NLNA BOARD OF DIRECTORS MINUTES - March 4, 2013

PRESENT:  Matt Ruben, President; Don Phillips, Vice-President; Steve Richman, Treasurer; Janet Finegar, Secretary; Rick Angeli; Fernando Benavides; Michael Coyne;  Larry Freedman; Lystra Harris; Katrina Mansfield; Chris Somers;ABSENT:  Erika Goldberg, Anne Waginger,The meeting was called to order by the President at 7:03  pmMotion: By Steve Richman, seconded by Katrina Mansfield:“To approve the minutes of the February Board meeting as presented.”Passed 9-0-0President’s Report: Matt Ruben: written report attached and reviewed.Don presented a draft from the Mission Committee of a vision for the neighborhood, a mission statement of what we would like the NLNA to be, and some activities that the NLNA should undertake toward that vision and mission. The Board engaged in a discussion of the draft, reconsidering the style and format and making several suggestions for revisions and additions to the list of activities.Matt reported that Rick Angeli has been selected by the Penn Treaty Special Services District as the new representative for Northern Liberties and as Chair of that Board. Rick is therefore stepping down as the head of the Fundraising committee.Treasurer's Report: Steve Richman: written report distributed and reviewed.Motion: By Rick Angeli, seconded by Katrina Mansfield. “To accept the Treasurer's report as presented.”Passed 10-0-0Election CommitteeMatt appointed Janet Finegar to the 2013 Election Committee.Fundraising Committee Report: Rick AngeliRick thanked his committee and the many volunteers for their work toward the extremely successful Winterfest. He also reported that he's sending a thank you letter to all the businesses that donated to the event.Liberty Lands Committee Report: Janet Finegar: written report attached and reviewed.Zoning Committee Report: Larry Freedman; written report attached and reviewed.Motion: By Katrina Mansfield,  seconded by Chris Somers. “To support the recommendations of the zoning committee in the matter of 938 New Market, i.e.: 'Thank you for your presentation. There are a few issues regarding the project: (1) Type of entrance lift gate to garage driveways; (2) Location of soft dumpster(s) for both buildings; (3) Need for a bollard in driveway to protect door(s). Please go to the UDC with the builder to discuss the above issues and materials. A letter of support will be issued upon the recommendation of the UDC, the NLNA office receiving a signed and dated set of plans and a copy of the refusal that agrees with the presentation, and the name and phone number of the builder.'”Passed 10-0-0Motion: By Katrina Mansfield, seconded by Michael Coyne. “To support the recommendations of the zoning committee in the matter of 708 N. 2nd Street, i.e.: 'We conditionally support your proposal with the following provisos: 1) Hours of operation shall be: Sunday - Thursday 7 a.m. – 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 7 a.m. – 11 p.m., 2) Maximum capacity will be 24, 3) Deliveries cannot be made after 9 p.m., 4) The backyard access/easement cannot be used for trash, smoking, storage, egress or anything other than access for the tenants to the 2nd floor residence, 5) Sound, including music, cannot escape the premises, 6) Trash/recycling must be removed at least 5 times each week, after 9 a.m. and before 9 p.m. The trash must be removed through the restaurant for pick-up on 2nd Street, without using the Fairmount Street easement. No trash cans can be left on 2nd Street or Fairmount Street waiting for pick-up, 7) A return visit to the Zoning Committee would be necessary to apply for the addition of any non-food related activities. Please supply the Zoning Committee chair with the following information or documentation: a) plans for trash storage and removal; b) recycling plans; c) approved stamped plans for the rear stair access to the 2nd floor residence; and d) a refusal that agrees with the presentation. Please go to the UDC to discuss signage and lighting plans.'”Passed 10-0-0Motion: By Steve Richman, seconded by Katrina Mansfield. “To support the recommendations of the zoning committee in the matter of 800 N. 3rd Street, i.e.: 'Conditional support for the project was given with the following provisos: 1) the bay windows on Odd Fellows Avenue should be removed; 2) the possibility of a one way drive aisle instead of a two-way aisle should be explored with a proposed usage of the extra space gained; 3) the developers should go to the UDC to discuss materials, landscaping, and drainage; 4) after the UDC meeting, please return to the Zoning committee with final plans that include how meters will be obscured.'”Passed 10-0-0New BusinessKat raised the issue of reinstating NLNA-sponsored street sweeping and proposed that it be instituted on a street-based system (2nd, 3rd, etc.) rather than a block-based system as it was in the past. She further suggested that businesses be approached to support the sweeping once it has been reinstated and the effect is visible. Kat will put together a formal proposal for the board to consider, and Matt offered to work on creating a specific approach to the businesses on 2nd Street.Matt reported that Councilman Squilla is trying to reinvigorate the issue of neighborhood security cameras.Matt further reported that there is a planned large party at the Piazza -- which is now under the management of the new owners -- for March 16th. Matt is attempting to contact the new owners about the plan for security but has not yet had success.The meeting was adjourned by acclaim at 9:08 p.m.Addenda:President’s Report, March 20131. PLANNING AND POLICY-RELATED ISSUES

• Mission – Don and the Mission Committee have produced a document for the board’s approval. We will discuss it and consider adopting it.
• Casinos – No update.
• Central Delaware Master Plan – No update.
• AVI/Real Estate Taxes – We’ll be having a special community meeting on AVI, on Thursday, March 14, 7PM, at St. Michael’s Russian Orthodox Church at 4th & Fairmount. Councilman Squilla will attend. As of this writing I am fairly certain Council President Clarke will attend as well – I am waiting on a reply from a re-confirmation email I’ve sent out. I believe we also will have a rep from the OPA, and I have requested rep from the BRT as well. I also am reaching out to some At-large Councilpeople.
• Zoning Code – Any updates on remapping will come from Larry in the Zoning report.

2. FUNDRAISING/FINANCES/ADMINISTRATION

• Administration, Budget, and Finances – Rick has been selected by the Penn Treaty Special Services District to fill a Northern Liberties vacancy on its board of directors. Further, Rick has been voted Chair of the PTSSD board. Rick has some thoughts about how this will impact the roles he takes on as an NLNA board member moving forward. We'll discuss this at our meeting.
• Any other updates in Treasurer’s and committee reports.
• Events – Winterfest was a tremendous success, thanks to Rick, Kat, all the other volunteers, North Bowl, and the other local businesses who donated and helped out. More information in the Fundraising Committee Report.
• Spring Garden Greenway – DRWC provided an initial update at the February GM. The design firm working on the underpass will have a public charrette in April, and will return to us at the April GM to share the results and any preliminary designs. Underpass work is set to begin in 2014.

3. DEVELOPMENT ISSUES AND DEVELOPER RELATIONS

• Tower Investments – The court appeal is still pending.
• Tower has formally handed over management of the Piazza to the new majority owners. First up: we’ve gotten a tip from neighbors that a St. Patrick’s Day event, with 3,000 people, is planned for Saturday, March 16. I will be contacting the new ownership to discuss this.
• Finnegan’s Wake – No update.
• Club Aura – A judicial hearing took place in late February. Details at our meeting.
• Parking – No update.

4. OUTREACH/EVENTS/GENERAL MEETINGS

• General Meetings – The February GM was well-attended and featured three guests. We need to decide whether or not we want to hold the regularly scheduled March GM, given that the March 14 special AVI meeting likely will draw a lot of people – and that interest in a March 28 GM may be low, given that we’ll have little if any new AVI information during that time. One alternative possibility: We could make folks available on the 28th, and have the meeting basically be an open house for anyone who wants help filling out their AVI first-level appeal form (which is due March 31).

5. COMMUNICATION AND PUBLICITY

• Internet – The email list continues to grow steadily, and is well over 2,000. A reminder to board members to join the NLNA’s Facebook group if they have not done so already, and to post to it.
• Web site – Committee chairs should be connecting with Katrina to get login access to your committee pages.

Liberty Lands Report – March 2013

•  PHS notified us that Liberty Lands was turned down for this year's Green Machine grant. Oh well.

• Josh from Awesome Fest is suggesting that the park's movies for 2013 be all John Hughes – Sixteen Candles, Uncle Buck, Planes Trains & Automobiles, The Great Outdoors, Pretty In Pink, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, Christmas Vacation, & Ferris Bueller's Day Off.  As agreed at the December meeting, the movies will be on Friday nights this year and Liberty Lands will not be contributing to the cost. Awesome Fest has also offered NLNA/Liberty Lands a full-page ad in their city-wide program.
• There is a “hard-core” workday scheduled for March 16 – our goals for the day are to fill a rubble dumpster with all the concrete and brick on site, install the potty shed trellis and get its plant into the ground, cut the bicycle off the American St. fence, and maybe spread some mulch from the 3 piles that now exist. Volunteers encouraged.
• Winter has brought a lot of off leash dogs. There was a thread on nl.org about it and we also discussed it at the February meeting. We agreed that as the weather warms (so that the dogs and other users conflict more), we would do a social media blitz (FB, nl.org, and the NLNA listserv) to ask people to step up and confront unleashed humans.
• Jen, with Seth's help, is working on designing a water barrel system to solve watering at the Laurel St. annex.
• Jen is also working with Barbara Saverino to create a Request For Proposals for artists and a grant proposal for foundations to make the artistic drinking water fountain idea happen. We will do a walk-around on the 16^th to choose a location for the fountain.
• A group called “Major League Bocce” has approached Janet about having league play at the park on Thursday evenings from April-mid June. Quoted them a $200 use fee (it's about 100 people per night) and will discuss bathroom and mowing logistics with them. They know what the ground is like and are still interested, so. . .
• Janet went to a meeting organized by Eileen at PHS to discuss stormwater billing for gardens. The upshot is that Liberty Lands (and all the other community gardens in the neighborhood) will not have to pay stormwater fees any longer, although it's going to take a few months for all the paperwork to get sorted out. Joanne Dahme at the Water Department is really just the best.
• Ken Grono is still interested in installing a concrete ping-pong table at the park. It would be usable as a picnic table when games aren't being actively played on it. We are discussing possible locations with him.
• The next workday – April 20 – should include painting the potty shed doors and organizing the shed part, planting the trees in the new playground pits, moving the two small fruit trees to the spot north of the rain garden, and all the usual cleanup stuff.  There will also be a May 11 Love Your Park spring workday, which will let us get cleaned up for the May 18 spring music festival.
• I am sure there are things I've forgotten. Park group, please feel free to chime in with them . . .

 ZONING COMMITTEE MEETING – Monday 2/25/13Members present: Larry Freedman (chair) Joe Mikuliak, Renee Ermilio, Jonathan Sher, Charlie Abdo, Ira Upin, Michael Simons, Sharon RichmanMembers absent: Chris Issacson, Tim McDonald938 New Market – I2 – Alex Duller   A return visit (4th time presenting) with a proposal for a 6 unit residential building (condos) on New Market and a triplex and duplex (rentals) on Hancock with 1:1 parking. [The motion from the previous presentation:  - the front half of the building on Newmarket Street should be four stories tall; - the back half of this building should be three stories tall; - any roof deck should only be above the back half and set back from all properties; - eliminate the pilot house; - eliminate the north garage door; - maintain 1:1 parking; - cars for both buildings should enter the parking lot from Hancock Street and exit onto New Market .]  Discussion: Hancock Street was not changed. The second garage door on New Market, eliminated as requested, is now a living room with “eyes” on the street. This change lowers the parking ratio from 1:1 to 10:11. The Streets Department is willing to approve the traffic flow and back-in angled parking. Shadow issues were resolved. The height which was previously 44’ is now 43’6”. The parapet walls on the northern side were eliminated to reduce the shadow. The center section of the building going into the pilot house is now almost even with the parapet. The pilot house is 30” shorter and it slopes to the front and not the back, thus reducing the shadow. To keep the parapet from being too imposing, only the first 36” would be a solid material and the remaining height would be an open railing or clear material. The building material will be red brick with metal or Hardy Board (in grey or silver) used for the bay. The next door neighbor was concerned about the noise produced from the opening and closing of the gate that would be used for the property. The architect believes that a double carriage door opening in is quieter than a roll-up door. When asked who the developer was, we were told that it is a group of unknown individuals, some of whom are “locals” and some “not local”.MOTION; VOTE (7-0):  Thank you for your presentation. There are a few issues regarding the project:  (1) Type of entrance lift gate to garage driveways;  (2) Location of soft dumpster(s) for both buildings;  (3) Need for a bollard in driveway to protect door(s).  Please go to the UDC with the builder to discuss the above issues and materials.  A letter of support will be issued upon the recommendation of the UDC, the NLNA office receiving a signed and dated set of plans and a copy of the refusal that agrees with the presentation, and the name and phone number of the builder.708 N. 2nd Street - ICMX2 - Patty Perlstein  Presentation for a café. (Layalena Café)  Discussion: This Lebanese cafe will use no open flame cooking on site that would require a hood and outdoor venting. They will be serving drinks, cold salads and sandwiches, light breakfast items and hot sandwiches using a panini press. There will be a prep area and cold case(s). Hours are 7 a.m. – 11 p.m. seven days per week. Seating is for 22-23 people but the owner wants 24. The easement in the back of the café gives access for the 2nd floor tenants. There is a door at the back of the café that leads to the outside easement. The owner/operator has two existing cafes in the city. Cleopatra Café is a café/hookah lounge at 4145 Chestnut Street and AliBaba that is somewhere near 12th and Market Street. (The exact address of each location was not given.) Trash is supposed to be picked up 5 days/week.MOTION; VOTE (7-0): We conditionally support your proposal with the following provisos: - Hours of operation shall be: Sunday - Thursday 7 a.m. – 10 p.m.  Friday and Saturday 7 a.m. – 11 p.m.  - Maximum capacity will be 24. - Deliveries cannot be made after 9 p.m.  - The backyard access/easement cannot be used for trash, smoking, storage, egress or anything other than access for the tenants to the 2nd floor residence. - Sound, including music, cannot escape the premises. - Trash/recycling must be removed at least 5 times each week, after 9 a.m. and before 9 p.m. The trash must be removed through the restaurant for pick-up on 2nd Street, without using the Fairmount Street easement. No trash cans can be left on 2nd Street or Fairmount Street waiting for pick-up. - A return visit to the Zoning Committee would be necessary to apply for the addition of any non-food related activities. Please supply the Zoning Committee chair with the following information/documentation: - plans for trash storage and removal; - recycling plans; - approved stamped plans for the rear stair access to the 2nd floor residence; and, - a refusal that agrees with the presentation.  Please go to the UDC to discuss signage and lighting plans.800 N. 3rd Street – I2 – Steve Pollack  Presentation for 5 single family dwellings. This is a preliminary visit. The project builds on 100% of the lot. All houses front on Brown Street and are approximately 2400 sq. ft, 40’ high with 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, one parking space for each house and a green roof deck. Proposed exterior materials are a charcoal grey brick, zinc bays and wood accents. Windows are on Odd Fellows Avenue and Third Street as well as on Brown Street. Two-way access to the rear parking is through a 24’ curb cut on Third Street.  Discussion: In general the attendees liked the design and materials (although one person objected to grey brick). Considerable concern about the projection of the bay towards their property on Odd Fellows Avenue was expressed by neighbors on Odd Fellows. There was also discussion about the potential use of Odd Fellows Avenue as an egress for the development but the size of the street was in question.MOTION; VOTE (7-0): Conditional support for the project was given with the following provisos: - the bay windows on Odd Fellows Avenue should be removed; - the possibility of a one way drive aisle instead of a two-way aisle should be explored with a proposed usage of the extra space gained; - the developers should go to the UDC to discuss materials, landscaping, and drainage;- after the UDC meeting, please return to the Zoning committee with final plans that include how meters will be obscured. 538 N. 4th Street – Michael Frank (Del Rossi’s)   Return visit to discuss sign and plan for wall.   Discussion: The mural begins 12’ above ground level and stretches across 58’. A “vintage” design was proposed for the artwork. It included a Philadelphia logo, a Liberty Bell, an old fashioned big wheel bicycle, an old time auto, a dirigible with a Coca Cola logo (which will help subsidize costs for the mural), and the Del Rossi logo and phone number. Suggestions were made to help focus on a theme for the content. Michael Frank will return in March with a revision.