time for comments from the virtual audience there are no hands chair planning commission
michael galt with the philadelphia city planning commission the comprehensive plan recommends no
change to the existing cmx2 commercial mixed-use zoning at this location the property in question
is split zone with the rm1 residential multifamily district but it is in the rear taking up only
about a quarter of the parcel the proposed use retail sales of food beverages and groceries
is entirely in keeping with the character of the germantown avenue commercial corridor
and will cause no undue detriment beyond what might otherwise be expected from this use
therefore the city planning commission recommends the board grant the requested variance for retail
sales of food, beverages, and grocery use. MI 2026-003-501-2627-29, Germantown Avenue,
I vote yes. Michael Johns, my vote is yes. Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes. Tanetta Graham,
my vote is yes. Thank you. Layla Beebe, my vote is yes. Tywin, my vote is yes. Sorry.
Thank you so much.
Thank you, ma'am.
All right, number five, MI 2026-003-438-2008 West Gerard Avenue.
Eric Botson is the attorney.
Eric Botson will be rejoining as a panelist.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair, members of the board.
Hi, counsel Haria.
Could you state your name and spell it for the stenographer?
Yes, absolutely.
My name is Eric Bodzin, E-R-I-C, B-O-D-Z-I-N, blank room.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Yes, I do.
Counsel, could you identify your client in a relationship to this property?
My client, who is in the virtual audience, is Henry Siebert.
He is the fee owner of the property.
We have a letter of support from United Francisville, and we also have non-opposition from Councilmember Young.
Our vice chair has a few questions.
Good evening. Have you submitted your documents in exhibits 14 days in advance of this hearing?
Yes, I have. And do you waive the reading of your refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Yes, I do. All right. Thank you. Go to your screen and proceed with your case.
Thank you so much.
Okay. Thank you again, Mr. Chair and members of the board. Good evening, I should say.
Thank you so much for hosting Henry and myself this evening.
Can you see the exhibits on the screen before us?
We do.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'll proceed as briefly as I can.
As I mentioned, I'm joined this evening by Henry Siebert, who is the owner of the subject
property of 2008 West Gerrard Avenue.
As you can see, despite the Gerrard address, the subject property is on the portion of
the lot facing Cambridge Street, which I'm circling here between North 20th Street and
Corinthian Avenue. As you can see here, the property is zoned RM1 for residential multifamily
use. And this project fully complies with the base zoning. I'll get to the refusal in a moment.
As you can see here, the approved, otherwise fully approved project consists of two adjacent
condominium buildings, each with six units and parallel L-shaped decks on the top, which is the
subject of this refusal. This is a rendering and this is one of those two buildings I'm circling
here that is already fully constructed with this L-shaped deck on the top of the building.
the second building is fully permitted but needs an approval for the second parallel deck which is
another l-shaped deck this needs an approval whereas the first building did not because as
you can see here in the refusal after the project was designed and underway and after the first
building was constructed, a update to the neighborhood overlay was added requiring
an approval for roof decks and roof deck access structures in the brewery town
Sharswood Celestial Community overlay. The singular issue, as I mentioned, is that
a minimally modifying approval of this deck for the second building that's identical
to the first building would avoid an undue hardship of having two mismatched buildings.
As you can see here, atop your screen is the already built L-shaped roof deck serving only
the top floor unit of this six-unit building, and below in white is the identical proposed
roof deck. As you can see from a zoomed-in version of the plan set, each deck is designed
to minimize impact in every way. Each deck is only accessible, as I mentioned, by a single
condominium unit, not the full building. Each deck is buffered by a 42-foot perimeter wall. You can
see pictured here in gray, and each deck is fully set back from the street with the access structure
set back as far as possible, about 25 feet in total. And as you can see here from a picture
from the street of the finished first building from one angle to the north and the other from
the south, the finished deck is completely non-visible from the street. You can only see
it in this picture because the second structure is yet to be constructed.
The owner, Henry Siebert, who is here with me today, was pleased to join me for meetings
with the United Francis Phil Civic Association
who shared the letter of support you mentioned, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Chair, and we really appreciate working with the UFCA over the course of two meetings.
And we really appreciate working with the...
One of the things that came out of those meetings was just a focus on providing greenery for the
roofs. There are many existing roofs in this neighborhood that also predate the subject
overlay of the refusal, and the owner is eager to match the green feel to many of those roof decks
in the surrounding area. Here is a copy of the letter of support I mentioned from the United
Francisville Civic Association. We had an initial design meeting and then a full meeting on October
the 22nd. Mr. Chair, we submit that this project is minimally modifying and of beneficial neighborhood
impact, whereas strict compliance with the code would result in mismatched buildings,
neither intended nor consistent with the intent and spirit of the code in this instance.
And with that, Mr. Chair, thanks again for all of your time this evening, members of the board.
Mr. Siebert is here with me virtually to adapt and affirm my testimony as his own.
Sure. Why don't we bring him on?
Henry, can you raise your hand in the virtual audience?
henry has been promoted henry could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer
yes henry siebert h-e-n-r-y-s-i-e-b-e-r-t you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing but the truth? Yes. Counsel. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Henry, have you been in attendance
virtually for the entirety of my presentation this evening? Yes. And can you confirm the board
that the entirety of my presentation is correct and accurate to the best of your knowledge? Yes.
And do you now adopt and affirm my testimony as your own? Yes. Thank you very much, Mr. Siebert.
Questions from the board?
Eric, just one quick.
Is that high school right near there?
Girard College is like a block.
That's right.
It's not St. Joe's.
What's that place called?
St. Joe's something or other prep?
Oh, St. Joe's Prep.
Yeah, that's right next door.
I think the prep's right there too, right?
Exactly.
Okay, thank you.
questions from our attorney thank you for that commentary i actually do have a question i just
want to clarify counsel um can you indicate uh mr siebert's relationship to the actual owner of two
you said about the owner of the property but um there's a company that actually owns it 2008 west
gerard llc yes mr siebert is the the principal of that llc okay great thank you and the reason why
that was asked as my son went to the prep that's why that question was asked oh absolutely i would
be remiss not to mention the prep next to gerard college of course question questions or comments
from the virtual audience no hands chair planning commission comprehensive plan recommends no change
to the existing rm1 residential multi-family zoning at this location the overlay language
triggering this refusal the prohibited roof decks and accessory structures in this community
was enacted at the community's request in 2022 the appellant has not demonstrated that there
are any unique circumstances or physical conditions of the property that would prevent
it from being used in strict conformance to the zoning code therefore the city planning
commission recommends the board deny the requested variances for roof deck and roof deck accessory
structure so mi2026-003-438-2008 west rod avenue i vote yes michael johns my vote is yes
Cheryl Gaster my vote is yes
Tanetta Graham my vote is yes
Tywin my vote is yes
Layla Beebe my vote is yes
Thank you counsel
Thank you all for your time this evening
Is there anyone else in the audience who
their 330 case has not been called
I see no hands chair
Thanks everybody
We appreciate this and I know the staff
appreciates getting out of here just a little bit
earlier than we normally do
Now we're off next week and then we're back
the following week for Tuesday and Wednesday
Right?
everybody enjoy themselves this weekend veterans day and enjoy yourself thanks chair