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CASA DEL CARMEN

May 18, 2015

Honorable Julia Chapman, Chair

Zoning Board of Adjustment

Municipal Services Building, Room 1130

1401 John F. Kennedy Boulevard

Philadelphia, PA 19102-1687

RE: 532 W. Annsbury Street - Calendar #24548, Application #580863

Dear Chairwoman Chapman,

Casa del Carmen (CdC), a Family Service Center within Catholic Social Services of the

Archdiocese of Philadelphia, has been serving our neighbors in the Hunting Park neighborhood

of North Philadelphia since 1954. As part of Catholic Social Services, CdC exists to continue

the work of Jesus by affirming, assisting, and advocating for individuals, families, and

communities. We serve all Philadelphians but the majority of our clients are our neighbors. Our

program offerings include Emergency Assistance, Document Assistance, Benefits Access

(BenePhilly), Nutrition Instruction and Food Assistance (including two food pantries), Foster

Care and Adoption Services, and youth programs (elementary and preschool ages).

I am writing to state our opposition to the zoning appeal for 532 W. Annsbury Street, which will

be heard by the Zoning Board of Adjustment on May 20, 2015 at 5pm. The applicant cannot

satisfy the burden of proof required by 14-303(7)(e)(.1) and, therefore, we request that you

deny appeal #24548 on the following grounds:

14-603(9)(b) states that "Junk and salvage yards and buildings may not be located within 150 ft. of any Residential district." A significant portion of 532 W. Annsbury Street is

within 150 ft. of a Residential district, our property included.

14-603(9)(c) requires that "a masonry wall, not less than eight ft. in height and not more than 12 ft. in height, shall be constructed and maintained in good condition around all property

boundaries abutting a zoning district other than I-3 or I-P. There may be no stacking of material above the height of the masonry wall... ." The entire front, rear, and much of the

westerly border of the property at 532 W. Annsbury Street has no masonry wall of any kind and

is therefore in violation of this requirement. Moreover, the applicant is currently stacking

material above the height of the incomplete masonry wall which does exist.

Catholic Social Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia

continues the work of Jesus by affirming, assisting and

advocating for individuals, families and communities.

PROVIDING HELP CREATING HOPE 4400 N Reese Street, Philadelphia PA 19140 267.331.2500 fax 215.329.6722 Family Center 215.457.4310 fax 215.457.4339

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14-603(9)(d) requires a junkyard to be "landscaped in accordance with 14-705(2)" which states "At least one street tree per 35 ft. of linear frontage shall be provided. The front of

532 W. Annsbury Street is 140 linear feet and provides zero street trees of the three required by

Philadelphia zoning code 14-603(9)(d).

14-603(9)(f) states that "No outdoor industrial processes involving the use of equipment for cutting, shredding, compressing, or packaging may be conducted within 300 ft. of a

Residential district." The entirety of 532 W. Annsbury Street is within 300 ft. of a Residential

district, which also includes our property.

Moreover, 14-303(7)(d) requires the applicant to show that the granting of a special exception

will not cause detrimental impacts to the neighborhood through burdening schools, parks, or

other public facilities and 14-303(7)(e) seeks to prevent the impairing or permanently injuring

of the use of adjacent conforming properties.

The junkyard tends to stack discarded tires directly behind the area where our playground is

located. During the warmer months, there is a noxious smell that emanates from those tires and

the tendency for the tires to hold standing water encourages mosquitos to breed, which greatly

impacts our youth programs by not allowing full play time on the playground. Many healthcare

professionals, youth advocates, and politicians have gone on record stating the importance of

children experiencing high-level physical exercise for at least 60 minutes a day and our staff plan

at least as much time for our children but because of the issues with the insects, our kids are not

able to enjoy their time as the scheduled time has to be cut short, or else our kids get eaten alive

by the mosquitos. I am attaching a picture of the playground in relation to the tires that are

stacked in the junkyard (Attachment A).

Further, due to the actions taken by the owners of the junkyard, Fairhill has become an illegal

dumping zone. Because there are only garages facing the street, there are no witnesses to the

people who tend to dump trash and car parts on the weekend. My staff and volunteers usually

have to clean up our part of the street every Monday because there is trash littered. This past

April, CdC coordinated with Esperanza to pick up tires that were illegally dumped on the street.

Our staff and volunteers counted and stacked almost 50 tires for Esperanza to pick up and

properly dispose. I am attaching a picture of Fairhill with the tires and trash visible before we

coordinated the pickup (Attachment B).

In addition to these technical disqualifications for the applicants proposed use of 532 W. Annsbury Street, please know that the Hunting Park community overwhelmingly opposes this

application on the grounds that it is inconsistent with Hunting Park Neighborhood Strategic Plan

2022 developed as a collaborative community effort and formally accepted by the Philadelphia

City Planning Commission.

Sincerely,

Christopher D. Gale, MPA

Administrator

Catholic Social Services Casa del Carmen

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Attachment A

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Attachment B