impact my roof deck where i have been living for the last 12 years
and i have told the lawyer and the people that were at their meeting that that is going to lead
to more people in the roof deck and that is going to create more noise
to where we actually been living.
And there was a clear argument that we put towards the lawyers
and the people from the building that it was going to turn our ability
to enjoy our roof deck to change that because there's going to be
more people in the roof deck, more noise.
And therefore, we are very much opposed to that.
Amelia, can I ask a question?
Were you opposed to the original deck too?
I wasn't aware of this meeting.
So when I found out, I came right away to that meeting.
I'm saying the original deck when they were here last summer,
were you opposed to that?
I wasn't aware of those meetings at the time.
Thank you very much.
You are very welcome.
You have any questions?
So I do know where the neighbor lives,
over in front of Walden Walk.
Again, I would point out two things. That is on their sides where they have the 62 and a half setback there. I would also point out that when we came before you, we had said that we were in agreement with LS&A on a proviso that there'd be no amplified sound on the deck.
We would be more than willing to trace that or repeat that proviso on the grant of approval here. So we've already gone through the use issues with LS&A. LS&A voted to not oppose this with the proviso. We agreed to the proviso.
So, all right, thank you.
Anyone else in a virtual audience?
I do not see any further answer, Mr. Chair.
Planning Commission.
Thank you, Chairman, and good afternoon.
David Fechto with the City Planning Commission.
Chairman and board members, the comprehensive plan recommends a change in zoning at this location from CMX4 to CMX5 commercial mixed use.
The appellant has shown that a roof deck will have no detrimental impacts beyond what might be expected,
and the variance from the setback provisions in the code reflects an existing condition.
The City Planning Commission recommends that the board grant a proposed special exception for a roof deck
and grant a proposed dimensional variance for not complying with the five-foot setback from the front building lock.
Thank you. MI 2024-007-375-2024, Art Street, I vote yes.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes.
Iowyn, my vote is yes.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Number two, MI 2024, 002120963 North Lawrence Street.
Richard DeMarco is the attorney.
There's a letter of support from the Northern Liberties Neighbors Association.
Hillary, we still have a tax issue with this one.
As far as I know, yes.
As far as I know, yes.
We're coming back in a...
We're coming back in as a panelist, Mr. Chair.
All right.
There we go.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman.
Hi, counsel.
How are you?
Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Richard DeMarco, last name spelled D-E-M-A-R-C-O.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client, the relationship to the property?
Brian Mayberry.
He's on the Zoom, and he's the owner.
You waive the reading of the refusal and agree with its accuracy?
Please share your screen and start your testimony,
and I understand all your exhibits were in within five days.
Am I correct?
For the tax issue, right?
Yeah, I was going to point that out, Mr. Chairman.
Let me get the exhibits up.
The client believes he'll have tax clearance in about two weeks.
We're going to hear it and hold it, okay?
Exactly.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And before I forget, we did revise the plan pursuant to the request of the Northern Liberty
Civic Association.
So we would ask for, we did submit the revised plan proviso form.
We would ask for the revised plan to be approved with two pages stamped by the board.
And I can forward those separately if you need to.
Well, we'll do that after the tax going back.
Of course.
All right.
Thank you.
Exactly.
I'm going to get that in front of you.
All right.
So I want to start with the refusal.
Mr. Chairman and members of the board, their dimensional refusals in nature. We're building
two single family, proposing to build two single family homes. The lot is unusual, as I'll show
you in a moment. The variances are lot area for the smaller lot. And what I'll do is I'll refer
to the two homes. One is the larger home and secondly, as the smaller home. For the smaller
home, the refusal is the lot area. But when I show you the survey and you'll see what we started
with, you'll understand why that was required. The other is this front-loaded parking for the
larger home, which is basically lot C on the refusal, and the open area. What I'll show you
for the front-loaded garage is that we are not displacing any on-street parking, and there are
multiple curb cuts along this block of North Lawrence Street, including literally on both
sides of us and several right across the street. So there is a predominantly front-loaded garage
already existing on the block. And then on this maximum occupied area refusal, we actually
increased the open area with due to the revision that was requested by Northern Liberties. And we
have actually gotten very close to the requirement. We're only off by about 2%. So we'll obviously
be arguing that it's a minimal deviation from the code. So let me then jump to the
survey. So you could see what we were dealing with, why it was a challenging property to start.
i want to mention that so this is the let me shrink this a bit so you can
so these were the existing lot dimensions this lot here runs through to leithgow
but if you can see these dimensions here these are 12 foot six feet inch wide lots
which render your home homes very very narrow and difficult to work with this long lot is
vacant and has been vacant for decades. My client's a resident of the area or was a resident
of the area for a long time, can verify that this lot has been extremely difficult to develop and
has thus been vacant for 20, at least 25 years, even through the residential
development boom that this area experienced. This lot was not developed. So we reconfigured
the lot to do as follows from this scenario, which is existing to this. This is the larger
property here that I'm circling with my cursor. That's going to be the new home, the new larger
home. And then this lot will have the smaller home. So we were only working with this small,
narrow piece to begin with. So what the developer felt was the most feasible was to build a larger
house along Lawrence Street with an accessory curb cut and then a smaller tiny home, which a lot of
people like these days, along Lithgow. So there are three addresses and two homes. I'll show you
the plans now. This is the revised plan for the larger lot. We'll start with that. These are the
larger lot. We'll start with that. These are the floor plans. So basically the neighborhood group,
floor plans. So basically the neighbor
Northern Liberties and Larry Friedman, here's the site plan. We shifted the location of the
curb cut to try to save this tree. I'll show you some photos in a moment. The tree is very
challenging, but we did commit to trying to save it. And we will, of course, try to do that. So
we shifted the driveway away from it. When I show you the picture, you'll see it's a little
tight, but we hope we can pull it off. We think we can. And we increased the rear yard. So it's
now 22.84% instead of it was like an 18 or 19%, I believe, on the refusal. So that's the new
layout of the larger home. These are the floor plans. There's like a mezzanine. There's two
walkouts. Walkout in the rear, but obviously this is a single family house. No multifamily is
is proposed at all. And I'll show you the rendering. This is the rendering here. This
is the old rendering. The curb cut is actually centered in the property due to the request from
the neighborhood group. All right. Let me just show you the, I have photos in the packet, but
let me just show you the Google Earth layout. You can see all the curb cuts all around us.
this is the property here it's this small slender house here that is
two stories it will be demolished and this is the open lot here you can see there's curb cuts
next to us on either side curb cuts down here and then curb cuts right across the street so
obviously we feel that the front loader garage is a appropriate request I want to show you the
parcel maps, you can see that the tiny lot, the tiny house that we're creating is
in keeping with some of the other homes, many of the other lots on Lithgow. You can see here,
this is our property, the 963, and this one. So you can see the lot right next to us is
actually the same size as what we're creating. And then if you look down here,
All of these lots are all similar with, and obviously we don't have control of the 966
Leithgow lot, so we couldn't create a larger property there. So the thought was to create
a smaller, more working man home. And let me show you those plans now, and then
I can get Brian on the line and we can try to wrap up. We did meet with the neighbors. We do
have a support letter from them. I think they understood the challenges that we were dealing
with. And we, of course, altered the plan per their requests. And hopefully we got something
that works for everyone. All right. This is the site plan for the time. I don't want to use the
word tiny, excuse me, the smaller home. No curb. Well, there's an existing curb cut, but we are
we're not proposing a garage um and here's the floor plan and so with that mr oh here's the
rendering um and again this is consistent with other homes along lithgow let me just show you
just a few photos and i can have brian accept my testimony and um i just wanted to see the
again that's yeah that's the property that's the existing house this is the the empty house
so let's have brian mayberry um raise his hand virtually so he can
accept my testimony and make a couple comments
mr mayberry
they'll be coming back in as we panelish shortly okay thank you
okay is that can you hear me okay yeah sir could you please state your name and spell for the
stenographer sure it's brian mayberry b-r-i-a-n last name mayberry m-a-y b-e-r-r-y you swear
referring to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth yes i do mr mayberry
could you turn on your video please um one second there we go
thank you oh almost thank you okay sorry sorry about that council mr mayberry um why don't you
just update the board on uh the tax clearance uh just give them a one sentence update on where
you're at with that um it should be rectified by my accountant in about a week or two we had
I had a failure to file from 2023 that popped up like a month, a month and a half ago, but, you know, it was – our taxes were filed.
It's just some paperwork error, so we're going to clear that up and anything else.
So I expect it hopefully by Friday, if not by the beginning of next week.
So it's a – you know, unfortunately, it wasn't done in time, but it will be rectified.
And you, first of all, did you hear all of my factual testimony?
And you – first of all, did you hear all of my factual testimony?
Was it true and accurate?
it wasn't
Yes, it was.
And can you adopt it as your formal testimony in this case?
Yes, I can.
And when you were looking at the configuration of these homes, was this the minimum relief
that you wanted to request to be able to develop this?
Is this the minimum variance relief that you could ask for in order to be able to pull
this off?
Yes, it is.
it's a challenging lot um but it was the best solution that i was able to come up with i feel
and was i right that the the vacant lot was empty has been empty as far as you can remember and
you've been in the neighborhood for over two decades is that right um yeah i mean i bought
my first house on 1019 north lawrence street which i still own actually i lived there for a while in
2001 so and it was a full gut um but yes you're correct i don't i don't remember it there wasn't
the house there or anything for forever. And if that I can remember. And are you able to develop
this lot at all if you don't get some form of variance or relief like what we're asking for
today? Um, no, I'm not. It really does economically. If we just put one house on
Lawrence street, it doesn't economically, it doesn't work. Um, you know, I'm asking the board
just to be able to right now on the parcel, there is a 12 foot wide house. So I'm kind of asking
just to move that to the back and then put a you know a larger house on lawrence street so i mean
there is a technically a 12 and a half foot wide house on the property already it just it's from
1880s or 1890s so it just needs to uh you know be a um bulldozed and refreshed that's all i have
for mr mayberry mr chairman i did want to i i don't know if there's going to be opposition i
don't believe there is but in the event there is i have plato maranakis who's the architect i was
going to have them put something on the record i'm willing to just uh see if there's opposition
if not i can wrap up why don't we see what it is and if you have to you can very good if i could
have that opportunity that'd be great thank you questions from the board yeah question rear yard
for the uh smaller property there i don't believe there is one let me bring it up for you there is
some kind of yard i don't have the in front of me but oh there is uh there is uh board member
johns there is a rear yard here let me i'll try to blow it up bear with me here you could turn it
turn it also like turn it 90 degrees so i'll i'll try okay hold on i think it's this one yeah we'll
rotate i gotta go clockwise okay and that rear yard backs up to the to the 12 foot rear yard
of the other property yes sir yes exactly we must have met the met it for the rear yard or we would
have had a refusal um i believe that the yards the yard the parcel is fairly deep so i i'm pretty sure
that i again i i can't see the plans right now but uh what do we got it's like it's probably
because the lot's small enough the the yard was large enough to meet the requirements and how
and how do you access the yard is it through the basement is there a basement it'd be come out
through the back door of the house.
Okay, where is the...
Here, I'll shrink
this so you can see the whole layout.
Okay, all right.
There we go.
Thanks.
Any other questions?
Did we answer your question,
Mr. Johns? Yes.
Okay, thank you.
Questions from our attorney, Hillary Emerson?
I just want to
note, Mr. DeMarco, the refusal
doesn't list the two addresses that are involved in this lot line adjustment. So since we're
holding this anyway for taxes, I'm going to reach out to L&I and ask them to issue a corrected
refusal with that information since it should have been included in the first place.
Obviously, I don't have a problem with that, Hillary. If you just keep on top of them,
it's so slow sometimes over there. I'm sure they will listen to you more than me. So if you could
drive that, please. I will send that request over right away.
okay questions or comments from the virtual audience or the present audience
mr chair i do not see any hands raised any commission no need to thank you chairman
yeah thank you chairman of good afternoon david vecto with the city planning commission
chairman and board members the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the residential
single-family zoning at this location the appellant proposes to change their lot lines to create two
lots parcels c and d proposed parcel d is significantly undersized according to the code
however it is in keeping with the average lot sizes of the properties on lifgow street requested
variance for maximum occupied open area uh for maximum occupied area sorry on parcel d is minor
and in keeping with the purpose and spirit of the zoning code proposed interior off street
proposed interior off street accessory parking on the proposed lot c matches the character of the
accessory parking on the proposed lot c
other homes on this block face the city planning commission recommends the board grant the proposed
dimensional and parking variances thank you hillary um is next wednesday too soon
um so we follow wednesday we're closed right following wednesday off so probably the 23rd
to be the best state that way we would have the the corrected refusal should be should should be
done by then i'm requesting it now um but that gives you the one to two weeks to get the taxes
in so okay thank you okay so we're going to continue this to 4 23 25 at 2 p.m uh it's closed
except for what we received for the tax right and the refusal okay thank you do you need me to
by my name, Mr. Chairman? Do you need me to appear?
We're going to announce our vote.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Have a good afternoon.
Number three, MI 2024-003-335-621-25.
Reed Street.
Leonard Altieri is here.
We have
opposition from
pen passion square and opposition from council member squilla could you please state your name
for the record yes mr chairman and members of the board leonard altieri a-l-t-i-e-r-i with the law
firm of claire harrison harvey bransburg here you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth
and nothing but the truth i do mr chairman um this is a uh resumptive hearing uh hillary
correct ma'am for long we're going to go over the amended refusal am i correct yes that is correct
mr trey this is a resumption hearing posting and tax compliance and we have an additional letter
from council member squill in opposition so i'm just waiting to be admitted to share
Thank you.
All right. Perfect.
So thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. As you said, you are correct. This is a resumptive hearing for 621-25 Reed Street. With regards to exhibits, very short. We do have the corrected refusal, which was attached as tab one. We also have the updated posting of the property for this hearing, as well as no issues with regards to taxes.
Do you want me to do a little historical background?
Why don't you do that?
Yeah. So by way of background, Mr. Chairman, and I will, just in case there's anything with regards to the site property here. So by way of background, this goes back all the way to about 2019 when my client received a zoning permit to construct a one-story addition and to use the property as vacant ground floor commercial with 12 residential units on the upper floors.
This property is located, as is being shown here on the screen, in the middle of a residential neighborhood.
My client has never been able to rent that space out.
As was testified at the original hearing, which was back in November, November 13th of 2024, we had our broker who testified from MPN.
We also had our client who was here as well.
The pandemic exacerbated the ability for that space to be rented out for commercial in this neighborhood.
My client then filed an application to change that commercial vacant floor space to four residential units. While there was support by some of the property owners, the RCO came out against it. They did, and this predates my time at the firm, did come to the zoning board.
there was kind of a discussion with then chairman to say hey is there a way that we can kind of
strike a compromise the compromise that we came up with is the plan that's currently before the
board today which is to have two units on the ground floor two residential units and four
accessory parking spaces excuse me four indoor parking spaces and i apologize this is not a
dense but as you can see here so this is the new plan to have two residential units on the ground
floor and four parking spaces inside the parking spaces was kind of seen as something that we were
trying to do to accommodate the neighborhood knowing that parking is so limited in that
passion square area um as i said we came before the board back in january um excuse me back in
um excuse me back in 2020 that plan was then denied um we then tried to resume this again
2020, that plan was then denied.
with the with my colleague coming here in january we had to have a corrected refusal
because the refusal was missing a few items which is what brought us here today there was testimony
a full uh hearing was held back in j in uh november excuse me and for today's purposes
it's just the result of here and what what seems to be the main point between the neighbor and
And actually the council person, too.
So with regard to the RCO, and I believe, and I don't want to speak for the council member, but I believe he's just going along with the RCO's opposition.
The RCO's opposition is that they feel that we have not done enough to market that.
They feel as if we have not, you know, the way it was explained to me is the one who presented at the RCO meeting on September 14th, that we have not done enough to change any sort of marketing to go out there and try to find new tenants.
As was testified at that hearing back in January, that is contrary to their belief, our broker, as well as our client, testified in great detail all the different types of uses that they attempted to present to have in this, you know, middle of the block residential neighborhood.
Questions from the board?
i do remember this project um and i guess i still have the same concerns similar concerns
that i had from the last time it was presented and that has to do with the layout of the units
and no um real sort of um natural air and light into those living rooms um and sort of borrow
light from, I guess, the bedroom or whatever the other room is next to those living rooms.
So I just have an issue with the layout.
Other questions from the board?
Questions from our attorney?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience or the audience in the room?
I do not say any hands, Mr. Chair.
Planning Commission.
Thank you, Chairman, and good afternoon.
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 RM1, residential multifamily.
No ground floor commercial is characteristic of this neighborhood and would be allowed by right under the proposed zoning.
due to the parcel size nine dwelling units are allowed by right under the current zoning the
appellant paid an in-lieu fee for affordable housing bonus calculated at four units which
would total 13 units instead of the 14 requested the proposal to provide off-street accessory
parking not accessible by a shared driveway alley or rear street is consistent with prior use and
the physical conditions of the existing structure however not including accessible parking
goes against the commission's policies to serve people of all abilities the city planning
commission recommends the board grant the requested use variants for no ground floor commercial space
grant requested variants for unit count but with a maximum of 13 dwelling units and grant requested
variants for off-street accessory parking but deny the requested variants for not including an
accessible parking space. Thank you. MI 2024-003-335-621-25. Reed Street, I vote no.
I go Jonathan. My vote is no. Cheryl Gaston. My vote is no. Tanada Graham. My vote is no.
Iowyn. My vote is no. Thank you, Counsel. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and members of the
number five mi 2024 004 239 900 north 41st street alan knockamson is the attorney
there's a letter of uh neutrality from the bell mount alliance civic association the
applicant also also has 28 signatures and there's a letter of support yes from um ashley devries
mr knockamson
good afternoon mr chair members of the board alan knockamson of knockamson pc
i mean everybody knows but just for the record how do you spell your name
alan a-l-a-n last name knockamson n-o-c-h-u-m-s-o-n do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole
truth nothing but the truth i do could you identify your client the relationship to this property
Yes, my client is 941ststllc.
Yes, my client is 941ststllc, and to the left of me is Daniel Burgess, one of its members.
You waive the reading of the refusal, and do you agree with its accuracy?
And all your documents have been sent in more than five days?
Please proceed, sir.
Thank you.
All right. So I'm here to present 900 North 41st Street. This is in the Belmont section
of Philadelphia and West Philly. It's at the corner of 41st and Belmont, excuse me, 41st
and Westminster. It's, we're proposing to have a seven unit Airbnb essentially here
for zero accommodations. In my presentation packet, we'll first review the notice of refusal.
Then we have correspondence from Belmont Alliance Civic Association. It was a tie vote. But, you know, we actually did some significant outreach to the community and that's by way of that petition. My next exhibit is the zoning permit. So this is a CMX2 property where we're allowed seven units as of right for long term accommodations.
we would just wish to have it uh for um you know short-term accommodations next exhibits are
property history you'll see that this was a rooming house at one point so not out of character
to have like this type of multi-family use plus with the zoning classification but it's more um
uh it's closer the rooming house to like a visitor accommodation short-term rental situation so not
out of character for the property uh mr burgos uh does a lot of these airbnbs um he's well regarded
in the community um and you know behind by the way the correspondence from the belmont alliance
civic association is a letter of support uh from uh from you know a local neighborhood group that
he's dealt with where he has similar airbnbs and spoke highly of him and taconi yes yes the taconi
group so they speak highly of him and just his community involvement as well uh next uh would be
like you know it's not out of character with the listings to have airbnb use nearby and we have
that as exhibits maps of the area photographs of the properties around the area gave you some
examples of some of his other projects this is still in the middle of construction so it's not
occupied it's still in the middle of construction to convert it to seven units so but we have
examples of an interior photographs of other projects he has that are active as visitor
accommodations. Then there are plans and drawings. There is no below ground living because of how
the property slopes. You'll see that from the pictures as well as the drawings. Our RCO meeting
notice along with proof of mailing that notice. Our application for appeal, our deeds of the
property showing at 941st Street LLC is the owner of the property and our certificate of tax
clearance. So notice refusal. This is a CMX2 property. And what we're trying to do is rental
visitor accommodations for the residential units of the property. And because it's CMX2, we would
need a variance for that. Correspondence from the West Belmont or the Belmont Alliance Civic
Association, as the chairman indicated, they took a position of neutrality. It was a split vote of
five to five. I will say that my client did significant outreach to the community, and you
can see that many of those addresses are on the 800 and 900 blocks of North 41st Street. The people
would be most directly impacted by this Airbnb use. Also, a letter of support from the Tycone
CDC. Again, my client's very involved in many communities, including, by the way, the Belmont
community as well. Just as a matter of background, Mr. Brogos is participating in Turn the Key
program. So when he can provide affordable housing, he does. And the fact that he is doing
the Turn the Key program and is an approved participant in that, there is a process that
people are held to, certain high standards, background, experience. And Mr. Brogos has all
that um his actually also his family owned grocery store was around the corner as well
for many years so when he was a young boy he would be in this neighborhood as well
so he has a lot of roots in philadelphia as well as this community zoning permit again this is
allowed for seven long-term accommodation units uh we think it's more appropriate for short-term
accommodations uh given the history of the property its location um the fact that there's a need in
the community for Airbnbs like this, we think that this makes sense. Property history, again,
this was a rooming house at one point, which is more akin to short-term rentals than long-term
rentals. Nearby Airbnb usage, so we're not far from Mantua Avenue.
Nearby Airbnb usage. So we're not far from Mantua Avenue, which is more commercial-ish in nature. But you can see there's a lot of Airbnb use around here. Makes sense for both people who are visiting Philadelphia, but also, you know, who are outsiders, but also people who are visiting Philadelphia who, you know, who have family who live nearby.
we find that this is a good way for people to have overflow for the holidays and such.
And again, you'll see Mr. Bogos' quality of work.
People would kind of gravitate to his product,
maybe compared to other products that are in the market that are not as good.
And then you look at his reviews.
So he is well-ranked by Airbnb.
And I use Airbnb myself.
like not many people know this, but occupants are also rated by the landlords. And so he has a process
where he makes sure that he like only selects tenants who are highly ranked themselves. You
know, he has noise monitors in there. He like, you know, he has protective measures in place to make
sure that the Airbnb is responsibly operated and he self-manages these properties. Maps of the
area as you can see we're a corner of westminster and 41st street you know some like near it looks
like some train tracks here as well which would be more akin to a maybe non-long-term accommodation
uh house photographs of the property so he's taking like a very pretty like building that
has nice architecture and he is trying to uh again renovate it and the way to do this he believes
that's responsible is to have
this short-term accommodations.
Posting photos
to show posting for today's hearing.
North 41st
Street to left and right of the property.
Westminster to the right and left
of the property. These are
his interior photos, so I think they speak
for themselves like he really cares about
his quality of work.
and these are all different properties around the city that he has and then our plans and
drawings i mean i think the easiest way to go about it is like the first floor again everything
is above grade uh but you know he has an open commercial area where he he hasn't decided what
to do there's been just some discussions uh with you know with having potentially a laundry mat
there um we think there's a need in the community for that but that's not part of this project
we have a one bedroom one bath on the first floor here uh and then you know that's coming out of the
side street and then the main street here you go up a flight of steps to the second floor and the
second floor has two units one is a one bedroom one bath another one is a two bedroom one bath
the third floor is a three bedroom excuse me it's two one bedroom one baths and then the fourth
floor one unit it's a two bedroom one bath and the other one is a one bedroom one bath these are not
large units like again this is all as of right but we think this is better to accommodate short-term
accommodations versus long-term accommodations rco meeting notice along with proof of mailing
that notice our application for appeal that we filed with the zba along the notice refusal and
project information form, the deed to the property showing that my client 941STLLC is the owner of the
property, and our certificate of tax clearance. I'm going to stop sharing my screen. I would ask
that Mr. Burgos be sworn in, and I have a few questions for him. Sir, could you please state
your name and spell for the stenographer? Good evening. My name is Danilo A. Burgos. First name
d-a-n-i-l-o middle initial a last name b-u-r-g-o-s do you swear or firm to tell the truth
the whole truth is nothing but the truth yes sir please proceed counsel yeah mr burgos you heard
everything i had to state today about your zoning matter yes is it true and correct yes and do you
adopt as your own testimony yes thank you um how let me ask you a question how did you get to the
seven units uh just that it's a by right option to seven units so um we thought that that was a
good use of the property there's one unit on the ground floor above ground and each of the other
floors have two units each we thought that they were laid out well um i would ask this that if
the board feels inclined to grant the variance obviously we'll have a temporary variance we
would ask for five years and this is the reason he mr brogos is still in the middle of construction
auction, probably going to take another six to nine months to get that completed.
So then he'll be able to apply for the visitor accommodation licenses.
And so that's what we're asking for that additional time, just so we can complete the
And so that's what we're asking for that additional time, just so we can complete the property renovation.
property renovation.
Thank you.
Questions from the other board members.
How many other Airbnb or short-term rentals are you currently in your portfolio?
So currently in my portfolio, we have 20 to 25 short-term rentals.
They're all compromised between different properties.
One property has like four units, another one has six units, another one has seven units.
The majority and the bulk of those units are in Northeast Philadelphia, which is where you saw that letter of support from the Tycone Community Development Corporation, which we work hand in hand with them in making sure that our units are up to par with, you know, what they want in their community, the people that are coming in and out of their community.
They love it because it increases the footprint in their community and in the community that
I live in, and it also helps out with the money coming into that community specifically.
Right now, that's a community that they're looking for more people to come in to increase
the traffic on their corridor, their commercial corridor, and that's just one way that we're
helping them meet their goals and their mission.
So given that this property is in West Philly and your other properties are in North Philly,
How do you plan to manage these if the rest of the portfolio is in a different part of the city?
So I already have a team built out with virtual assistants.
So we have 24-7 communication.
If there's any issues on any of our properties, there's a phone number that our direct neighbors have
and everybody that stays in our property that if they have an issue, they call us.
And then we have maintenance staff members that are on call as well that can go and service the property.
I also live in Philadelphia.
it's only 20 minutes away from my house. So if I have to report directly, I can. I also have my
brother who's my partner in all of this. And we work hand in hand every single day. I also do
this full time. So it's not like I have a nine to five that I have to worry about. This is my
literally like 24 seven job. So yeah, I don't see this being an issue of being able to service it
at all and then what's your current vacancy rate in your airbnbs so right now we operate at a 80 to
85 percent vacancy um occupancy um we yeah we have a a very good demand um and that's because one we
have we provide great customer service um and two we are competitively priced so we're not overpriced
where literally most of the people that stay with us are people um either within the city or people
coming for a day or two to the city. We've seen a lot of people that stay with us that they're
they're literally just renovating their property and they need to stay with us for a week or two.
And a lot of them also have families that are coming from out of town and they want to stay
with us. And there are a lot of repeat customers as well. And then I know Mr. Mackamson mentioned
that you are in the Turn to Key program. How many, just for knowledge, how many other affordable
units have you built? So today we haven't built any. We have around four applications submitted
in Belmont and in Mantua. We have around 22 lots that we've applied for. Nine have already been
put aside for us. Another 11 were like on track to go through it. There's just like a lot of
paperwork behind it and a lot of community meetings and the process is very, very long.
So we've been going through the process already for a year, just waiting for it to get awarded and move forward with it.
So the community is well aware of those applications that we have submitted and of the work that we want to do and that we will do, God willing.
And then it's the CMX2 property. Is there going to be no commercial space on the first floor?
So we do have a commercial space set aside. We just haven't selected a tenant for it yet.
We're just doing a vanilla envelope for the meantime.
But we do have zoning for a laundromat,
but we still haven't been able to find anybody for it
because that was an idea that we originally had,
but for financial reasons,
I'm not able to run the laundromat.
Okay, understood.
I have a quick question.
Any other questions?
So the RCO is kind of neutral.
So I guess it's like half and half.
So what would your plan be,
or what is the possibility that all seven units
get rented out at one time like just the impact on the community like how can you help well what
will be a plan to have that should that take place um so i mean if that takes place we're
going to have to revisit the drawing board and um come up with a game plan um we we didn't we
didn't like when we went to the community meeting um it's like they were like half and half um the
The people that weren't with what we were trying to do with the short-term rental, they were really more just worried about different people coming into the area.
And that's completely understandable for somebody that lives there.
And something that, like, so I spent around, like, five years in that area because my family had a grocery store at 38th and Ashton.
I spent around like five years in that area because my family had a grocery store at 38th and Aspen.
So it's not like I'm a new face to the area or new to Philadelphia.
I was born and raised in Philadelphia.
I went to the public school system, and I'm also a Temple University graduate.
So like it's not like they're just going to see me now and then I'm going to disappear,
and I made that very clear to them, and they have my direct contact as well.
So different ways that we propose to them of how we can help out is for me to get engaged with them
and do either back-to-school drives or different activities
that they feel that we can be of help with and of service for them.
So something about us is that we're always open to different ideas
and different ways that we can contribute.
Other questions?
Yes, I guess my question is you're doing all of these properties.
You said you have 20 to 25 properties.
where you're doing the Airbnb model
or short-term rental visitor accommodation model.
So why that model?
Why not just do regular rentals?
Yeah, that's a great question.
I'm huge on customer service and hospitality.
I studied international business and tourism and hospitality at Temple,
and I always looked for a way to be able to tap into that creative,
mindset of mine. And one way that I'm able to do that is through the short-term rentals.
And through those short-term rentals, even though they're classified as short-term rentals,
we have people that come and stay with us 30 days, 60 days as well. It just gives us a different
avenue to have different people also come. We're not completely, like we've done long-term rentals,
but we just enjoy it more, being able to interact with different people from different backgrounds
that come from all over and that are from within our communities.
Thank you.
What's the minimum stay?
Two nights.
And the way we have it set up, so it's two nights if it's within seven days.
If it's beyond 45 days, we have a three-night minimum.
If it's beyond 90 days, it's a four-night minimum.
And then if it's above 180 days, we have a one-week minimum.
so it changes basis based on the range questions or comments for our attorney
not at this time questions or comments from the audience
i do not see any hands mr chairman planning commission thank you chairman and good afternoon
david vecto with the city planning commission chairman and board members the comprehensive
plan recommends no change in zoning at this location from the existing commercial mixed
use CMX2. There is no unique physical condition or circumstance of this property that would
prevent it from being used in conformity with the zoning code. A 2020 zoning ordinance passed
by City Council, which regulated short-term rentals, did not change the basic rule prohibiting
full-time use of a dwelling unit as a short-term rental. This type of absentee management, where
the owner does not live in the unit, has been illegal since the first short-term rental zoning
regulations became effective in 2015 what's changed since the passage of the 2020 ordinance
is that there is now a licensing and enforcement mechanism the city planning commission recommends
the board deny the proposed use variants for visitor accommodations
thank you mr care i'll kind of briefly respond yeah so this is not an ad hoc owner of airbnbs
he makes it his profession to do this i think it's responsible use given the cmx zoning
classification. This is commercial zoning classification. The history of the property
also is a rooming house. And given the size, configuration, the units, and the responsible
nature of this owner, I would respectfully request a five-year temporary variance. Thank you.
So what I'm going to do with this, Alan, I'm going to take this back to the executive session
next week and talk about it. And I'll vote on this at two o'clock. I just want to get
everybody together and have a conversation. All right. Thank you.
All right, thank you.
MI 2024-006-748-4283 Viola Street.
Meredith Furlicker was one of the attorneys.
Steve Masters represents the residents on the block.
Meredith?
Excuse me, Mr. Chair.
I'll be coming back in as a panel shortly.
good afternoon
Good afternoon.
hi uh council could you please state your name uh let me start with meredith and i'll be right
here steve because you're sitting here uh meredith could you please state your name and spell for
the stenographer or meredith ferlinger f-e-r-l-e-g-e-r right do you swear or affirm to
tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do okay and um mr masters could you
please state your name and spell for the stenographer good afternoon mr chair members
of the board steve masters s-t-e-v-e-m-a-s-t-e-r-s from the law firm of just laws right do you swear
or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth i do and i think ian had
conversation with you about the length of the presentation and um i think we're we'll probably
go 40 minutes okay all right and then we'll see where we stand at the end of that okay
certainly and now so uh for both of you i understand meredith that you um you your
presentation is done am i correct that's correct mr chairman um i would just for the record just
like to show the board that we did properly post uh repost for this resumption hearing right but
But other than that small record keeping item, yes, sure object to our right for rebuttal.
Right. And Steve, it's you, in fact, are now going to make your presentation.
Correct. Why don't you start? Sure. Thank you.
Before I begin, I wanted to just ask everyone who's here in the room who is an objector to this zoning project to to stand up.
it looks like at least 10 uh people are here so uh marith there's uh yeah there's 10 people
several signs noted all right thank you go ahead steve um so i wanted to make a brief opening
argument and then i'm going to call on a number of these okay so um in the uh in the onset um i'd
like to make a motion to dismiss this zoning appeal because the applicant testified at the
first hearing that there is no unnecessary hardship as a matter of law. As we know, in a
zoning case, the applicant has to prove that they meet the burden of showing unnecessary hardship.
I'm going to be quoting from the transcript from the first hearing. We will be
supplying the zoning board with a copy of it, but this is pages 20 and 21 of the February 26,
2025 transcript. I'm actually going to share my screen so we can all see it. That would probably
be the easiest. Sorry about that for moving away from the mic. We're going to share.
okay um so we're now looking at on pages 20 and 21 of the transcript um attorney meredith
furliger said finally to be entirely candid to this board there is a dual application for this
lot pending that is not scheduled to be reviewed by the board until march that application proposes
an identical structure but a different use as group living. So the emphasis here is like it is
exactly the same plan. It is just a different use. We do not intend to discuss that particular
proposal today. However, that application only requires a special exception. Either a multifamily
use or a group living use would complement the applicant's new development next door.
So what does this mean? It means that they're proposing, and they're allowed to, LNI has a zoning bulletin that says that an applicant can submit multiple projects for the same property at the same time.
But here we have one application that's for a variance where you have to prove hardship.
And we have another application that's for a special exception where hardship doesn't exist.
By definition, by the logic of the zoning code, you cannot say that you have demonstrated hardship, that you need a variance in order to properly use your property.
when at the very same time this isn't theoretical this is not like a a abstract idea maybe you could
use it as this maybe you could use as that they're saying we want to use it as a special exception
we want to use it as group living and that basically completely invalidates this application
today they cannot establish hardship by their own because that would but by the by their own legal
decision uh strategic decision to put in a special exception now i'm not expecting the the board to
uh strategic decision to put in a special exception now i'm not expecting the the board
to rule on this at this moment uh although although if you wanted to huh why did you bring
it up well i mean i i if you want to rule on it that that's fine but but you you may you may want
to take that under advisement and make that as as as part of the the deliberations but our position
is they have legally no basis to move forward at this point i could murder if you want to have a
quick comment on that. Sure. Mr. Chairman, as Council Masters stated, that L&I has a process
by which it permits applicants, property owners, to submit multiple applications for the same
property. And although I'm sure that Mr. Masters would like the small snippet that he has highlighted
there to establish that this case that's before the board today, that somehow this snippet detracts
from the hardship and the evidence that was presented to the board, simply put, it doesn't
do any such thing. Applications are, as the board well knows, are reviewed independently of each
other. And my statement to the board during the February hearing was given as, again, being candid
and informing the board of the fact that there is a separate application, but the board, quite
frankly, is in no position to rule on a motion to dismiss on this particular application without
having even heard an application for a special exception. So, you know, simply put, every
application is reviewed independently, and the fact that there is another application pending,
even for an identical structure does not in any way detract from the unnecessary hardships that
were presented in front of the board as mr master said we don't have to rule today but everybody's
here and i want you to go on with your case okay present your case mr chair i just i just want to
note procedurally um if the board were to find that there there was no hardship in the case the
the proper step would be to deny the variance,
not to dismiss the case.
So I just want to note that for the record.
Thank you.
So why don't we make sure you get plenty of time?
Our second argument, Mr. Chair and members of the board,
is that the applicant in their primary presentation
used the wrong legal standard in arguing
that they actually have established hardships in this case.
If we look at page 15 of the transcript, we see that attorney Ferliger was arguing that the character of the neighborhood creates an extreme hardship to facilitate single family development on lots.
And what she did in her presentation was she flipped the burden. She basically said, they don't have the burden to show you that single family dwellings are no longer compatible with this block.
They're saying that all they have to do is show you that there are some multifamilies on the block, and all of a sudden that means that it's not feasible to build single-family.
They haven't proved that.
They haven't even given you any data or any expert witnesses to say that you cannot have single-families.
We're going to have testimony today from many people who live in single-family homes on this block.
Are they apparitions? Are they ghosts? Or are they real people who live in real single-family homes?
They are thriving in single-family homes on this very block. There's absolutely no evidence in the record at this point that says that these people don't exist or that their single-family homes somehow don't exist.
um our our third um our third basic opening is that um we do agree with one thing that that
attorney ferliger um suggested last time and that is that the focus should be on the character
of this neighborhood and the character of the block but the distinction is that the that the
applicant's attorney only talks about character about the built environment what's the character
of the construction, of the architecture, of how many people, of how many units are in a particular
lot. She used the word character six times in her opening statements. We, as the Viola Street
Residents Association, are also laser focused on preserving and protecting the character of the
block. But for us, the character of the block includes people. I know this is a shocking concept,
But, but our, but character isn't just what kind of units and what kind of dimensions and how tall the building is, but it's what kind of people are the, are there, are the people bonding together? Is there a neighborhood?
What kind of people are the people bonding together?
Is there a neighborhood feel?
And I'm going to point the board now
to a Supreme Court case from 2004
called Albert v. Zoning Hearing Board
of North Abington Township.
And in this case, the Supreme Court was asked to explain
what is the significance of single-family zoning?
Is it just that there's only one dwelling unit or is there something more?
And the Supreme Court told us, and I'm quoting here, indeed, one of the many benefits of single family zoning districts is that they create residential neighborhoods in which the residents may develop a sense of community and a shared commitment to the common good of that community.
Without some level of stability and permanence in the composition of the groups residing in such residential districts, this goal is necessarily subverted.
What the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania recognized in this case is that when you have a single family block, it's typically very stable, very connected, very, very, like the bonds are amazing.
And you're going to hear testimony from people who've lived on this block over 60 years who can tell you why they would never move away from this block because it is such a great place.
But when you put tenants or in the other extreme, if you have group living with transient people, we're going to hear testimony from some of the residents here about how that has disrupted the incredible bonding and nature of this block.
And that's why single family zoning is so important to be protected and preserved, because you cannot get in single family, what you get in single family zoning, you cannot do that with transient populations in apartment buildings that are crammed together and don't know each other.
So I think that is my opening.
Let's see.
Why don't we start?
Oh, no, sorry.
Okay, go ahead.
One more, right?
i have one more sorry um the so the viola street community um we're going to hear testimony about
they they themselves put together historic and historic designation application and created
a historic district for this area now this is a very historic district we're going coming up to
the 250th anniversary of the country a hundred and when it was the hundredth anniversary is when
the centennial district was created in the man music theater a lot a lot of really good things
happened uh for the 100th birthday but one but they wanted to preserve that that um that legacy
for philadelphia so they created a historic district that abuts the properties that we're
talking about here today the the the empty lot is is an empty lot where they're building but all
all of the buildings to one side of it are all these historic ones but then they also created a
very vibrant civic group. The Viola Street Residence Association, in large part because of
the threat of blight, they wanted to control and prevent blight, and they wanted to preserve
the beauty of the neighborhood. But that is not, unfortunately, that is not a goal that is shared
by the applicant. We have an email from the applicant to Joyce Smith, who is one of the
leaders of the Viola Street Residence Association, and she's also a leader of the Centennial CDC.
This is an email from German Jakubov, June 28th, 2021. And it was sent to J.B. Harris, who leads
the residents group, the Joy Smith, who leads the leader of the CDC. And it ceases his attorney,
which I'm really not sure why his attorney didn't tell him not to do this.
I'm going to read it to you.
It says, hi, everyone.
I hope this email finds you well.
I am writing to you in regard to the historical twin at 4208 to 06 Parkside Avenue.
As you know, we placed an application in for a variance for an eight unit building in each
parcel.
That would be a total of 16 units.
This is the big letters minimum we need to make this project work.
If the variance is denied or even approved at six units each, we will not proceed with the project. We will board up the property and wait until the rents catch up to a point where it would make sense to rehab this property.
We're eager to rehab the property and bring it back into use and would be able to do it. And we would be able to, without a variance, if it was zoned RM1, as many identical homes are.
but the project does not make financial sense at six units that was the last use there was a zba
hearing so basically this is a form of extortion that
So, basically, this is a form of extortion that this developer uses over and over again in this neighborhood. He basically tells the community, this is what I want. If you don't give me what I want, I'm going to do Sam Rappaport all over your neighborhood. I'm going to hold these buildings. I'm going to make them blighted. I'm going to destroy the character of your neighborhood. And then you're going to give in and you're going to give me what I want.
that is that's the fight here members of the board we're we're trying to preserve and protect
a beautiful neighborhood that that that does really well on its own but doesn't do well when
predatory developers come in and try to break basically break the block and and break their
will and and just do what do what they want uh so that's that's my opening okay um i'd like to call
Jeanne Allen.
Ms. Allen, could you come in and sit here?
Hi, good afternoon, Ms. Allen.
Hi, could you get the mic on?
Mic on, the green light on?
Yes, it is.
Hi, could you please state your name
and spell for the son of a...
My name is Jeanne Allen,
J-E-A-N-A-L-L-E.
E-N. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
And Ms. Allen, you live on the block, am I correct? Yes, sir. Please start with your
presentation. Ms. Allen, what's your address? My address is 4244 Viola Street. And how close
is that to the properties that we're talking about today? I live probably midsection of the street,
so it would be, you know, a little further down than 4283. How many houses about are you down?
Maybe 15. Oh, I don't know. My math isn't that great. Okay. Can you tell the board how you were
raised on the block and what that was like? I'm glad to. I'm living in my family home
as have six generations before me. At present, in fact, the seventh generation lives there.
My three-year-old great-grandson, his mother, my granddaughter, presently live with me in the home.
The home was purchased in the 1950s. I'm a member of the Viola Street Resident Association,
a volunteer with the Centennial Parkside CDC, a board member with Rebuilding Together Philadelphia,
a member of the Greening Committee where we take on the task of planting trees to beautify our
neighborhood. I'm a 33-year member, active member of the Beulah Baptist Church in West Philadelphia
where I am involved in several ministries. I say all this not to boast but to demonstrate that I
just don't live on a block, but my life is deeply rooted and deeply invested in this community.
Viola Street isn't just a place where people exist. It's where families walk, where children
ride their bikes, and where neighbors gather. Mrs. Annie Wright, my 103-year-old neighbor who
lifts seven doors from me, has known me nearly all of my life, as does Mrs. Mildred Johnson,
my 94-year-old neighbor. You'll hear testimony from Lorraine Gomez, who I went to kindergarten
with, junior high, and high school with. I was in her wedding, and our sons, now 50 years old,
were born two weeks apart and were both raised on Viola Street. Our community has always been
made up of single-family homes with loving neighbors who know one another and look out
for one another. This massive, highly-density development project does not fit with the
character of our street. Squeezing 16 units onto a lot originally intended for single-family use
will drastically alter the feel of our community and set a dangerous precedent for future development.
Let me be clear. I'm not against development in our community, but I am vehemently opposed to the proposed construction at 4283 Viola Street.
For the record, will you please consider that 4249 Viola, a three-story house on the historic
side of the block and directly across from my house, was abandoned for years.
In fact, the back of the house had totally fallen off.
It was purchased, rehabilitated, and sold.
It was purchased, rehabilitated, and sold.
Ms. Cindy and her husband, Mr. D, now live there with their family, and we're so happy to have them.
4238 Biola was neglected for decades and a total shamble.
It was purchased and rehabbed, and I'm now looking forward to getting to know the new family that moved in just a year ago.
4-2-50 was also rehabbed, and now the family lives there as well.
My point is that this may not be new construction, but the development was within the confines of the current zoning.
Let me tell you what had been happening when absent landlords failed to properly vet their tenants or monitor what is going on in their property.
Two years ago, a drug house was established at a rental property, 4259, and while the
activity took place over a span of time, careful monitoring and reporting by neighbors resulted
in a major drug bust and incarcerations that caught the attention of the media.
An added nuisance on the block is the constant accumulation of trash and debris in front
of rental properties. You can, sorry to say, readily identify rental properties on our block
by the number of trash bins that are placed outside of it. A 16-unit rental property at 4283
will no doubt have similar issues. I host Bible clubs on our street in the summer for children
on our block and in our neighborhood. I'm concerned with child safety. Will my grandchildren
and now my great-grandson be able to play in the streets
with an additional 10 to 20 more cars coming down the street?
Will seniors be able to safely navigate cars
which presently park totally on the sidewalk?
They can barely make it through now.
Mr. German has repeatedly asked you to consider his costs.
He's stated over and over that he must profit from his development.
I understand entrepreneurship. I asked you, though, what about our costs? What about our
mental health? What about our right to live safely in our environment and enjoy our homes?
If any of you on the board live in Philadelphia on a narrow street with row homes, I would ask you,
how would you feel if they built a large development project like the one that is
proposed. I must respectfully ask this board to deny this proposal and put people over profit.
I'd like to thank you for the opportunity to share my story or think. No, please.
Counselor, do you have any questions? I do not. Meredith, the other council, Mr. Chairman, just
just a couple um miss allen i just want to make sure i heard you correctly you've lived in the
neighborhood you said since the 1950s 1960s yes that's correct okay um and i i understand that
you've obviously testified to the use of existing structures uh but to your knowledge in the
decades that you've been in this neighborhood uh are you familiar if there have been any
uh new single family homes built in the in the east park side community not renovated built
it's beyond the course of direct i'm objecting um i i agree about the whole area if you want to
ask her if there was anything new in her block it's fine but i sure sure uh miss allen are you
where? Have there been any new single family homes built on your block? As far as brand new
construction from the ground up, I am not familiar with that. And are you familiar with any new
construction on your block that was either duplex or triplex? Are you talking about new construction
from the ground up? Correct. From an empty lot? No, but I've already stated many examples of
rehabilitations of existing problem of properties.
And on one of those properties, 4249 Viola Street, are you
familiar that public records show that that particular
renovation was given a grant from the Pennsylvania Housing
Finance Agency to support the costs of that development?
No, I was not aware of that.
okay um that that's all for this witness michelle thank you um steve who do you have next
That's all for this witness.
okay next and michelle thank you thank you thank you so much um is um is neva neva white
in the virtual audience it would it would be neva white if she's available do we see miss white
yeah i think um chair i don't seem to see anyone by that name
yes room here you want to use sure sean solomon
come come on sean
oh he's on the mic oh he's on that he's virtual also all right okay sean can you raise your hand
you should be coming back in as a panel shortly
so steve you're about 20 minutes in okay right um and i and this is my conversation
about it. I think Ms. Allen laid a picture
out of what the block looks
like and how it's laid out.
What I think you can do now is when people testify
have them testify to why they don't
want the project.
Right, but they actually have different testimonies.
I understand, but yeah,
I'm going to try to get to as many people
as I can.
Mr. Solomon
has been from Bordish.
Could you please state your name as spelled for the stenographer?
Yes, my name is Sean
Solomon, and it is
s-e-a-n-s-o-l-o-m-o-n right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing
but the truth mr solomon yes i do please proceed steve um good afternoon mr solomon um will you
tell the board um with the role that you played around creating the historical district and the
historical nature of your block so that they can understand the full impact of of what this block
means to you and to the other neighbors yes i i have been living on the block since 1998
and um one of the things that attracted me to the block was the scale of the block is sort of an
intimate scale two-story row homes on one side and then three-story on the other and i was also
attracted to the architecture and at the time many of the buildings were very blighted however the
architecture shone through the blight and i was able to purchase my house for five thousand dollars
it was abandoned uh and the city was going to tear it down and i was able to get a building
permit and save the house and i have been restoring it ever since and uh over the years i've had
worked really hard to save many of the buildings in the neighborhood that were slated for demolition
I worked with at the time, Councilwoman Jenny Blackwell's office. I worked with licensing inspections. We had meetings and we were able to save whole blocks of buildings. And a lot of those buildings are now renovated. Some of them are even renovated as single family homes, which they were originally.
so over the years we worked really hard to get the local historic designation the neighborhood
is already a national historic district but the local designation would give us more
more ability for preservation so we lobbied we we went to the zoning commission the philadelphia
historical commission and we had signatures the whole block we worked really hard together
to get the first locally historic district in west philadelphia and this was around i think it was
2009 when we did that so um and ever since then i have uh worked as a consultant um to guide people
on how to preserve their homes, saving the original windows and the copper, to preserve
the bricks, to encourage homeowners to practice preservation rather than just taking the beautiful
old stuff or covering it with siding, things like that.
And I think I've been fairly successful to get some to get real compliance from the community, the homeowners and even some of the landlords as well to to to do that.
We also have a huge project with Habitat for Humanity.
So, Mr. Salman, thank you very much.
Steve, can you start focusing him towards this particular case?
Can you start?
Focusing him towards this particular question.
And I appreciate everything he said.
I just think we want to look at this particular case and what neighbors think about this.
So, Mr. Solomon, you heard Attorney Furliger talk about new construction.
Does new construction have any role in historic preservation?
Absolutely.
In fact, the developer in question did new construction, not on our block, but in the historic district, just a block and a half away.
There was infill housing.
There was a vacant lot between the two historic buildings.
And it was kind of like a row without with a tooth missing, you know.
And he was he built a brand new building.
He gave me a tour of it in between the two houses.
and he did an amazing job he matched the cornice he matched the the height the window size he even
matched the color of the bricks and he even put a porch on it and i give tours for the preservation
alliance of the neighborhood and i was giving a tour of that block and all the people in my tour
did not know that there was a brand new house they were staring at a brand new house because
that blended in with the other houses so well so let me now turn to the property the the project
that we're talking about here does the look and feel of the proposed um multi-family house at um
4283 viola does that match the look and feel of the historic houses next to it from the plans that
were shown no not at all in fact i would say the most egregious aspect of it is there's no front
door there's no porch it was just dumpsters basically it was it's like the back end of a
building it's almost like treating viola street as if it was a back alley the the truck would come
in and grab the dumpsters there was there's a building without a front door or even a porch
the scale i couldn't tell from the the rendering if the scale was of the same roof height so i
can't speak to that but the the styling of the the um rendering that was shown did not show any
sensitivity to the the the style of the rest of the block it didn't blend in with the the row home
feel um it didn't blend in with any of the architecture there was no reference uh it was
like uh and it was it was out as if it was it was not harmonious with the with the uh rest of the
block so i would encourage the um developer to do that and i know that he did he did a great job um
other buildings that he has done um in in the neighborhood he's done a wonderful job with very
okay so mr solomon i'm i'm showing now i don't know if you can see on your screen so does this
This is the facade that is proposed for 4283 Viola, correct?
Okay, so on the left side, that is a two-story row home that is a different style than the
other houses on the north side of the street, which is where the historic district is.
And so I don't think that the architect realized that this building to the right is actually
a three-story building that is actually taller than the one on the left.
so i can't really speak to i can't say that drawing is is misleading or anything like that
it's just it's not showing the other buildings um so it's hard to show the context but but um the
height of this building it appears that it would be higher than the three-story roof line of the
other buildings that would be stand next to if from the picture i'm looking at it just doesn't
it doesn't look like it will number one it doesn't even have a front door how could a
building and not have a front door on a on a block full of homes with a community
it that that is just and it should have a every house on the block has a porch it's like our
neighborhood like we were talking about has a community life people sit on their porches they
walk down the street they come in and out of their houses and this building is not um i was
actually surprised when i saw that drawing because he's done such a good job in other parts of the
neighborhood so i know that he can do it uh so in in your experience mr solomon this will be my last
question is it is it financially have do you are you aware of of whether developers have come into
your neighborhood and made financially viable projects that are consistent with the historic
character and preserve and and and help to to to to continue the historic heritage of your
neighborhood well i i can't speak to the pocketbooks of other developers or anything like that
developers or anything like that so i i really couldn't honestly answer if it was if it you know
so i i really couldn't honestly answer
made economic financial sense to them i do know that um the the there was one developer talking
about 42 49 he he uh was able to sell that property um for a lot more than he bought it for
obviously i don't know how much he put into it i don't know how viable exactly that was so i can't
really speak to that all i can say is that that property 4249 was a was a real success for the
neighborhood for the community because we have it's a single family house three-story house as
a family living in there and i say hi to them every morning it's they're they're contributing
to the community uh so and i can say that even for tenants who come in some of the apartments
try to get them focused sure on the block what the neighbors are talking so um so to wrap up
mr solomon why is it that you are opposed to this project for the for the 16 multifamily units
well the main from from my perspective i'm opposed to the fact that it doesn't have a front door it
doesn't have porches this scale appears to be much larger in in height the architecture is is
um it clashes with the with the uh the block so those are my from my perspective i would like to
see a building that matches a style of the other buildings on the block or at least has some
complementary aspects whether it's a porch whether it's a front door you know that's not like a back
alley with a dumpster that a truck's gonna come in twice a week you know we're not an alley our
block is not an alley all right thank you meredith you have any questions uh just a couple of brief
questions mr solomon were you present for the uh hearing in february yes i was i was i was in the
room okay unfortunately i can't be there today no no no no not at all uh so can can you just
confirmed that you heard the testimony concerning this project's interaction with the buy-right
project that this developer is building at 4274 Parkside Avenue? Yes, yes, and I recall to the
best of my memory that there was sort of like a connection, a connector, and that the people that
would be living on the Viola Street property would actually have access to the Parkside buy-right
property and that's where they would come and go through there and i actually object to that that's
my problem is this where it's like it's like it's just like a back end of an apartment building
where the people who are living in the building have no connection with the street it's just
and the only connection is there's the dumpsters uh that that i remember there was no door so is it
is it a reasonably fair statement that your concerns are more of an aesthetic nature
from my perspective it's well it's more than aesthetics it's about the community it's about
people should if they're living if their windows are spacing on our block they should be able to
walk out onto the street and interact with the neighbors and be a part of the community
So it's more than aesthetics. But a lot of my concerns are aesthetics. But the aesthetics and the workings of a community work together. It's one and the same.
Mr. Solomon, can you see the screen that I've shared?
So you testified a lot about your passion for, obviously, the historic nature of the community and the work that you have been involved with.
Just very briefly, can you just confirm that the properties before the board today are outside of the boundary that was set for the historic district, as is shown up on the screen on our applicant exhibit 19?
Yes, yes. It's actually still within the National Historic District. But you are correct. It is not in the boundary of the actual historic district. But my aesthetic argument regarding that is that it's right next to the historic district.
and our district is not isolated from the rest of the community and it is problematic that the
historic district only starts in the middle of the block it's somewhat unusual uh and so in fact my
argument is is is because of that the building should work with the local district that it's
right next to uh and also in concerning with like the roof height the number of apartments
uh and also in concerning with like the roof height the number of apartments mr solomon i
didn't ask anything about the roof height so it's about the aesthetics it's about the aesthetic
my question was simply about the historic map with with all due respect that that was that was
not my question we've moved on from that uh and then my final question for you you you testify
quite a bit about this particular developer's work in the community and some of the projects that
you're familiar with that he has developed and uh your your praise for the work that he's done
are any of those properties single family or have they all been multi-family developments
they they have been multi-family but i do not live on the block uh there's one that one right
next door which um we just got all our new neighbors and everyone seems really nice
very happy with that project and that was a rehabilitation not uh not a new construction
the new the i can't vouch for the new construction but the quality of the the neighbors are um because
it's not on my block i don't go on the block that much however i've never heard any complaints so
i i i personally think that um it's you he's a he's a good uh developer when it comes to that
new construction from what i have seen it looks good uh yes and they are multi-family they're
large properties um so but i i wasn't involved in the in the zoning hearings any of that
that's all i have for mr solomon steve we're we're going to set a result of hearing
um we have we have two people who could just testify but steve yeah you said that about the
west you can give me one more person who can testify about the project and not be all over
I really appreciate it. Lorraine, yes. I think your first witness laid out what the block looked like
in the thing, but I need somebody to say why they want the project that they don't want the project.
Okay. I'd like to call Lorraine Gomez. All right. Okay. And that's your last one for the minute.
All right. Hi, how are you? Good, and you? Good. Could you get the mic nice and close to you?
Could you state your name and spell it for the stenographer? Yes, my name is Lorraine Gomez,
L-O-R-R-A-I-N-E. Last name is Gomez, G-O-M-E-Z. Do you swear we're referring to tell the truth,
the whole truth, nothing but the truth? Yes, I do. And Ms. Gomez, you live on the block?
Yes, I live at 4243. Steve? How close are you in your house to the property that we're talking
about today? My house is 20 doors now. Okay. And how long have you been on the block? I guess
I finally purchased that house in 1956 and a family member has been in that house that
And I've been in there for the last 30 years.
What are your concerns about having a project with multifamily, with tenants?
How does that impact what you believe is happening and threaten things on the block?
Okay, Viola Street is one of the rare blocks.
It's not a block, it's a little village.
We all help each other on our block. And to have a developer to come in and put a 55, I'm sorry, a 16-unit property where there were three houses where there should only be 12 units, 12 apartments in those three properties, not 16, is ridiculous.
We have seniors, the majority of our homeowners are black female seniors over the age of 70.
Can you imagine right now we can sit on our porch, we can let our grandchildren play.
We have this 16 units built on our block, the congestion.
We live around the corner from Inquiry Charter School and we live on the side of Discovery
Charter School.
If you come through our community, you can't get through it at any given time when school is left, going in or coming out.
So what we suggest is a 12 unit.
We're not against development.
We're just against the density that he wants to put in our community.
Have you, do you have experiences that you can share with the board about times where tenants have, tenants coming onto the block, living on the block have disrupted the life of other people on the block?
Yes, East Parkside is saturated with institutional living. We have institutional living on Dryad Avenue, Memorial Avenue, Parkside Avenue. We've had some of their residents come on our blocks, go in our cars, check on the doors on your house to see if they're locked or not. We have to call the cops on them to remove them from our block.
We have to call the cops on them to remove them from our block.
So we are saturated and inundated with institutional housing.
So the 16 units of housing, are you confident that the people who are going to be living there are going to be people who are going to be compatible with the block, or do you have concerns about that?
I can't speak on that because I don't know.
I just think that the density in that small space is too much.
Okay. Okay. Meredith, do you have any questions?
Just a few, Mr. Chairman.
Ms. Gomez, so I just want to confirm that your testimony is that given some of the uses in the community that exist already,
that your block already is experiencing some issues with congestion
related to some of the charter schools and things of that nature?
That's correct.
And you testified that your block, like many, many others across the city,
are experiencing issues with vagrants and some criminal behavior.
Is it your testimony that that behavior is being perpetrated by tenants of my client?
I didn't say tenants of your client. I said institutional.
We have a lot of institutions living in our community, and sometimes the residents will come out and do unsavory things on our block.
Okay, but is it your testimony that institutional is equivalent to apartment living? Are you testifying that people that are living in apartments are the ones that are perpetrating the crimes? Or is it your testimony that there are other institutional uses that we're unaware of?
Crime could be coming from any of those entities. I couldn't say.
okay and and uh i know i asked this question earlier but but just in the 30 years that
you've been living on this block of iola street uh are you privy to any new construction single
family homes that have been built on this block not on this block but there have been in east
parkside are you able to provide any addresses yeah um no but i can give you the name 42nd
style street 42nd street um pins grove avenue cambridge street okay but but those those streets
are not viola street they're not parkside they're not lighty avenue they're those streets are not
within the the the triangle uh surrounding your block of viola street is that correct
no but they are part of east park side understood that's all i have for miss gomez i have one
redirect um miss gomez um isn't it true that the that the community that the viola street neighbors
haven't agreed that 12 units is is the right amount of units you were were you speaking for
yourself but not for the community speaking for myself yes okay um we do have john cromer um who's
who's here we're i'm very impressed with your next witness but you got it it's five minutes
yes he has he has it written down and he will deliver it oh okay all right all right mr cromer
thank you thank you thank you
i'm mr cromer could you please state your name and spell for this enough
excuse me john cromer j-o-h-n-k-r-o-m-e-r right do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole
truth, nothing but the truth. Yes, I do. Please proceed. Good afternoon, Mr. Cromer. Can you
tell the board, they probably know, but just for the record, what your background is with the city
and with housing in the city? I'm not a member of the community, but I'm very familiar with the
block and the property and its surroundings. I was director of housing for the city of Philadelphia
DURING THE 1990S AND WAS PLEASED TO HAVE PARTICIPATED IN FINANCING THE RESTORATION OF SEVERAL OF
THE PARK SIDE AVENUE MANSIONS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO PROCEED WITH YOUR TESTIMONY?
YES, AND I APPRECIATE THE TIME YOU SPENT THIS AFTERNOON, SO I'LL BE BRIEF.
ONE TOPIC THAT REALLY HASN'T BEEN BROUGHT UP THIS AFTERNOON IS THE ISSUE OF CONGESTION.
And you can visualize, I'm sure, the street presence of this property.
What you see from the street is a locked iron gate.
And just imagine how that's going to work with respect to deliveries, UPS, Federal Express, DoorDash, other deliveries.
And just imagine how that's going to work with respect to.
We're talking about a building where 32 people may be living.
And if those people are like other Philadelphians, they're probably going to be calling or texting for deliveries.
And that street would require a delivery person to pull up to the curb, ring the bell, have the resident come downstairs from possibly the third or fourth floor, open the gate, and sign off for the delivery or receive the delivery.
It's just not possible to leave a package on the sidewalk outside of that gate.
And the result is going to be really
impossible for residents to put up with.
The submission by the applicant includes pictures
of Viola Street.
None of them were taken during evening or night hours,
where a lot of those deliveries would probably
be taking place.
So I think that's one issue that hasn't been brought up yet
that's really going to have a critical bearing on how this project relates to the neighborhood
and the severely negative impact it would have on the neighborhood.
Thank you.
Do you have a position on the lack of a front door and the way that the configuration of this project?
Well, I think that's the problem.
A delivery person would not be able to live around Parkside Avenue.
The delivery would have to be made on Viola Street because that's the address of the person that ordered it.
And so the result was somebody would have to open the iron gate or be down there to meet the delivery person.
And the result is going to be traffic that pauses at that gate and backs everything else up.
So I think it's going to be a severe problem.
Do you also, can you also elaborate on the single family zoning of the community and the historical nature of the community and whether that, in your mind, cuts against this project or?
Steve, this is your last question.
I think that's been addressed already, but I think it's important to bear in mind that this community, like the rest of Philadelphia, is changing, and projects that were not viable a few years ago are becoming viable.
So I don't think it's correct to say that just because single family new construction has never appeared on the block, that it never will. The neighborhood is changing. In some cases, not for the better. But in terms of the market, the market has steadily been improving.
And I don't think it's unrealistic to expect that over time, there will be an opportunity to develop single family new construction housing. Thank you.
Thank you.
Meredith, you have any questions?
Just one or two.
Mr. Cromer, relative to your last couple of sentences, relative to your optimism that single family development may be viable at some time in the future, have you done any independent analysis on the cost of new housing construction and the current rental rates in this particular area to be able to actually testify
whether that is viable current day when this application is in front of the board?
I haven't, and I don't think I need to. The variables are changing quickly,
and they will change during the next few weeks, but also during the course of this year.
The overall trend, though, has been one of rapidly increasing real estate values in Parkside
in nearby areas, and there's plenty of evidence of that. But respectfully, without having actual
data to present to this board, that testimony is entirely speculative. To simply say that
conditions are changing without presenting any data to this board is not credible evidence for
this board to consider. I understand your question, but I think he tried to be honest. He's not given
deity. He just said what he thinks. Understood, Mr. Chairman. Just for the record, I just want
to make it clear. Okay. And then my final question for Mr. Kramer, you testified to two somewhat
My final question for Mr. Kramer, you testified to two somewhat conflicting things. One being that it would be very difficult to make deliveries to Viola Street, but then also the fact that consistent with our presentation that this is designed to be part of a development on Parkside Avenue, specifically to pull that impact away from Viola Street.
So I'm just a little bit unclear here, you know, whether you're testifying that the design is actually going to accomplish the concern that you've testified to, or I'm just a little bit unclear, you know, what your testimony is on that point.
I understand the intent, but the reality is that delivery vehicles would have to pull up on Viola Street. They could not pull up on Parkside Avenue because they would be directed to addresses on Viola Street. There wouldn't be any elder alternative.
that's all i have for this witness all right um so we're going to resume this
resumptive hearing i'll give you the early state we have july 15th 2025 at 9 30 a.m
thank you very much everyone for thanks everyone for coming i uh appreciate everybody from that's
in the audience here and uh i like your signs are very nice thank you mr chair part i just
have a question mr masters are you do you still have additional witnesses that you plan to bring
yes i do okay all right so we'll be completing your your presentation as the first order of
business in the next hearing okay thank you thank you all right mr chair can i suggest a five minute
recess? Sure. Thank you. We are back. Number 7, MI 2024-005-731-950 Malboro Street. David
Orphanidis is the attorney. There's a letter of support from Fishtown Neighbors Association.
The vote was 21 in support, 12 in opposition.
Letter of non-opposition from council member squad.
I'm coming back in as a panelist, Mr. Chair.
Hello?
Hi, Mr. Orphanides.
Just for the record, state your name and spell for the stenographer.
Certainly.
My name is David Orphanides.
My last name is spelled O-R-P-H-A-N-I-D-E-S.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Do you identify your client in a relationship to the property?
Certainly.
My client is 1212 North Delaware Avenue, QOZ, Q0, QOZ, LLC.
Right.
Do you waive the reading, the refusal, and agree with its accuracy?
Uh, it is, the refusals are accurate. Some of the information, the details in it are slightly off and I can go. Okay. Okay. And you've had all of your exhibits in within five days.
Yeah. I've made a submission within five days and then we've added some additional material.
So why don't you start your presentation and share your screen?
Certainly. Let me just see here. Share my screen. Okay.
Animize this. Okay. Can you see my screen?
We can, sir.
Great.
Uh, again, uh, good afternoon. David Orfanides here for 1212 North Delaware Avenue, QOZ LLC,
the owner of 950 Marlboro street. Uh, you have a picture of the property up in front of you on
the screen right now. Property is located on terms of compass orientation, roughly the Southwest
corner of, uh, Marlboro street in East Allen street. Uh, you'll see in a couple of minutes,
It's in a little stretch off of Delaware Avenue, about 160 feet, 170 feet from Delaware Avenue on the one side.
And you can see beyond in the picture to the right here is 95.
That's also about 160, 170 feet away.
It's a very interesting little stretch that's between these two major roadways.
The project that we're here for today is a rendering of the project.
This is a view from the catty-cornered property, which is also owned by my client, that has
presently been approved.
It was a development project that was done by Wright, mainly because the project is that
property was remapped from industrial to CMX3 back in 2015.
We'll be getting to that.
And we'll talk about the connection between those two properties.
But here's a picture of what is being proposed, which is a ground floor for parking and a
lobby.
And then originally we had applied for 28 units, but through the community.
And then originally we had applied for 28 units, but through the community RCO process with Fishtown Neighbors Association, it dropped to 26 units.
These properties, you have three properties or four properties, obviously, at the corner.
Right now, this is a picture of our property.
This is a street view image from 2023.
3. The south, I'll call the southeast corner, has been approved and permitted for a large number of
units, which I'll get to in a minute. The southeast corner, or northeast corner, I'm sorry, which is
1212 North Delaware Avenue, which is my client's other property. I'll get that has been approved,
as I mentioned, by rate after going through the CDR process. There's another property across the
street from us on the corner that is presently zoned to RSA 5, has had non-residential zoning
in the past. And none of these four properties, as far as the city's records, have ever been used
for residential use. Even this property directly across the street from us on the northwest corner
has always been used as offices and accessory parking, dating back to records in 1970.
But going back in time, you could see, again, you know, three corners.
It's a little bit, you know, like Sesame Street, which one of these things is not like the other.
They're all basically the same except for that northwest corner, which, again, has never been used for residential use.
And this goes all the way back in time, 2011, 2009.
And these are street view images.
and then if i go back a little further oops oops i'm not sure what happened there if i go back a
little further you can see back going back in time from 2009 we go back to 2004 where i go to aerial
images and again you can see that the properties on the these three corners to which are presently
being developed in a similar fashion to what we're proposing to do with our project today
have always had this type of use.
And that makes sense
because the properties were zoned for industrial use.
And you could see that again
when I show you some of these other images
going back to 1996, 1975, 1970, 1965, 1959,
and even back to 1939.
This is consistent with the Sanborn maps.
Here you can see in 1916.
you lost your video i lost the video we didn't see any of this we didn't see i didn't you were
just talking and talking and all of a sudden your video disappeared oh hold on one second
so you're just seeing me that's not that's not what we want to do sorry about that can you see
now we can okay so basically i'm not sure when it knocked out but again these are some of the
images, the Street View images that go back to 2009 that show these other corners that have been
since developed, either approved or presently under development for the use consistent with
what we are proposing with the current application. And again, these Street View images go back to
2009. I pulled historic aerial images that go back even further that show, again, these three
corners, including our property, have always been used for, as you can tell from the structures on
them have always been used for non-residential purposes.
I was even able to pull back to 1939, and you can see here that that's very consistent
with the sandboard maps, which we were able to pull, which show our property going back
all the way to 1916, never having any type of residential use on the property.
Sometime in 2015, City Council passed an ordinance, Bill number 15007, which remapped these three corner properties from I-2.
and the two properties across the street from us on the on the other side of east allen went to cmx
three the other property oops the other property at the end of the block that was i2 at the next
block to the north roughly to the north went from i2 to cmx two our property obviously having even
though it had the industrial use or commercial use in the past was remapped to rsa5 and that's
largely the reason why we're here today. Our application was originally for 28 dwelling units.
Again, you'll see that through the course of the community process, we dropped it to 26.
950 has approvals to serve as accessory off-site parking in that existing structure
for the development, the by-right development at 1212 North Delaware Avenue, again located Caddy
corner. But since the property is owned RSA 5, having the multifamily use results in a refusal.
Having the multifamily use results in a refusal.
Having multiple principal uses, which is having the off-site non-accessory parking for 12-12,
along with the multifamily use creates a situation of multiple principal uses.
And then you'll see in a couple minutes that we have some dimensional nuances.
The current building occupies 100% of the lot.
The current building is at a certain height that we, through the course of this project, we want to demolish the building to lower that ground floor, which reduces the height, the overall height of the proposed structure.
To rebuild that ground floor in the same footprint as what presently exists is what creates our rear depth refusal.
And the refusal says it's occupied area at 80 percent, which is correct, but then says proposed is none.
That would mean we have no building on the property.
The examiner, I contacted the examiner.
It should have stated that the occupied area was 100 percent because, again, we're replacing the existing building that occupies 100 percent of the lot, at least at the ground floor level.
The upper floors, floors two through five, comply dimensionally, both in terms of rear yard depth and open area.
And actually, now they do.
When we originally proposed, you'll see in the original zoning drawings, the portion of the upper floors did not have the required rear yard depth.
With that 80 percent occupied area through the community group process, we've increased the rear yard depth at the upper floors substantially to the point where it's no longer at the upper floors is a refusal would result in a refusal.
And then we have an occupied area that's now less than 80%.
It's 79.4% at the upper floors.
And the rear yard depth, while nine feet is required at the upper floors, it's now 24
feet, three inches.
And then the maximum building height, RSA 5, as you know, is 38 feet.
Originally, it was 54 feet, seven inches.
That was to the roof because the parapet height was actually taller than that.
above the roof height. The actual should have been, could have been higher than that, but we've
reduced the height through the RCO process again substantially and set the fifth floor back you'll
see so that to the point where the portion of the structure that's fronting both on Marlboro Street
on East Allen Street is very close to what can be permitted as a matter of rate. Just to show you
some of the existing conditions real quickly. Here is the property. You can see we're sandwiched
between Delaware Avenue and 995. And here's some existing aerial images. This is before the
development of the property at 1130 Delaware Avenue on this corner, which you'll see some
photographs in a minute. And you'll see them here imposed on that same aerial image. So here's our
property in the existing one-story structure. Here is what's been proposed at 1130 and has
not proposed, but has been permitted, both zoning and building, and is presently under construction.
You have 182 residential units. You only have parking for 34 parking spaces. You have over
170,000 square feet of gross floor area. And you have a building height that's at 84 feet,
three inches, which is substantially taller than what we're even originally proposing before we
reduced the height through the community group process. Here in yellow is 1212 North Delaware
Avenue, which again is a project that my clients secured zoning approval for as a matter of right
after having gone through the CDR process. That's 62 units with ground floor commercial space,
13 parking spaces, two of which are on site, and then the 11 other ones which were originally
permitted to be, and the existing structure at 950 with 50,000 square feet, a gross floor area
at a height of 84 feet. There's a converted church here over at Richmond and Marlboro Street.
That building is 60-some feet. You'll see in some elevations, and you see here that it's shown at
62 feet, and that was approved by variance by a prior zoning board for 26 units with zero parking
spaces. Again, I've showed you some picture. I showed you a picture originally from the
intersection, and you can see here some other pictures of both the property and the surrounding
properties. This property located abutting us to, I guess, basically the west is presently
a rental property. There are then five properties further down here at the corner of Richmond
and marlborough street that are vacant lots you can see that here they've been long-standing
vacant lots you can see that in the sanborn maps here's a picture of the church that was granted
a variance for 26 units with no parking a view from richmond street um this property
a view from Richmond Street. This property right here was granted a variance,
height variance. And again, the property that's located here right at the corner has never had
residential use. That's our client's property at 1212. And then this is the properties that
are under construction at 1130 with the higher height. You'll see in the section drawings that
even their lower portions of that structure, so the height I gave you was the portion fronting
on Delaware Avenue, even the lower portion that was set back at East Allen Street is still going
to end up being taller than the height of what we're proposing. Here's a tab 2E. Here's a civil
survey that shows what exists and what was being proposed at 1212, as well as 950.
There is public transportation, a lot of it located in the immediate vicinity of the subject
property, you have bus routes, you have the L, and then you have the SEPTA trolley line that's
located very close to this property. This is the information that we utilize to submit to
the Planning Commission for the CDR for 1212. And you can see there are a number of amenities
located really close to where our property is located. Here is the current zoning map for the
area, you can see, again, our property, which had been I-2, has been remapped to RSA-5 for some
reason, even though, again, it's a larger, it's always been used as a larger parcel, over 6,000
square feet. But the properties across the street from us that were also zoned I-2 at the time went
to CMX-3, which allows for a project that we're proposing as a matter of rate. If our property
with similarly zoned CMX3, we wouldn't have had to go through this process, even though, again,
you had a very similar building to what existed at both of those properties historically.
We did provide zoning archives for the existing properties, as well as other properties that are
located in close proximity. I bring them up because the properties, you have the vacant lots
that are here, a lot of these properties located along Richmond Street are rental properties.
The property next to us is a rental property, and there are a number of rental properties
as well along our side of East Allen Street as it extends down the block.
The current proposal of where we stand right now, these are the original zoning drawings
that were submitted.
Originally, the plan was to have the 11 parking spaces that were targeted and to be utilized
by 1212, with the driveway coming in off of Marlboro, going out onto East Allen. Oops,
you can see here, and this was the height of the structure. You can see, if I zoom in a little bit,
there we go, the elevation of the roof at 54.7, then with the roof deck and the pilot houses
above that up to 65.7, and then with an overrun at 70 feet 7 inches. Here's that same aerial image
with what we were originally proposing. Again, going straight up on the sides of the building,
going straight up to a height that I had shown, up to a height of 54 feet 7 inches plus the parapet.
And again, you can see here's the grade level plan that showed the parking coming in and out
with the corner lobby. The site section from our original proposal that we originally proposed
presented to Fishtown shows the roof height of 54.7 and then the pilot house. It does show,
at least in this view, it shows the converted church actually at a roof height, an overall
ridge height that was greater than what we were proposing. And then here from what we were
originally proposing, again, you have the structures located along East Allen Street
being taller than us, and then obviously much taller when you get to Delaware Avenue.
Here's a rendering that we originally presented to Fishtown. Again, you can see a five-story
building going straight up along either perimeter. If you look at the zoning drawings, you could see
this is the leg of the upper floors the ground floor again is to be rebuilt to the same footprint
the 100 occupied area of the existing building the upper floor is two through five where they
create a type of l and because the planning commission dean marlboro to be the front
we needed a rear yard depth off of this property line and we didn't provide it
and again the occupied area was at 80 percent and this is what the renderings look like from
the different views here's a view looking down marlborough street um from with 95 at our back
here is a picture a rendering of what 1212 would look again taller much taller than
taller, much taller than what we're proposing, but permitted as a matter of rate in the CMX3
what we're proposing but permitted as a matter of rate in the cmx
zoning district. We did prepare shadow studies that we presented to Fishtown at our first
meeting. We had two meetings. One was on the November 12th, 11-12-24. Then after we received
comments, and I'll go through those real quickly, we met with them again on January 21st, 25.
Initially, Fishtown's position was one of opposition, but you'll see with the changes
that we made, Fishtown did change their position to one of support.
And you can see here, and this was the shadow studies that we showed in yellow, you see
how our proposed building was shadowing more than a by-right building.
There was some additional shadowing, but not a significant amount, a large portion of it
on the vacant lots that presently exist, as I said, at the corner of Richmond and Marlborough
Street.
In terms of the revised project, we did, in the letter that was sent to the Zoning Board following our meeting with them on November 12th, 24, there were a number of comments.
They stated that we had too many units. We went back to them from 28 units to 26 units.
If you take a look at the floor plans, you'll see that originally on floors two through five, we had units that ranged from 400 square feet up to about 560 square feet.
You'll see that with the reduction in unit size, the unit number, the number of 400 or lower square foot units dropped substantially from at least eight of them to only three of them.
And we were able to create larger units as well, units up to 717 and 868 square feet.
We were able to reconfigure, you'll see in a minute, the ground floor layout so that we were able to provide actually two on-site parking spaces for the use at 950.
And in addition, we've received a letter of intent from Rivers Casino.
And if this project is approved, we'll be entering into a lease agreement with them for 24 additional parking spaces.
That addressed the concern that the community had that they expressed at the first community group meeting that we didn't have enough parking for the number of units we were proposing.
So we now are proposing one-to-one parking, which far exceeds anything that's required anywhere in the zoning code and exceeds even what's been provided at either of the development projects across the street from us on East Allen Street, on the opposite corner of Marlboro and East Allen, across Marlboro Street from us.
And, of course, what's been provided at the church located at Richmond Street and Marlborough Street.
We set – they had concern with how the facade looked with the going straight up.
And what we were able to do is we were able to set back the fifth floor and reduce the overall building roof height down to 52.6.
What happens as a result is overall the building is shorter than it was before.
It's even shorter in comparison to the development project across the street, across the opposite side of East Allen Street from us.
And by setting the fifth floor back from the building facade along Marlboro Street and East Allen Street, we now at that – along that facade of the properties, we now have a height of only 43 feet as opposed to it being over 50 feet.
And as a result, that's only about 18 inches higher than what a by-right RSA-5 building would have at the actual curb.
So you'll see in a couple minutes with our renderings, if in the future any of the properties to either side of us were ever developed with by-right buildings, what would happen at the actual sidewalk would be very similar to what could be done as a matter of right.
And then again, what I'll show you in a couple minutes is we pulled that leg that extended away from Marlboro Street. We pulled that back. Instead of being at that property line opposite Marlboro Street, it's now 24 feet, seven inches away. So we addressed those concerns.
In addition, we eliminated the curb cut on Allen Street.
You'll see when I showed you the photographs of the property, there are curb cuts and garage doors along the whole frontage of Marlboro Street and then also along East Allen.
There's one along East Allen Street.
So we've now eliminated the curb cut on East Allen, and we are now having a single curb cut.
It's wider than what was originally proposed with this project when we were coming in off of Marlboro and out into East Allen.
But we are creating more on-street parking spaces with this development project than what presently exists with this building.
They also asked us about where the trash room is located, and we moved that to a location to reduce traffic congestion.
You'll see when I show you the site plan, there was some concern about the facade of the building or the face of the building that the butts, the Richmond Street properties, the vacant properties that are located between.
uh the butts the richmond street properties the vacant properties that are located between our
property and i-95 and you'll see with the revised drawing we were able to pull the building back
from from those property lines so right now you can see these are the revised drawings that were
presented to the community group in january and which were the basis for them to now support
the project having addressed all of the concerns that they raised following the first meeting and
again, you could see the setback along Richmond Street of all the floors above the ground floor.
You can see the five-foot setback along here at the fifth floor. And you could see the fact that
we pulled the building back that 24 feet, seven inches from the south property line.
And you could see it here again. If I showed you the zoning drawings before, you could see here,
This was all filled in.
That was the leg of the building that extended back.
And then what we have right now, as you see now, there's all this big, this whole big gap.
The thing that's also interesting is that the actual ground floor that's to be rebuilt is going to be lower than the existing one-story building.
So if you compare the site plans, you could see the difference, how we pulled the building back here.
We pulled the building, all the upper floors above the ground floor back.
The fifth floor has been pulled back as well.
You see the single curb cut on Marlboro Street versus the two curb cuts, one on Marlboro and one on East Allen.
And then you see with the reconfiguration of the ground floor parking, we're able to provide two additional parking spaces for use of the properties at 950.
You can see that right here with the ground floor plan.
It does include auto-share spaces. That was included with the original proposal for the off-site parking, accessory parking for 12-12.
I can go through the floor plans if you'd like. I think the site sections are more important.
You see right here how now we compare to the height of the building across the street, particularly here what you see, this across East Allen Street, what you actually have at the sidewalk, the 43 feet.
It's much lower than the building across the street from us.
And you can see here a revised rendering that sets the fifth floor back.
And this view from, again, 95 behind us, you can't even see the fifth floor anymore.
And then here is where I think it's important where we showed the by right RSA 5 facade heights along Marlboro Street in East Allen.
And here's what you had before when the building was fronting completely at the sidewalk.
And now, again, what you see at the sidewalk is only barely higher, as we said, about 18 inches higher than what could exist, could be built to either side of us as a matter of rate.
And then we have revised shadow studies now that show the difference between what we had before and what we have now.
So if I do a comparison, which we have here, so here was what was previously what I showed
you originally with the original proposal, and now you could see that even before it
wasn't a tremendous amount of additional shadowing over what would be permitted by
right at the property, and that's by right with an RSA 5 development project, to now
there being barely and in many cases no shadowing and you can see here the difference again between
what was originally proposed to what's being proposed now very little to if any shadowing
beyond what's permitted as a matter of right
um we did show you here um the distance uh to get to uh the off-site parking the parking spaces
that we're going to be providing from our property from 950.
We did have an appraisal report prepared to deal with it both.
You have to kind of look at both projects together in a way
because the result of the appraisal report was twofold
or two main points of the appraisal report
that was prepared by Rittenhouse Appraisals.
One is that with the changes in market conditions
since my clients first received the approval for 1212 back in 2024. They purchased these properties
in early 24. That 1212 cannot be developed, according to the appraisal report, cannot be
developed with 950 only being utilized for the offsite accessory parking for 1212. The additional
residential units at 950 is required from our clients to make 1212 work with this use of 950.
the other thing about the appraisal report is that the uh the property cannot support
development as an rsa 5 development project which would allow for only four single-family homes
five development project, which would allow for only four single-family homes,
particularly
particularly given the fact that they did not overpay for either property. And then also given
that the number of units that we're proposing going down to 26 is a minimum necessary in order
to make the property commercially viable. I did provide some examples of our clients' other
properties that they've developed in different areas of the city. And you can see them here.
They do very nice work, high quality design, unique design. This development at 1212 and at 950 is
going to completely change this corner and these properties surrounding area, aside from what's
already being developed at 1130. You mentioned the position letters that we have. We do have
the letter of support from Fishtown. You can see here the support is highlighted in yellow. We have
Councilman Squilla's letter of non-opposition. And then we do have at tab 8C a number of position
letters, letters of support from members of the community. And they're all listed here. There's
about 12 or 13 of them. A copy of River's letter of intent offering us the parking spaces. The deed
showing my clients own both properties 1212 north delaware avenue and 950 that they purchased in
2024 our tax clearance certificate for this property and my client as the owner the hearing
notice for today's hearing the posting of those notices on both the marlborough street and the
east allen street facades of the property and requirements with the 21 day advance posting
at the property. And then the 14303 notices that we had, Planning Commission designating
Fishtown as the coordinating RCO for the project, the delivery addresses. There weren't a tremendous
number of properties without the development of, without 1130 being finished and occupied yet.
So not a lot of property owners within 250 feet of the property. You can see them here,
not many at all. And then the 14303 notices for both the first meeting with FNA in November of
24, and then the meeting with them in January of 25. So in summary, what you have here is you have
a property that has never been used for residential purposes. The other corners of
this intersection have never been used for residential purposes. The two other properties
that have the same history of use actually had almost the same building or type of building
located on it as our property have since been developed as multifamily dwellings. The property
is uniquely configured with the leg that extends further away from Marlborough Street around the
rest of the property with the next property next to us to the south kind of tucked in that little
notch. With the changes that we've made, well, and also with the location of the property between
95 and Delaware Avenue kind of presents a unique situation. And the appraisal report, again,
talks about the difficulty in developing this property for single-family use. Appraisal is
familiar with other single-family residential developments in the immediate vicinity,
having been involved in them. Those are infills, not in single lots, not a situation where it's
lot of this size and a lot of this configuration um we've made changes to the project we've reduced
the number of units we've reduced the height we've reduced all of the variances that are involved
here to the point where we feel and again the appraisal report supports this we're required
we're requesting the minimum number of units that are required it's the minimum number required
for the granting of this variance um and uh with the support of the community the non-opposition
of the Councilman, the support of other members in the community. We feel that we've satisfied
the grant and the shadow studies that we've shown. We've satisfied all the criteria set
forth in the zoning code for the granting of the cited variants or cited refusals in this matter.
Do you want to bring on your client, please? Sure. I can have them adopt my statements.
First, I would have Derek Spencer from Nome Architecture. They're the ones who prepared
the materials for this presentation.
they've been allowed to speak
hi sir could you please state your name
as spelled for the stenographer
yes Derek Spencer
D-E-R-E-K
S-P-E-N-C-E-R
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth
the whole truth and nothing but the truth
yes I do
Mr. Spencer could you turn in on your video
it's actually not allowing me to
It's actually not allowing me to.
I only see the options
I only see the options for all.
let me promote them
Let me promote them, sir.
I'll promote them.
No, that's okay.
We're all right.
Move on, Mr. Orphanides.
Derek, what is your position with Nome Architecture?
I'm a partner at Nome Architecture.
And did you either prepare or oversee the preparation of the materials that we presented to the community group and on two occasions and now to the zoning board?
Yes, I did.
And were you also involved with the project at 1212?
Yes, I was.
And you handled the CDR presentation for that project?
Correct.
And did you hear the statements that I made to the zoning board today?
Yes, I did.
And are they true and correct to the best of your knowledge?
Yes, they are.
And would you adopt them as your own?
Yes, I would.
And just real quickly, is this the, from the CDR materials, this is the project at 1212,
correct?
Yes, it is.
And both the project at 1212 and at 11th, which is our client's property and project,
as well as the project at 1130 are substantially taller and have a substantially greater number
of units than what we're proposing today with 950, correct? Correct. Okay. And they provide
substantially less parking from a ratio standpoint to the number of units, between the number of
units provided and the number of off-street parking that's being provided, correct? Correct.
Okay. I don't have any further questions of Mr. Spencer.
I would have Sal Siddiqui promoted to a panelist, my client, to adopt some of my statements.
Okay, they'll be coming back in shortly, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Jason.
could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
or first name sal s-a-l last name the deke s-i-d-d-i-q-u-i you swear or affirm to tell
the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do please proceed counsel sort of sal
did you um what is your position with uh 1212 north delaware avenue qoz llc i'm one of the
owners uh the properties okay and did you hear the statements that i made to the board today
yes i did and they true and correct to the best of your knowledge yes would you adopt them as your
own i would okay and do you have anything to add did you like to add to the zoning board regarding
um this these two projects and and your intentions in terms of the neighborhood and the community
given the process we've gone through with fishtown or uh i appreciate the board yeah
Yep. And look, I appreciate the opportunity to present our project here today, guys. We have a record of successful projects in Philadelphia, particularly in Fishtown. Of the eight properties we've done in Philadelphia so far, this is our fifth in Fishtown.
Some of the properties highlighting some of our emphasis on design, doing what's best for kind of the canvas of the community to fit in, include the petite coin. You saw a photo of that. That's a building of ours in the Queen Village.
We have the Fishtown Flatiron, which is at 2401 Frankfurt.
That design was inspired by Kensington High School a couple blocks away.
The McDermott is the project at 689 North Broad, that beautiful blue building atop the-
Steve, David, I really appreciate all his properties.
And I think the photos you put up are appropriate.
He doesn't have to list his property.
Thank you so much.
I apologize for that.
I'll move on to 950 specifically.
So as far as why 950, look, we believe the project would benefit the neighborhood.
I mean, right now the site, it's an old, it's effectively an abandoned sort of industrial
scale warehouse.
It's almost been more of a nuisance than anything else.
Raccoons, people dumping trash.
There's folks who've been using some of the nooks and crannies around that neighborhood
as shelter, creating obviously unsafe environments for the current neighbors.
So, you know, we've done our best so far to clean up.
Neighbors have reached out to us, including Scott Sperry, who's involved in the RCO there.
And as soon as we hear from them, we've gone out to make sure things are cleaned up.
I think what we're proposing is going to bring much needed housing.
It's going to contribute to the overall improvements coinciding with the work from the Delaware River Waterfront Corp.
You know, they're doing all that stuff along the sort of Delaware River walk there.
That promenade, Penn Treaty Park is looking better and better every day.
So I think it's an opportunity to take something that's been neglected, turn it into something that really fits where the neighborhood's going.
I can speak to community engagement as well. I don't want to be too long winded.
But look, David, I got you. Let me just ask him. Let me ask him a couple of questions.
Sal, regarding the appraisal report and the statements that I made regarding the need to what the appraisal report stating both that the project, the project.
The the need to what the appraisal report stating both that the project, the property, we need to develop 950 in this way in order to make 1212 viable and also the inability to develop the property for strictly for single family use.
When you first went through the CDR process, you first developed 1212, 950 was proposed just to be the building to be left how it is presently and to just use it for the offsite parking to meet the parking requirements for the number of units that you were proposing at 1212, given that it was CMX3.
you originally proposed for it to be left that way but then is it not true that as stated in
the appraisal report market conditions changed and 12-12 just wasn't going to happen unless
you guys had to do 950 the way it is is that not correct that's right yeah and you know yep
and and is it true like initially when we went to fishtown some of the neighbors had had an issue
Well, questioned, why didn't you tell us about this before?
And we did communicate to them that this was never in the original cards to develop 950.
It became necessary as market conditions changed in order for 1212 to get developed.
950 had to be developed in this way.
Is that not correct?
Sure, that is correct.
Not only at those F&A meetings, but myself and my partner, we spent time canvassing that neighborhood.
We did hold Q&A sessions outside the property throughout the fall and winter over the course of several weekends.
And we discuss some of these questions with the local folks there.
Thank you, Sal.
And Mr. Chairman, unfortunately, it seems that we somehow lost the appraiser.
He is not able to, he's not responding to our text messages.
You're an officer of the court.
You've already testified to what the appraiser said.
Right.
And I think Sal has substantiated what's set forth in the report.
They commissioned the report.
They are familiar with the report.
Um, they, they understand the content and that, and he adopted that.
So thank you.
Questions from the board.
And with that, I would move all my, my documents and my presentation.
Questions from our attorney, Hillary Emerson.
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience.
Mr. Chair, I do not see any hands raised for the matter.
Planning commission.
thank you chairman and good evening david vecto with the city planning commission
chairman and board members the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the rsa5 residential
single-family zoning at this location the city changed the zoning maps in fishtown in 2015
and a community requested map change at that time this property was zoned i2 general industrial
This is a 6148 square foot lot. Assuming the appellant could meet the dimensional requirements of the zoning district, there would be allowed six dwelling units, not the 26 that are proposed. The State Planning Commission recommends the board deny the proposed use variance for 26 dwelling units and the associated dimensional variances.
Okay, thank you. Hillary, are there revised plans with this?
yes there are two pages of revised plans two pages yes and just real quickly for the record
mr mr chairman because of the lot frontage lot width requirements and the configuration of this
lot lot can't be developed as six units with frontage on marlborough street it would only
be four units and these two pages are stamped today hillary
M.I. 2024-005-731-950 Marlboro Street, I vote yes, proviso. Revised plans, two pages, stamp 4-2-25.
Michael Johns, my vote is yes with provisos.
Cheryl Gaston, I'm abstaining.
Tanada Graham, my vote is yes with Proviso
Iowen, my vote is yes with Proviso
Thank you
Thank you, may be excused
Yes, number 8
MI 2024
005 841
4010 Palmetto Street
Sean Ward is the attorney
There's a letter of support from Juniata Park
and a letter of support from
Council Member Lozada
now we're coming back in as a panel
good evening
Mr. Chairman and members of the board
and God bless you guys
yep we're still in a
yep we're still on a two o'clock list um uh if i may i'm seated next to your friend churl and
yeah okay thank you um i love churl she's she's the best i mean i've known her for years
but god bless you not that you had to do this could you please state your name and spell for
this stenographer in case somebody doesn't know me my name is sean ward s-h-a-w-n-w-a-r-d
attorney for the applicant or do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing
but the truth i certainly do do you waive the reading on the refusal and agree with its accuracy
mr chairman i'll do whatever you want at this point in time in the night
then could you identify that's the case could you identify your client relationship to the property
My client is Michelle Cordell, and she is the owner and applicant in this matter.
So why don't you start your presentation?
Thank you.
In my usual capacity, I've prepared and submitted my exhibit packet.
I got a small screen just so you can see that it's the full thing.
um uh but i represent michelle cordell she owns 4010 palmetto street and as the chair uh indicated
uh calendar number ending in 5841 uh my exhibit packet includes a1 notice of refusal
uh it's an application for the erection of basically is a residential garage on her property
And we'll get to that
But it resulted in two refusals
One, a non-accessory parking
Structure is not permitted
And there were side yard setbacks
Included
So we see two variances today
One use, one for dimensionals
A2 is the ZBA application of appeal
A3 is the project information form
A4 proof of ownership
A-5, proof of tax clearance.
A-6 is the elevation plans.
A-8 are photographs, including copies of the posting that was posted four times at minimum.
The subject property, street views, aerial views.
A-9 is my RCO meeting notice and certificate of mailing.
As mentioned by the chair, Juniata Park submitted its letter of support.
Councilwoman
Katsy Lozado issued
a letter of non-opposition
I could not find any zoning
history with regard to Palmetto
Street and then
A13 and 14 are the zoning map
and aerial photographs so
I am not going to waste the board's time because
I know you
have your photographs and the drawings
Sean is this a
legalization is it already built
Yeah, it's built.
Thank you.
All right.
So when looking at the – all right, real quick, let me – I just want to explain.
When she purchased the property, it was premises A, as you can see, is Palmetto Street.
Premises B is 4009 I Street.
That's where her residence is.
So she bought – you know, premises B is her house.
Premises A is the lot behind it, and in between, and I'll show you on the plans, is a common driveway in between the two streets.
Just to be clear, she paid her taxes yesterday because last time this was listed, taxes weren't due, but I had her do that.
But I think this will really clearly show what we're looking at, Mr. Chair and members of the board.
over on the left side is i street back here is palmetto street which is a back street with
nobody there's no rsa5 properties fronting on palmetto street they're all the back
of everything that's owned by people on i street so uh it has two entrances one from palmetto
one from I and then there's the common drive in between the properties there's a you know a common
easement her house is out front on I Street she erected a one-story prefab garage at at the rear
the garage door faces the common driveway so she can you know exit the rear of her home and you
know park a vehicle here and then get into her garage all right so let me blow that back down
I would like to teach everybody how to use the control 0, 2, and 1, so that way you can blow stuff up and shrink it down.
I would like to teach everybody how to use the control 0, 2, and 1.
So the structure is 15 feet wide, and it's 32 feet long, but it's wholly within her property line.
Again, if you hit control 0, it brings the photo into.
Again, the multiple postings of this property for all the hearings that we've had and continued.
Just a distant photo of that same shot.
Right here is her home on I Street.
This is Palmetto Street, both directions.
As you can see, there are no RSA5 residential structures facing Palmetto Street.
this is a google earth photo of the property before the garage was
erected and it would be right here right now
here is a picture of the newly erected garage which is directly behind her house across
the common driveway another photo of same palmetto street being in the rear
just a couple photos of the interior it was a prefab uh you know reconstructed uh you know
structure uh here's her house uh facing i street back here is the lot as you can see
the only structures along palmetto street despite all these lots being uh zoned rsa5
uh there are only accessory structures which are uh and i would point out i i did a quick
search through atlas and opa there's 12 properties on high street that own the 12 properties on
palmetto so nothing on palmetto is owned independently or operated in any other
fashion other than being in common ownership with the residential properties on high street
uh the zoning meeting notice that was mailed out the addresses certificate of mailing went up to
98 different properties the letter from juniata park which the board has the letter from ketsy
lozato's office non-opposition uh again the zoning map and you know again i point out all these
from this point here
these 12 properties
own these 12 lots
above is a different zoning
classification so I'm not even going to get into that
again this is the deed map
from Atlas
another aerial photo
another aerial photo
but as you can see there are
accessory structures
with regard to the residential properties
and you know we're
We are not looking to do anything different other than an accessory residential garage.
When she bought the property, if it was sold to her as a consolidated lot, we wouldn't be seeking the variances we need today because they'd probably be permitted by right.
So that's all I have.
Mr. Chairman, I don't want to waste the board's time.
Michelle is on the line.
But as an officer to court, you know, I know that the day is dragging long and, you know, I can confirm that she has reviewed my exhibits and she would verify everything is true and correct and adopt it as her own testimony.
And, Sean, you can't get into that garage from Palmetto Street, am I correct?
Correct.
It's only accessible.
You have to go down that driveway and go in right.
The common driveway.
Right.
So you come out the back of her house, and then you go across.
All right.
Questions from the board.
Would you guys object to a proviso requiring a certificate of occupancy?
I think we need a residential certificate of occupancy because it's not for-
A certificate of occupancy for the structure that was built without permits.
Well, if it's required by L&I, of course, we would have to get one.
But, you know, it's that it's it's used as accessory to a residential property.
But no, we have no objection.
Not at all.
OK, any other questions?
Questions or comments from our attorney?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I do not see any hands, Mr. Chair.
OK, planning.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
and good evening david fecto with the city planning commission chairman and board members
chairman and board members the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the rsa5 residential
the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the rsa
single-family zoning at this location proposal for a one-story non-accessory garage matches the
character of the homes on this block base the city planning commission recommends that the
board grant the proposed use variants for non-accessory garage and the proposed dimensional
variance for a side yard but okay um hillary the the they have to still get a permit right
there's no permit no permit for a garage okay all right well all right i was gonna say i think it
depends on the size doesn't it if it's if it's above a certain i may if i may yes we we we need
we we yeah we need we need the variance in order to get our building permit so if they if if pursuant
building permit if a co is required obviously all right we will have that inspection yeah so
then it's big enough because i know it's over a certain size it requires a building permit so
and it has a foundation mi 20 24 005 841 40 10 palmetto street i vote yes michael johns my vote
is yes cheryl gaston my vote is yes tenetta graham my vote is yes i would my vote is yes
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you, Sean.
Number nine, is this just an update from the lawyer?
No, we decided not to hear this case previously because we did not have interior photos.
No, no, because we didn't have interior photos.
So all documents have been provided, and the attorney can proceed.
Oh, he is?
All right.
MI 2024-005-849-4800 Bingham Street.
Nixon Cannaw is the attorney.
Sure, thank you.
I'll be back in as a panelist, Mr. Chair.
Council?
Do we see the council?
Yes, he's in, and he's unmuted.
Mr. Conner, are you present?
Nixon?
Nixon, Conner, are you present?
He may be having technical difficulties, Mr. Chair, if you want to come back to this.
Okay, so let me move to the next one, then I'll check when I come back, okay?
Understood.
MI 2025, 001-005, 3700 to 40 Kentington Avenue.
Isaac Slepner is the attorney.
um we have a letter here from um the rco and also um council member lazada has sent a letter
of non-opposition and how are you he's coming back in all right nixon yes um could you turn
on your video yeah could you turn on your video please
yes i i could you please turn on your video
what do you say
mr connor we cannot see you on our screen right now
Well, okay.
We're struggling seeing him too.
All right, sir, I'm going to move on.
I'll be back to you in about 10 minutes, okay?
I got one other case here.
So number 13, MI 2025, 001-005, 3700-40, Kensington Avenue.
Isaac Slepner is the attorney.
This is a reconsideration hearing.
Thank you.
They should be coming back in as a panel as well.
Thank you very much.
good afternoon i guess good evening mr chair and members of the board i'm not sure i guess it is
the evening right thank you so would you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
yes uh thank you isaac slepner i-s-a-a-c last name slepner s-l-e-p peter n norman e-r
counsel for the property owner,
Loveland Street, LLC.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth,
whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Do you waive the reading of the refusal
and agree with its accuracy?
And all your documents were in prior?
Yes, they were.
So this is a reconsideration hearing, right?
Right. This is a reconsideration hearing with regard to his property.
What we want to do is. Here's what we're going to give us an update, proof of your posting and tax clearance, right?
Yes, Mr. Chair. We have a letter of opposition from the council person and a letter of support from Harrogate.
And what we want to do is make your presentation on what what you think improved the last case since last time.
Understood, Mr. Chair. So I'm going to go ahead.
Sorry, I just want to interject briefly just to note that the evidence and testimony from the November 6th, 2024 hearing is incorporated into the record for today's reconsideration hearing.
As you mentioned, the scope of today's hearing is limited to the applicant presenting new
or updated information about the project not previously presented to the board, and public
testimony will be limited accordingly as well.
Thank you.
Thank you.
So we have just a few items to which this presentation is going to be limited, and I'd
like to share my screen if that's possible.
Here we go.
All right, I'm going to go ahead and share my screen, and then everyone should be able to see what I'm also looking at.
And there we go.
You're coming on now.
You're coming on.
Okay, great.
So I've taken this case over recently from Sean Ward, who we just heard from, and the request for reconsideration is limited to a few items.
Floor plans better projecting the ingress and egress from the parking lot and outside into the building and then also from the first floor to the elevator bank and the elevator bank to the second and third residential floors.
So I'll start there. This is a very large site plan. So where I am circling my mouse right here is going to be the residential lobby entrance.
And you can also see here that this is the exterior trash pad, and you can see here that there are, I believe it's 54 or 55 parking spaces planned for this building, which would be more than what's necessary in I-2.
But we're going to start at the first point with the ingress, egress, and elevators, and we'll come back.
So this is a first floor view of the site.
The bottom half here, I'm sorry, I'm going to actually enlarge this.
So the bottom angle that you're seeing, this is Kensington Avenue, 37, the address is 3,700 to 40 Kensington Avenue.
And over here, over here would be the residential lobby.
This is the front door off of the parking lot.
this is the street council council do you have yes do you have two devices on at one time
because we're getting like a lot of feedback really yeah no i actually don't but um let's
try it again maybe it's your speaker you know i can try putting i can try using my headphones that
might uh help but i don't you know i don't want to make this any more difficult we're okay okay
Okay. So this would be the entrance, residential entrance from the parking lot. And this is the street. There's a walkway here. And this is a blown up version of the first floor.
so here right here is the direct access from the parking lot set of double doors
this is a set of doors inside the lobby that leads past the resident mailboxes
bike storage this is the trash chute and the trash room which I'll come back to
This is the trash chute and the trash room, which I'll come back to in a moment.
in a moment walking back through
Walking back through the lobby, this is the residential elevator to the second and third floor, a door to the stairwell, and a door out to the common area.
This is a rendering of the same.
And another rendering of the same.
And then this is the second issue that the board had raised at the prior hearing and that we are revisiting today is information about the trash collection and disposal and trash chutes and trash rooms.
So going back to our site plan and some notes on here, there are going to be trash chutes going from the third floor down to the second floor down to a trash collection room in the first floor that will be emptied by facility management to outdoor dumpster storage,
which will be out here at kind of the edge of the parking lot behind some greenery and a little bit
of ways from the building to avoid buildup of rodents or anything. And then those will be
emptied by private haulers as needed probably daily or every other day. And I will have my
client testified to that a bit more but this would be where the exterior trash storage is and you can
see it would be a gated enclosure and I'll scroll down so that we can see where the trash chutes are
so this again is the first floor and over here there's a door off of the main lobby this is where
the bins and the trash chute would be and it would dump the trash directly down into the dumpsters
You notice that you're not seeing it. It's neatly stashed away on the first floor.
But here is the second floor layout. And over here, you can see this is where the trash should would be.
It would be on the corner at the juncture of two hallways by one of the stairwells.
And then on the third floor, same spot at the juncture of two stairwells.
The next issue that was previously pointed to by the Board were the on-site parking. At the original hearing, there was no detail about parking. Currently, there's a plan for 55 parking spaces, which include two ADA compliant parking spaces, and you can see those are proposed right here on the plan.
The parking lot is entered and exited from Kensington Avenue. There would be a swinging gate here at the curb cut and juncture of Kensington Avenue. You can see the two ADA spaces right here, about three actually, as close to the front door as possible.
And then a total of 55 spaces, which is more than required by the code for an I-2 situation.
Finally, our third point that the board called into question the last time was support from Councilmember Lozada and support from the RCO.
and those were both submitted to the board by Mr. Ward and by me and there
was in fact a letter of support I'm just gonna scroll down here although there
are some very nice renderings by our architect and design professional if you
do care to see them but we do have a letter of support from Harrogate
Harrogate Civic this is the deed to the property showing that Ludlam
properties owns the property. This is a letter by which I entered my appearance. Here is a tax
clearance certificate that was actually pulled on 3-20-25, so it is still valid today, and it's
valid through 4-20-25. These are photographs of the orange poster as posted by my client
on 321-25, on two of the front facades on Kensington Avenue, as well as on the side street,
which I think is, if I'm not mistaken, it's Master Street, but it's M Street, I'm sorry,
posted on the Kensington Avenue side and the M Street side, and those are photos of those taken
on 3-21-25 when they were pasted there, informing everyone of today's reconsideration hearing.
Finally, a letter from Councilwoman Lozada, which I...
Finally, a letter from Councilwoman Lozada, which was written apparently on November 6th after the initial hearing on this matter.
Non-opposition from Councilmember Lozada and unanimous support from Harrogate, 11 in favor, 0 against and 0 otherwise.
And with that, I would call my client, George Groves, to adopt my testimony.
And if he needs to offer anything further, to offer anything further.
George.
Hello, sir.
Hi, George. Could you turn on your video here if you have a video there?
I do. How do I?
That's coming up.
george state your name and spell for the stenographer
george groves g-e-o-r-g-e-g-r-o-v-e-s
do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth
george left no i'm sorry you should be coming back in as a there he is here he is okay
how's your video george i can see area by uh okay all right okay
If we can't see you, that's all right.
Oh, there you go, George.
There you go.
All right.
Counsel, please proceed.
George, are you one of the principals of Ludland Properties, LLC?
And did you hear all of the testimony that I offered to the board just now?
And was it true and correct to the best of your knowledge?
Yes, sir.
And would you adopt that testimony as though you had given it yourself?
um is there anything else that you needed to add uh to share with the board today
no sir thank you i have nothing further questions from the board
can can we go back to the uh plan with the parking and the entrance i'm trying to figure
out how the pedestrian gets into the uh that entrance sure can i answer that yes uh yeah
george go ahead so you're going to the parking lot mr johns and you're going to make a left
there's a set of stairs that's going to take you right up to there i don't know ian smith is
actually on this call too if you want him to actually tell you everything about it he probably
can talk about anybody so you have to you have to go you have to go into the parking lot yep
so from so you have to give you have to go into where the cars go and then go to the left yes
so i prefer to let you answer that but um mr john uh chair mr chair may i call ian smith our
design professional to testify sure uh ian you're out there i am here my video is on
Thank you. Ian, please state your name and spell for the stenographer.
My name is Ian Smith. It's I-A-N, capital S-M-I-T-H.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
I do. Please proceed, counsel.
Okay. Ian, can you see this plan, this site plan that I have up here?
Yes. And you're the design professional on this project, correct?
Yes. And you drew this site plan?
Would you mind to help me out and more importantly help the board out to understand where a pedestrian, if they were walking along the sidewalk of Kensington or M Street, perhaps a resident of this building, wanted to go into the residence part or someone who wanted to go into the retail part, how would they get in there?
You do have to access through the parking lot to get into the space.
Currently, that's the way it's set up.
The pedestrian entrances along Kensington Street are unavailable.
All access has always been through the parking area.
So, Ian, do you see where I'm indicating with the mouse over here?
Is that where you're referring to?
I mean, right now, that's the only thing.
It doesn't show a pedestrian entry to that location.
But do we have the wide-angle rendering of the site and the entry in the parking space that sort of articulates that?
Hold on.
Let me scroll through.
It's the exterior view.
It should be a part of the design package.
yeah if it's i have quite a number of uh images here so let me well that's a google map hold on
if it's not if it's not in i mean it's a little bit more illustrative because there are steps and
there are ramps that have been planned for this um yeah in the schematic range that sort of
describes the intent of the question my my concern is that a pedestrian has to go
in the same location where the cars go into the parking lot to get to the entrance.
oh no it's an airy yeah i can hear you it's just not shown on the plan
Oh, no, it's Ian.
mr johns there's a gate and an automotive key okay there's a man gate and an automotive game
okay so it's closer to the building the the uh automotive gate is further down the block
a little bit further down the block like 10 feet let's uh go back to the site plan right here
all right yeah it doesn't show a man door on the site plan but if this is all that
if this is the the driveway gate correct yeah so would there be a a pedestrian scale front door
no right about
slightly you see where your pedestrian
your automotive gate is
right slightly to the
to the south side of that
is a main gate that goes
that goes in currently now
we're going to go back we're going to we're never going to take that away
so it's
okay I guess
like here
right out to the pavement or is the
gate somewhere no it's right there
There's a gate right where the building is.
There's a gate right there.
Right here.
Because the plan doesn't show that.
So that makes, because that was my concern, that if somebody has to, you know, walk, people are coming out of here with cars.
That's a hazard.
But you're saying that there is a gate so you can come.
Yes, sir.
All right.
All right.
I'm good.
Other questions from the board?
questions from our attorney hillary emerson um two issues i want to raise mr chair um one i see
that um there is now parking proposed um this is a change of use application um there's no plans
review as part of that so any parking would have to be proposed in a separate zoning application
um and i just want to note there was a refusal issued for not providing parking
as well. So that any parking would have to be, as I said, submitted and reviewed under a separate
zoning permit application. The second concern I have is that the use is limited to the second
and third floors of this building. And it was testified at the previous hearing that the first
floor would be used for a home health care agency. But now it seems that the first floor is going to
be lobby mailroom that sort of thing as part of the multifamily household living so if if that is
the case then you may wish to amend the refusal so that it is the multifamily household living
applies to the whole building and not just the second and third floors because if the board
grants and it only applies to second and third floors you'll have to come back for an expansion
to the fourth floor i mean the first floor mrs emerson thank you uh we are going to that the
second and third floor are going to be
residentials. That's
it. There's not going to be no residentials on the
first floor. But is it
if it's the lobby and mail area for the
building, then it is part of the multifamily
building. It cannot
be not have no use.
I don't think it. So there's
there's going to be commercial on the first floor
residential on the second and third.
What commercial? Because
that's not indicated anywhere.
okay it was well I because it was by right I think that's the reason why it wasn't put on there
correct Ian so just to help out with this a little bit yeah the tenant spaces identified
in the other colors are for other uses some are already occupied in order to service the units
on the second and third floor, you would need to provide a lobby and access place to an
elevator in order to provide the correct amount of accessibility for any kind of building
permit.
Okay, because that was not clear from the information on the refusal of what all it
was was for household living on the second and third floor.
So if the uses are by right, that's fine.
But if any of this extends into the first floor, you may have an issue.
all right how do we do how will you stand with the parking the parking has to we we can't do
anything with the parking there's no parking on this application it has to be submitted as a
separate zoning application mr chairman i'll have john higgins do that tomorrow morning
thank you okay so if we vote we're only voting on the second third floor and first floor
Is that what we're saying?
Is that what we're saying?
It's the second and third floor multifamily household living use.
It's the second and third floor multifamily household living use.
That's what's being requested.
That's what's being requested.
All right.
Anything else you want to reckon?
No, you don't have to specify that.
That is what is on the refusal.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I do not see any hands, Mr. Chair.
You need commission.
Chairman, thank you, and good evening.
David Vecto with the City Planning Commission.
Chairman, we previously entered a recommendation to Grant for the prior submission, and we will stand on that recommendation.
Okay, thank you.
So MI 2025, 001, 005, 3,700 to 40 Kensington Avenue.
I vote yes.
Michael John, my vote is yes.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes.
Thank you.
All right, thank you, members of the board.
I have none of you further.
All right, thank you, Mr. John.
All right, thank you.
Number nine, MI-2024.
Excuse me, Chair.
Pardon me, Chair.
This is the court reporter.
Go ahead, John.
Hold on, sir.
Hold on, hold on.
Oh, okay.
All right.
Because I wasn't here for the first year.
Okay, yeah.
They made a mistake or not.
We lost Kelly.
No, Kelly's coming back in.
Mr. Kelly's coming back in.
Excuse me.
i apologize for the interruption chair i i didn't hear uh board member wins vote
she didn't vote she didn't vote this is a reconsideration hearing and i was not here
for the original hearing i apologize for the interruption i apologize for that okay number
nine mi 2024 005849 4800 bingham street nixon canna
good evening mr kennel could you please state your name and spell for the court stenographer
nixon connor n-i-x-o-n-k-a-n-n-a-h do you swear or firm to tell the truth the whole truth and
nothing but the truth yes mr chair could you identify your client the relationship to the
property yes mr chair my client is nader j-e-b-e-r he's appearing by zoom he is the owner of the
property right do you do you waive the reading of the refusal and agree with its accuracy yes
all right please start and start your presentation sir sure mr chair this is a um we we started this
here i believe a couple of months back and the board basically wanted um as part of my
presentation the board was focusing on the interior of the property and i was told to submit
photograph showing the interior
of the property.
Everything else was previously submitted as far as
the deed.
I'm sorry.
Okay, so
why don't you start showing
what you have to submit?
Can I have the ability
to share my screen? Please.
Okay, so basically this is the interior of the property, these pictures were not available
Let's start at the basement.
My client purchased this big, it's three units.
He purchased it as a three unit, three separate units, three separate meters.
As we show up, you're going to see the three apartments.
There's two bedrooms, one bath in each apartment.
So he hasn't done any renovation.
we try to get the initial permit and we were denied based on what we're trying to do.
So this is basically how he purchased the property.
No work has been done.
Another issue the board had was the, I guess, the access to the property.
We have three separate entrants for first floor, second floor, and third floor, and at the community meeting, one issue was the fire escape ladder. We don't have a problem with putting that in.
If, let me just see.
Let me just see.
Okay, you stopped for a minute there.
You froze up.
Okay, so we have an updated tax clearance that was submitted to the board attorney
and also an updated posting.
Could you show us the entrance to the properties?
When did your client purchase this property?
My client purchased this property in June of 2024.
And he purchased it thinking it was an approved triplex.
Correct.
Okay, here we go.
this right here, this is the entrance to the first floor.
And these steps, this right here, this is the entrance to the...
We're looking at a bedroom, sir.
I'm sorry. We're looking at a bedroom. Oh, I'm sorry. Okay, let me share this screen. Sure.
Okay, all right. So right here, this is the entrance to the first floor, right? This is the entrance to the second floor. This right here, we had to put this on it because recently somebody does, there was a break in at the property. So this is the, this is the door to the third floor, but right now it's
boarded up because we had
a break in
because nobody's there. We stopped work.
So these are the three separate entrance
for the property.
As far as the
location,
I'm going to show you
the street view.
The majority of the
buildings on that street are
Motow family.
Let me just show you the street view.
This is the corner view.
This is my client's property.
Well, you got it.
You're still on the entrances.
I'm still showing the entrance.
I got to get used to this.
So this is my client's property.
This is the same, same three units set up.
We're not changing anything.
We're just trying to legalize and get the permits to, to get the work done.
All right.
All right.
Do you want to bring your client on to adopt your testimony?
Yes, please.
Nader, Jabbar, G-E-R-B-E-R.
You should be on Zoom.
They will be rejoining us in Panama shortly.
Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
N-A-D-E-R-J-A-B-E-R.
Nader, Jabbar.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, sir.
Please proceed, counsel.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Nader, good evening.
Good evening.
Nader, did you have an opportunity to hear the presentation I just made to the board?
And was that accurate?
And will you adapt that as your testimony?
Is there anything else you want the board to know as far as what you do in the community and how you came across this property?
So, basically, I purchased a property as three units, and then when we started to do the outside cleaning and paint, and then we would try to build a permit that the city, they said that that property, it's not listed as a triplex.
So, we're trying to legalize it so we can do that renovation from inside.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
That's all we have.
All right, questions for the board.
Let me know where your trash is going to be stored.
this picture right there you can let us know if it's going to be outside yes it's right on like
you see what is the how the two cars is parked on a on a on the on the on the sidewalk on the
other side there all the way to the back it will be um a trash can a trap what it called the um
dumpster it's a fence with the trash cans on there okay all right okay
i have a question um what makes you classify this as a three family property so basically
if you look at the how it was built so right where is the two cars at this is an old photo
this is like a photo from a google there is a door right there right on the top of it there
is a balcony here with the door which is lead to the same like one first uh to the second
apartment right there in the middle where is the concrete step where it goes it had a door on the
left and then you straight up you go to this to the third floor um did it have three kitchens yes
so at sale did it have three kitchens yes it's three kitchens three bathroom um plus most of
it's a three
the corners on that neighbor that it's um it's the same thing cross the street from there it's
also grocery store they made into uh the first floor into a grocery store first and the second
and third floor are a apartment but we're not doing any commercial it just already doesn't so
uh three units we're not doing any commercial on the first floor so it was originally you bought
it as two residential units in a previous commercial space no no i'm saying like across
the street from me like the other corner yeah it has like a grocery store on the bottom and two
units on top so i figured like all the neighbors there all the corners they have the same thing
when you bought it in 2024 was it listed as a three-bedroom one and a half bath when you
purchased it yes so you when you bought it it was listed as a single family home so
i wasn't sure if it's if it's it had a zoning of a three unit or not but like it had three
kitchens if you look at the photos it had three it had two kitchen on the top it had a half kitchen
at the bottom had a bathroom downstairs the bathroom upstairs so it was it was subdivided
of and it had the actual doors um on each side and the front as well it had each like each side
had their own doors and also there is two doors on the back as well and then how what work do you
need to complete to hell out to be rentable uh basically everything basically you know with i
mean i have if you i mean if you're okay with that i have some photos that i can share to show you
how basically i have my apartments um basically that's that's complete like when when i first
purchased it um i what i did is like we started the outside then when when we noticed that
it wasn't legalized so i have uh i have other photos if you guys have the time i can show you
on my other units how they look like but basically we have a full support um from the
from the community uh they seen um how my other properties are and um you know my main concern
is the safety and the look to keep it you know clean um basically that's it's it's been it's
been you know i purchased it back almost about a year ago as of now we sell the property the same
way it is my my main concern is having a full renovation in the property you know to have it
in a better look for for rent and then how many bedrooms is each unit on each floor two units
and one bathroom they're all too bad they're all too bad one baths okay okay uh questions from our
attorney what's your plan to prevent folks from parking on the pavement illegally like they are
and it's the photo probably his cars i'm sorry sir can you repeat that again what's your plan to
stop people from parking on the pavement illegally like they are shown like shown on this plan on
this so basically we had a same situation like this down fishtown and port of richmond so they
sell a um i'm not sure what they called it's like a metal post a metal um metal stand at about four
feet high i'm sorry they're called bollards bollards okay yes so basically it would be two
right there this is basically cars from the neighbor who had to park there i guess at that
time and as of now since the property is empty like every day like there is vivo parks in the
sidewalk but we don't allow that um so basically we will stand some of those just to keep the
sidewalk fully clear no parking in the in the sidewalk at all thanks attorney hillary emerson
not at this time mr chair questions or comments from the virtual audience
I do not see any hands, Mr. Chair.
Planning Commission.
Thank you, Chairman.
Good evening.
David Fechto with the City Planning Commission.
Chairman and Board members, the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the RSA-5,
residential single-family zoning at this location.
There appear to be several violations dating from July 2024 for interior work.
after the deeds show that the appellant purchased the property.
The City Planning Commission recommends that the board
deny the requested use variance for three dwelling units.
Okay, so we're going to hold a vote on this until next week.
We're going to vote next Wednesday at 2 o'clock.
I'm going to sit and talk to the executive session.
You don't have to get on. You can just listen, okay?
Thank you. Thank you both.
Thank you.
all right we're we're wrong okay we're rolling right into the 3 30 list okay
Okay. We're rolling right into the 3.30 list. Okay. Good afternoon. My name is Bill Bergman. I will be chairing this meeting of the Philadelphia Zoning Board. With me still is board member Cheryl L. Gaston.
I'm present, Mr. Chair.
Board member Tanetta Graham.
Present, Mr. Chair.
Board member Michael Johns.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Board member Taya Wynn.
Present, Mr. Chairman.
Also, here is our attorney, Hillary Emerson, our zoning board director, Ian Haggerty, and our board administrator, Lakeisha Dandy.
A recording of the hearing will be posted on the ZBA website.
By participating, you agree to be recorded.
This is an in-person meeting with remote capabilities.
Whether remote or in person, if you're called to speak, you must state and spell your name and then wait to be sworn in.
Once you've been sworn in, please state your name each time you're beginning your testimony.
Any person may enter their appearance to become an interested party in the case.
There are three ways to enter your appearance.
You can identify the case property address on your Zoom webinar.
You can see a staff person, or you can call ZBA appearance line by the close of business tomorrow.
Call 267-270-5548.
Leave a message that includes your email address and the address of the property of the appeal.
The following guidance is for our remote attendees.
First, when directed, you must raise your hand, virtual hand, in order to be recognized to speak.
Second, if you're called to testify, you'll be prompted to join a panelist list.
Please accept the request and turn on your camera.
Third, the webinar Q&A is for questions about the hearing.
Do not comment on cases in the Q&A.
Fourth, if you're participating by phone, press star 9 to raise your hand and star 6 to unmute.
For our in-person attendees, please refrain from talking, eating, drinking during the hearings.
Verbal and physical aggression will not be tolerated.
Restrooms are across from the elevators.
A water fountain is just outside the room, to the right.
When speaking on the record, you must speak directly into the microphone in order to be heard by all attendees and the court reporter.
In the event of an emergency, please follow the directions given by the public address or by the staff.
The main exit is through the double doors at the rear of the room.
The nearest stairwell is to the left outside.
In case of an evacuation, the rally point is at Love Park, directly across Art Street.
Please remain there so we can count for you.
Let's look at our schedule for this afternoon.
number two
for tonight
I thought it was the
3.30 hearing
number two
MI 2023
8727 Tarsdale Avenue
case has been
continued
case will continue
10 22 25 or 3 30 p.m
let's see what else number four
mi 2024 007 233 2719 east allegheny avenue that case has been continued
to 10-22-25 at 3 30 p.m case number one mi 2023 004 00509 west springer street that case has been
withdrawn case number five mi 2024 007 238 1008 to 14 glenwood no exhibits first listing tyrone
king is the listed owner ed ed estrada is the dba but tyrone king is the listed owner we have no
exhibits. We have a letter of support from the 37th Ward.
Mr. Chair, just an update on this one. We actually received exhibits today
from the expediter in this matter. I
believe they've been, if not, I will let them know, but I believe they've
been advised that we cannot proceed because they were received the day of the hearing.
Thank you. So MI 2024
007-238-1008-14 Linwood Avenue.
That case is continued to 10-22-25, and then MI 2024, 3043 Germantown Avenue, Claudette Page, no exhibits, first listing.
No exhibits first listing.
Chair, Ms. Page appeared earlier.
We informed her that she had not submitted her exhibits timely, so she'll be requesting continuance.
Okay, so MI 2024-07-007-246-3430-43 Germantown Avenue.
Cases continued 10-22-25 at 3-30.
Let's go to our first case here.
Number three, MI 2024-004-310-4122 Combley Street.
Jermaine Harris is the attorney.
Toby, we're joining those panels, Mr. Chair
I'm Mr. Harris
Good evening
Good evening, Mr. Harris.
Good evening.
Could I be heard?
Could you please state your name as well for the stenographer?
Yeah, Jermaine Harris, J-E-R-M-A-I-N-E.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Could you identify your client, their relationship to the property?
Sure. My client is Maranelli Belez, and my relationship is the attorney, and my client is the owner of the subject property.
Do you waive the reading of the refusal and do you agree with its accuracy?
Okay. Well, why don't you start your machine, Aaron, and make your presentation?
Okay, sure. Let's see. How do I get to share a screen?
Okay. All right. Cool.
Okay. All right. This is concerning 4122 Comley Street.
and uh on the big screen here i have the exhibits of what i submitted to uh to the board and
essentially what we're talking about here is the legalization of offense um this is what we're
looking at this is the subject property right here and this is the fence the reason
why the fence was erected is because there had been several break-ins to the particular uh to
to the property and uh as a result of it she erected the fence um she also put cameras around
there not knowing of course that in order to do this you need to have uh you need to
get approval from L&I in order to do so. There's also the effect of this also
allows for a two-car along the side of the house as well. This is one of the
cars. Well this is one this is space for one of them but it allows for a two-car
uh parking. This is a posting of the zoning hearing notice and um essentially let's see here
let me pull up the plan
sorry just bear with me I'm trying to find a plan
no i'm sorry this is well this is the letter of non-opposition by the community since i'm already
on the screen this is the letter of non-opposition by the community uh there was a meeting that was
held back on October 29th of this. There was a lengthy continuance and that's why it's six months
ago. But the letter is very recent. It was just written last week and they have no opposition to it.
And they have no opposition to it.
We also have the site plan elevation plan for this.
And essentially.
The photographs pretty much capture what it is, but I'm just presenting the plans, the elevation and the site plan for this. Also, let me get back to my exhibits.
Why don't you show us where you drive in? I mean, is there a gate or something you go in there?
Yeah. Uh, yes. Let me get to that.
So I believe my, could I, could I call my client? I just want to make sure I don't want to misspeak.
Could I call my client just to have her?
Why don't you call your client?
I know it's out of turn, but I'd like to have her specifically answer that question.
Ms. Velez, could you raise your hand?
I'll be coming back in as a panelist shortly, Mr. Chair.
Did she raise her hand?
She did not promote her, but it doesn't have to happen yet.
Is she here?
I know she was here.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Hold on.
Yes, I'm here.
Hi, could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Maranjeli Velez, V-E-L-E-Z
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, counsel
Okay, Ms. Velez, could you, there was a question about where is it that the car comes in in order for there to be two car,
in order for there
to be the two car
yeah through the side
the gate open to the side
the gate on Tocawana
Tocawana Street
on the side
is it reflected in
this and these
any of these pictures right here
yes right there
where I'm pointing a cursor at
yes the side
is that a bowl in the pavement
That's a city ADA curb ramp for the sidewalk.
That is not a curb cut.
No, I'm saying, is that a pole in the pavement there?
What is that?
Well, right here where I have the cursor at, is that what you're asking?
Where's your cursor?
I'm sorry?
What's that there?
What's that on the sidewalk?
Right here.
Marielle, do you have any, do you know what this is right here?
Is this a ramp?
on the on the side that's the little poles prevent to prevent parking on the sidewalk
and i had the permit for that
okay but is this what is driven up in order to go into this parking that this parking that's right
here? Yes. Okay. And this is, I guess, just another angle. Sure. Jermaine, why don't you
get her to adopt your testimony? Okay. Sure. Ms. Velez, you've heard the testimony that I've just
given yes do you adopt the testimony that i've just stated yes do you have anything to add you
don't necessarily have to but is there anything you want to add no i'd also like to just so that
the record is clear sure i wanted to show the tax uh the tax clearance good and the uh deed
And the deed evidencing ownership of the property since 2016.
evidencing ownership of the property since 2016.
This fence was erected in 2021 after the second break-in.
um and we have the notice of refusal application and the mailing out of the notices and proof of
mailings to the interested uh to the to the neighbors that are affected the nearby neighbors
okay and with that i would rest i would open it up for any questions that anyone
may have about this sure thank you questions from the board yes um miss velez rodriguez i have a
question it shows in atlas that you had an lni violation for the construction of a retaining
wall without permits in 2020 is that true yes so when you got um when you had the violation in 2020
why did you proceed in 2021 to continue paving and building on the site also without permits
no it was i'm sorry it was the 2020 that it was made i had the violation after i made everything
so this was done at one time so the paving and the fence and the wall were all installed at the
same time yes in 2020 yes and then has your current plan been through a streets review at
all have you submitted it for streets yes i believe i do yes so did streets put in a a curb
cut for the city sidewalk so that you could access that like right now i'm trying to determine
if it's just a paved side yard versus it being a parking pad
i don't understand the question i'm sorry so your your permit right now is for the fence
and for the parking and i'm asking you did you get a new city curb cut approved
no the last time i was trying to do something they told me that i need to approve first for the
And then did you verify if your contractor
was licensed and bonded before they started construction?
No, I did not.
Okay. Other questions from the board?
Questions from our attorney?
I guess I just have to go back, too.
Okay. So is this
retaining wall piece that I guess
I'm seeing here, and the fence.
Is that all on your property?
Is there any encroachment on the city's right-of-way?
No, it's all on my property.
And how do you get into this space?
I'm still trying to figure out.
The side of the house there.
Yeah, I know.
Right there, I guess.
How do you?
you there's a gate there's a big gate that you open and then there's the next
a small gate that you open next to the stairs in front of the house
okay where is this in front of the house there's another small gate
can you point to where it is in the picture can you show us where that is on this yes in
in front of the house
in front of the house
yes in front of the house
on the calmly street side
are we referring to pedestrian
entry or vehicular
how do you get a car vehicular
it doesn't look like you could drive the car
in through the
it's in the plan
the side
the side fence open
and then it's like the bar
on the side
and you're saying
and there is no curb cut at this point
you're just coming up over the sidewalk
to get into this
do you understand that
if you were to receive zoning today
and that you went to the city
that it might require extensive reconstruction
questions from our attorney hillary emerson not at this time mr chair questions or comments
from the virtual audience i don't see any hands mr chair planning commission
thank you chairman and good evening david febto with the city planning commission
chairman and board members the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the rs8
chairman and board members the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the rsa3 residential
single family zoning at this location there is no unique physical condition or circumstance of
this property that would prevent it from being used in strict conformity with the zoning code
the appellant appears to have built a fence without the benefit of permits the city is under a consent
agreement to install americans with disabilities act compliant curb ramps the location of the
proposed curb cut from Takawana Street will preclude the installation of an ADA compliant
curb ramp. The City Planning Commission recommends that the board deny the proposed
variance for accessory off-street parking and the variances for fence light and opacity.
Jermaine, we're going to hold this over the weekend, I mean until next week. We're going
to vote on this at 2 o'clock, 3.30? 2 o'clock next Wednesday, okay?
Two o'clock sounds a lot better than 3.30.
Thank you. I appreciate it. All right.
Okay. Two o'clock. Okay. Thank you. We'll see you next, uh, next, next Wednesday. Thank you.
Right. Number six, MI 2024, 007243, 5624 Chew Avenue. David Tusty is the attorney.
A letter of unanimous support from the 12th Ward Democratic Committee.
They're coming back in as a panelist, sir.
Is that two days?
Can you cancel?
Cheryl, we can only see
your forehead.
We can only see your forehead.
Now you noticed.
Can you see me now?
Good afternoon.
There you go.
There you go.
The afternoon, counsel.
The afternoon.
We're going to pretend it's the afternoon.
Yeah, it's been about seven hours since I've last seen you.
We're really sorry that...
We're still here.
Sorry for ourselves, too, personally.
Sorry for you guys, too.
Could you please state your name?
You've already been sworn.
Yes, my name is David Schudy.
Last name is spelled T-S-H-U-D-Y.
I'm with Troutman Pepper Lock,
And we represent the property owner, WhyNotProsper, Inc.
In the virtual audience is Reverend Michelle Simmons, who is the founder and CEO of WhyNotProsper, Inc.
Do you waive the reading of the refusal and agree with its accuracy?
Why don't you start your presentation?
Why Not Prosper, Inc. is a 501c3 located in the Germantown region of Philadelphia.
It was established in 2001 and is the fee simple owner of the property at 5624 Chew Avenue.
Since its purchase of the property in 2012, the property has been used for the mission of Why Not Prosper, Inc. to re-enter female inmates after their incarceration.
In 2016, Wynap Prosper Inc. was granted a use permit following a zoning hearing to allow for a maximum of 10 occupants for the reentry program.
That zoning board of adjustment decision had a provisable five-year period since then.
Of course, those five years have expired, but the use has continued at this property.
and here's a copy of the refusal from LNI, a copy of our application, and let me get down to the
pictures of the property here. There's our deed as well too, and then the property is located in the
CMX1 zoning district, which does not permit for this type of use. Here are some pictures of the
prop exterior the property and and then we have some additional pictures of the
And then we have some additional pictures of the interior of the property in the exhibit booklet as well.
interior
Again, this is where 10 women live as they reenter society from incarceration in the program.
And another thing to point out is that the program does partner regularly with both the city of Philadelphia and with the Department of Corrections to support the city and the department.
And as we mentioned this morning, for a similar hearing, we're not suggesting or not applying for any changes to the exterior, the interior, or even the use.
We just want to keep the use the same so we can continue to serve the population.
And with that, I'd like to bring on Reverend Simmons to adopt my testimony.
they've been allowed to speak
yes I'm here
Reverend Simmons
hold on one minute
you've already been sworn just for the record
could you state your name
Michelle Simmons
S-I-M-M-O-N-S
and Reverend Simmons
we want to apologize for having you so late
but we had a couple cases go
exceptionally long today
that's okay thank y'all for staying
and not leaving
Yeah. Reverend Simmons, did you hear my presentation? Yes, I did. Okay. And were the
factual statements that I made true and correct? Absolutely. And will you adopt my testimony as
yours? I will. I have no further questions. Questions from the board. Real quick. So what's
the average stay of the clients? Six months to one year. And just like this morning during
your past five years, has there been any major complaints or instances with you in the community
surrounding neighbors? No, no complaints at all. I'm actually the block captain for my block,
so for the 5600 block and for 700 Shelton, so no. And my question, were you always granted the
temporary variances
before?
It was
something called five-year
ProVesso
and that was to make sure it wasn't no
problems and so
and you know we come
back every year with no problems, not every
year but so yes
I would love for it to be gone and y'all just
know we're a pillar in the community
you know we add a lot of value
in there
on show and
And so we've been there 20 years, and you can't come up there and ask any neighbors or anything, anything about their hood without them bringing up Why Not Prosper or the services we do for that community.
Okay. No, thank you.
Are all five bedrooms on the upper floors of the structure?
No. On this one, 5624, there's two floors.
There's one level where there's two bedrooms, and then another steps is two more rooms.
okay and then what all is happening on the first floor of the property on 56 what what address we
talking about 56 24 yeah nothing's happened on the bottom it's three little rooms down there
one have like hygiene products and supplies another one it was a bedroom down there that
we made that a bedroom uh well it was always a storage room but we made it to a bedroom during
COVID. So if somebody got COVID, that was their bedroom, but it's no use in there now. So all the
activity is on two and three, but the rooms are still there. Just no activity. And then what's,
is anything happening in the basement? No, just that heater and the old air conditions that came
down for the winter. Okay. How many youth do you have? No, it's not. We could serve in 56, 24
We zoned for 10. We always get that confused, but it's 10 people. I think the records say 10 units, but it's 10 people.
Okay. And that's how many per bedroom?
Two of the bedrooms got two, and then the other three got three. That's what it is. It's either two beds or three beds.
Again, like I testified early, we could have put more with bunk beds, but because we get a grant from the city and we're licensed by drug and alcohol, they say no bunk beds, so we have 10.
Questions or comments from our attorney?
Questions or comments from our attorney?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
Yes, Chair, I have a hand from Charles Richardson.
I will moat him.
Oh, my God.
Thank you, Charles.
Where's Charles at?
I'm just laughing.
I was disappointed because I didn't hear you at first.
I said, but he's got to be here somewhere.
He's not easy.
You know it.
No one else.
You don't get to go home until we go home.
Please proceed, Mr. Richardson.
Certainly.
Charles Richardson, R-I-C-H-A-R-D-S-O-N, Office of Councilwoman Cindy Bass.
The councilwoman has no opposition to granting the variance for this program.
Thank you very much.
CITY PLANNING COMMISSION. THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN, AND GOOD EVENING.
DAVID FECTO WITH THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION. CHAIRMAN AND BOARD MEMBERS, THE COMPREHENSIVE
PLAN RECOMMENDS NO CHANGE TO THE CMX1 COMMERCIAL MIXED USE ZONING AT THIS LOCATION. WE NOTE
FOR THE BOARD THAT THE PREVIOUSLY APPROVED USE AS A SINGLE ROOM RESIDENCE WAS APPROVED WITH A
FIVE-YEAR TEMPORARY PERMIT IN 2016. THE PROPOSED USE IS NOT SUBSTANTIALLY DIFFERENT FROM THE ONE
that was previously approved according to the definition of the zoning code a re-entry facility
has 25 or more individuals including staff so this might not technically meet that definition
the city planning commission recommends that the board grant her opposed use variants
thank you mi2024 007243 5624 chew avenue i vote yes michael johnson my vote is yes
Cheryl Gaston my vote is yes
Tanetta Graham my vote is yes
I am when my vote is yes
thank you
is there anyone in the
virtual audience left anywhere
Mr. Richardson was the only one
out there
thanks
thanks everybody
usually we get one
Mr. Richardson there you go
uh you know we we get to the point where we have one case or so that's a little longer i think we
had three of them today that really went um exceptionally long i think we got a lot of work
done and um we do appreciate everything you guys do with the staff i mean you know you just
and i don't i don't know how you keep smiling all the time
you gotta laugh to keep from crying right
good night everybody good night thank you have a good one