Appealing Zoning Board of Administration Hearing to CCP

[Kevin M.]

BP Family,

Wanted to share some specifics of my journey of applying for Single Room Occupancy (SRO) and get some advice for my pending appeal.

Application

Back in September 2019, I applied for a Use Permit for Single Room Occupancy of my existing Three Family dwelling on my RM-1 lot. This was (of course) denied and I received my Referral shortly after. I appealed the denial seeking a Special Exception (SE). The first available date to go in front of the Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) was late January 2020, unless of course I wanted to pay their $700 "expediting fee". I took the January date. 

Registered Community Organization (RCO) Meeting

I reached out to the RCO coordinator and mailed out letters to all my neighbors as required. The RCO didn't get back to me for a few emails until I finally got a response. In classic Philadelphia fashion- about 80% of the addresses that I was required to use did not exist. I showed up at the RCO meeting to present the SE request. About 12 community members attended. They asked a few unrelated questions and took turns sharing some personal unrelated stories. I never received any notification of the "voting results" of the meeting. I requested these a few times from the RCO and finally about 10 days later received an email that "the project didn't get support". No official records of voting or any transparency of voting by project presented. I called to talk to the RCO chair who claimed that none of the 3 projects presented that evening received a vote of support. Still never received any written documentation of results. Well then... 

ZBA Hearing

The ZBA hearing was interesting. No community members showed up in protest of the SE. Special Exceptions (as opposed to Variances) are supposed to have a lower standard for approval, but I felt the Board did not care either way. The Board gave me little chance to explain the Special Exception and why the application meets the legal standards for approval. Instead the Chair of the Board was focused on the basement unit (unrelated to the SE) and suggested a Provision of "No residential dwelling unit in basement". Enough of his Board Members signed on and this Provision was attached to my Special Exception Approval. 

Court of Common Pleas (CCP) Appeal

I'm currently in the process of appealing the Provision attached to the approval to the CCP. It's my position that the opposition to the SE did not add any evidence to the record that could justify the ZBA's provision to the SE. Has anyone (or your attorney) ever appealed a ZBA decision to CCP? Any tips or notes from your experience? Happy to answer any questions about my journey so far and update after CCP if people are interested...