718 Gaul Street

I rode by there a couple of days ago and was wondering if there was any progress.

Who in their right mind would just be like "Alright. I'm sick of the sidewalk. I'm going to fence it off!"

A property owner that thinks they can annex public space and "owns" the neighborhood.

I'm annexing Galvo as my personal party space. Please direct rental inquiries to my attention.

L&I thinks they have won by marking your complaints unfounded.

This is where you start with the next barrage of complaints and harass them again about it.

So I will start off with mine. Feel free to adjust the wording on yours and send it in. Again, the URL is:
http://www.phila.gov/311/askAQuestion.html

---------------------
PROPERTY ADDRESS: 718 GAUL ST
BRT ACCOUNT NUMBER: 181451800
Mailing Address: SWEET WILLIAM
718 GAUL ST
Philadelphia
PA
19125-2837

THE PROPERTY OWNER HAS A FENCE ERECTED AT THE CURB LINE AND HAS EXTENDED HIS SIDE YARD INTO THE PAVEMENT.

CAN SOMEONE AT L&I PLEASE TELL ME IF THIS PROPERTY OWNER HAD HIS LOT LINES EXTENDED OUT TO THE STREET? BECAUSE A 6'4" FENCE, PAINTED BLACK, HAS BEEN ERECTED RIGHT AT THE EDGE OF THE CURB LINE,

THIS MEANS THE SIDEWALK ALONG THE EAST SIDE OF HEWSON STREET IS COMPLETELY GONE BECAUSE THIS PROPERTY OWNER ANNEXED IT.

CAN SOMEONE AT L&I EXPLAIN WHY THIS IS LEGAL OR DO I NEED TO CONTACT CITY COUNCIL?
---------------------

done!

Didn't we think that the property and street lines on Hewson St might be a little wonky, so that the sidewalk might actually be private property? It might be a question about lot lines for Streets or PCPC, not L&I.

The lot lines for 718 do not appear to extend to the curb line according to the City of Philadelphia's Zoning Map

Please note that the BRT is still holding an account for 716 Gaul which is the actual lot itself (the side yard). There is a separate BRT account number and on the City's Zoning Map it still shows that 716 Gaul is its own lot. I don't see here on the zoning map where the lot is any different than 718 Gaul next door. Go look for yourself:
http://citymaps.phila.gov/zoningoverlay/

Now there are lots in the middle of the block along Hewson that extend out to the centerline of the driveway, but 716 Gaul and 718 Gaul are not those properties.

BTW either PCPC, PlanPhilly or L&I would be the appropriate places to go to have someone check the physical Philadelphia Zoning Map.

There are two other places you could go to get a legal definition of the properties: The City Records Department has the deeds to these parcels and in the title of the deed is the precise legal definition of the property lines. If the lot line actually extends into Hewson it will actually say this in the deed for the parcel.

The other one is the physical Philadelphia Zoning Map. However the online version is just as good as asking someone down at L&I to look at the physical one.

Juliana Reyes

Dear Mr. Kenzo:

Thank you for contacting the City of Philadelphia's 311 Contact Center.

I submitted a new service request over to License & Inspections for this issue regarding the fence. I noticed that other calls have been made, but closed out because Inspector couldn't gain access in the rear. Ticket# 2022564. You can view this request on-line at www.phila.gov/311/ Track a service request.

Again, thank you for contacting us regarding this issue. Please let us know if you have any further questions.

Sincerely,

Katie
Philly 311 Contact Center

Juliana Reyes

City Services Reporter, It's Our Money (Daily News/WHYY)
(w) 215-854-5855
(c) 908-644-3655
Twitter: @juliana_f_reyes / @phillyhowl

Am I missing how to go into a post and edit it, once its posted?

Gee, I wonder if thats because there is an ILLEGAL FENCE!

also, TWSS?

This person emailed me about investigating this property. She does some sort of column about how government money is wasted, and was interested when she saw the posts about the property on the previous incarnation of FTUS.
She might be a good resource for attention.

I wouldn't mind the nest posts so much if it were easier to find them (like, if their background was a light grey so it stuck out from the white) but as it is there is a tiny little 'new' at the top of the post in the same color, font, and size as the rest of the text and thats all there is to know its a new post. If this is the way it can be done, I'd like for it to go back to the old way where posts were shown chronologically and quoted posts were shown in post quoting it.

also, if they are doing the nesting there is no reason to have the quoted bit of the post in the quoter's post.

i'll second that.

Seconded. Also these "speech bubbles" will hopefully vanish in the future as well.

i used to park my car there when i first moved to the neighborhood years ago until i had two of my tires slashed. i noticed other cars parked next to the fence with flat tires also...

You can't flatten the tires of L&I LOL :D

EMailed and registered. If I get any answer Ill post here.

718 Gaul was just listed for sale for $229k, noting:
"Large side yard which is an additional lot known as 716 gaul street also has a deck and large storage shed."

just in case you need one.

Maybe he thought he could claim the sidewalk as part of the "side lot" program.

Sounds like he found out about this thread and decided to try and sell before the fan smells like doodie.

"...and I would have gotten away with it, too, if it hadn't been for you meddling kids!"

And give the selling agent and the homeowner a hard time?

You think this ends here? NUH UH! :D

http://www.trulia.com/property/3071615592-718-Gaul-St-Philadelphia-PA-19125

LOL Trulia's Street View page has a webpart that points RIGHT AT THE FENCE.

That open house was understated. It was classy and elegant.

I've been to a million of those things and nobody, nobody puts out rosemary flatbread paninis.

I wrote something on the email thingy at the bottom of the page.

$229 with a "nice sized yard!!" that's dirt cheap and one of the best blocks in the F-tizzy.

I have no direct knowledge of the properties in question, but from experience with real estate transactions in general, and related to side yards specifically, I would suggest taking BRT/OPA or other city records with a large grain of salt. The process of conveying lots is/was* very convoluted, often involving up to 12 departments which are uncoordinated. I've had 2 deals where the current owner was the rightful owner, but public tax and ownership records contained major discrepancies that were a nightmare to try to resolve. Even a straight forward market sale can take up to 3 months for the deed to be recorded.

*A couple years ago, after holding applications for sideyards up to 7 years, some homeowners were abruptly told the program was discontinued, and they could cough up several thousand in "market value" without the benefit of clear title (v. $1 as was the previous policy) or the lots they had improved would be put up for sale, nevermind that many are too narrow for building by today's code/standards.

Has anyone tried contacting the owners?

I looked for a phone number but I couldn't find one since the owner probably just has a cell (if anybody knows one PM me it). I had the gumption to want to call weeks ago just to get their side of the story of the yard, but as a person who doesn't have authority to demand the fence to come down, I wanted to only introduce myself and ask "what's the deal with the fence? Care to explain?"

From a civic perspective, it's wholly appropriate that the civic (FNA) could fire off a letter requesting information from the homeowner. That's up to the civic board and members to decide if it's worth doing that, which means you guys as FNA members have to raise it to your civic if you want the civic to approach the homeowner.

For ORCA, I cannot approach a property owner in the name of ORCA or use ORCA's name, only in my own name. Nobody can communicate an issue mano-a-mano unless ORCA decides as a whole to do that. I can mention, when asked, that I am a member of the civic and that I am on the zoning committee, but I can't title myself as such nor can I use that as "fodder". So when I go about it, I just use my own name and that "I'm a resident and property owner in Kensington".

[And honestly, some people are just crass enough that they will ignore just about everything except a Process Server arriving at the property due to a Code Enforcement lawsuit launched from the Law Department.]

Since they're going to be doing showings in that house fairly soon.

Anybody here can waltz right in and ask "hey is that fence legal? Where did the pavement go?? If I bought this house wouldn't I have to fix that???"

I would then reply back to this thread with whatever answers the selling agent is telling you.

Dear Mr. Froward:

Thank you for contacting the City of Philadelphia's 311 Contact Center.

A service request was just submitted for this issue with the fence over to License & Inspections. You may check back in about 10-20 business days for the status.

Again, thank you for contacting us regarding this issue. Please let us know if you have any further questions.

Sincerely,

Katie

Philly 311 Contact Center

Let's hope you don't get "the standard response".
The "standard response" takes a few days and will say either "unfounded" or "unable to gain access".

It has been brought to my attention that the sidewalk was annexed and fenced in by the previous owner, not the current one. Thus, some of the conjecture here might be inaccurate.

Hopefully someone with more knowledge will address this.

Because back on the old board, someone had mentioned that the current owner has only been present for a while. The fence looks older than that. And it gets spray-painted.

No matter who the owner of the property is, the property has illegally annexed the pavement.

This isn't a unique thing either. When I was wet-behind-the-ears on property issues in Philly, 1352 South Street tried to annex almost ALL of the pavement leaving 2 feet and 6 inches space remaining. It was super-illegal.

Inga Saffron (Architecture critic at the Inquirer) got involved and started cremating the developer in the paper over it. The old Phillyblog then tore the guy to shreds, I got involved and had a protest at the site, and just about all the Pro-Development People there are who were on that board carved out a HUGE exception for Rimas Properties and we all went after that owner.

We won. The City Law Department took Rimas to court and it went all the way to a hearing in Common Pleas over it... not even to the ZBA. Rimas backed out after they found out what judge they got assigned and they settled with the City outside the courtroom door.

I was there for that, too. So was Inga.

Some of you who have known me for years remember that episode well. You can read it here:
http://blogs.philadelphiaweekly.com/willdo/tag/1352-lofts/

The property was purchased by the current owner in 1997. I do not believe that it has been that way for over 14 years, but I may be wrong.
However...If I moved into a property with an obvious illegality about it, I would have fixed it. Wouldn't you? Pre-existence is not an excuse.

To be clear, I wasn't making an excuse.
I was just adding clarification.

It gets better.

A certain someone at the Philadelphia Inquirer was also told this excuse by the L&I Commissioner herself.

I love it when Streets and L&I point fingers at each other.

I'm sure Fran Burns doesn't encounter situations like this often, where property owners just completely annex the paveme... OH WAIT YES THEY DO:

http://blogs.philadelphiaweekly.com/willdo/tag/1352-lofts/

Kenzo, I was wondering if you knew how much of the public right of way has to be cleared on a sidewalk?

That's a good question. Unfortunately the answer is murky. The old zoning code had some standards but many of them have been overridden by special control districts and specific ordinances, and you just have some plain-old crazy mega-old streets where the pavement is only 2 feet wide.

As a general rule of thumb, a wheelchair or a power chair should be able to go from one end of the pavement to the other with no PERMANENT obstructions blocking their way, if the pavement is wide enough to support a wheelchair or a power chair.

If you want to get into specifics, then the physical Philly Zoning map has to be consulted to see where the lot line rests on your pavement, then where the curb line is and the PCPC or L&I (and also Streets) can determine the minimum clearance specified for your block. For some of us the lot line is the front wall of our houses for others it can be the middle or the edge of the steps and for others it can be several feet from the front wall.

I have seen folks place objects resting at the curb line, like small planters, which to me I think is OK. So are parking bollards, gas/electric light fixtures, trees, etc. You cannot build a wall at your curb line to block motorists from getting to and from their vehicles except for temporary scaffolding covering the pavement. Those are basic guidelines but zoning could be specific to your particular block which alters the requirements.

Those controls don't go away in the new Zoning Code that was passed in City Council on Thursday [your zoning doesn't change until the official city zoning map is changed to reflect what your new zoning is].

However when it snows, the rules on clearance are specific:

PHILADELPHIA CODE 10-720 REGARDING SNOW REMOVAL FROM SIDEWALKS

According to the Philadelphia Code (10-720), "(1) the owner, agent, and tenants of any building or premise shall clear a path of not less than 36 inches in width on all sidewalks, including curb cuts, abutting the building or premises within 6 (six) hours after the snow has ceased to fall. The path shall be thoroughly cleared of snow and ice. Where the width of any pavement measured from the property line to the curb is less than 3 (three) feet, the path cleared may be only 12 inches in width. When the building in question is a multifamily dwelling, the owner or his agent shall be responsible for compliance with the requirements of this section."

(2) Snow or ice removed from sidewalks, driveways, or other areas shall not be placed or piled in the street.

(3) Any person who violates this Section shall be subject to the provisions and penalties set forth in 10-718 and 10-719.

The penalty for violating this provision can range from "a minimum fine of fifty dollars ($50) to no more than three hundred dollars ($300) for each violation."
To report a sidewalk or curb cut that has not been cleared, residents may call the Streets Department Customer Affairs Unit at (215) 686-5560. For all City services dial 3-1-1.

Private plows piling snow in the street after city forces have cleared the roadway is illegal, as well as a hazard to drivers and pedestrians.

I still say it's probably best to have "someone" accidentally run it down with a truck.

Heh I know someone who drinks at Bonk's who could do that. Would make an interesting case for Judge Judy to preside over... a privately-owned object standing in the public realm mowed down by someone who made a wrong turn at Albuquerque.

Someone must have tipped them off that someone is doing a story about them and their gross incompetence.

LOL

EDIT: Oh nevermind, I re-read it. This means nothing. I bet the ticket dies there with no action; just like many of the tickets I have sent to them over the year to remove bandit signs that are high up. The tickets get thrown in the electronic bit bucket and go to die.

Just to be sure L&I/Streets doesn't say "wrong address" (the side yard really is 716 GAUL), I'll put in another ticket with the same language but the correct address.

-------------------------
PROPERTY ADDRESS: 716 GAUL ST
BRT ACCOUNT NUMBER: 181451700
Mailing Address: SWEET WILLIAM
718 GAUL ST
Philadelphia
PA
19125-2837

THE PROPERTY OWNER HAS A FENCE ERECTED AT THE CURB LINE AND HAS EXTENDED HIS SIDE YARD INTO THE PAVEMENT.

CAN SOMEONE AT L&I PLEASE TELL ME IF THIS PROPERTY OWNER HAD HIS LOT LINES EXTENDED OUT TO THE STREET? BECAUSE A 6'4" FENCE, PAINTED BLACK, HAS BEEN ERECTED RIGHT AT THE EDGE OF THE CURB LINE,

THIS MEANS THE SIDEWALK ALONG THE EAST SIDE OF HEWSON STREET IS COMPLETELY GONE BECAUSE THIS PROPERTY OWNER ANNEXED IT.

CAN SOMEONE AT L&I OR STREETS EXPLAIN WHY THIS IS LEGAL OR DO I NEED TO CONTACT CITY COUNCIL?
----------------------

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20111228_City_Howl_Help_Desk__TALKING_THE_TALK_WHEN_YOU_CAN_T_WALK_THE_WALK.html

One of the replies was the following. It cracked me up.

Places like Fishtown caused the Mexican Revolution of 1911.
— orange rhino

Is there anybody other than me who can't see the comments?

not, but i'd take it as a blessing.

It's wierd. I've tried in both Chrome & Safari (I'm on a Mac) and no comments.
I do have to say, after looking at it in Safari, I'm pretty thankful for "Ad Block" on Chrome.
Is there anybody other than me who can't see the comments?

I had the same problem. I had to first go here:
http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/city_howl/
And then link to the article to see the comments. I don't know why the other links weren't showing them.

I was wondering if any of you that live right around there and have been reporting it to L & I, and Dept. of Streets, have called one of the tv stations about it. They have done wonders with some of the complaints of other people for various problems in their neighborhoods. Just a suggestion.

Well...update is in order.
The fence was taken down. Yeah!
The sidewalk is now an open driveway. Seriously.
The pavement is still not available.
Am waiting to get pics.

Operation Sidewalk Liberté - Mission Accomplished?

edit: replaced "." with "?" - typo.

Oh no, the mission is not accomplished.
These idiots think its okay to just take the sidewalk...STILL...with their car parked on it as if its a carport.
I proposed, that anyone who has a car that they don't need to move for like a month, try to park it (legally) on Gaul in front of said offense, AND on Hewson, beside said offense. Lets just box them in. They shouldn't be there in the first place. I'd really love to see the deed to this property, and find out exactly why these 'neighbors' feel that they actually STILL own the sidewalk.

Call the police - they will come out and ticket the car.

classy

But... The people in the house said they had a permit! Even the realtor said it's a 'non-story'!

ahh the most coveted parking on the sidewalk permit..

and realtors, always your most trusted source of reliable info. They never put a spin on anything.

I walked to that block to check it out and I have to say that block of Hewson street has alot going on, the parking on the pavement, the fenced in patios and the non fenced in patios, the great wall of Hewson with the garage door. Does anyone know if the court yard is a street ? The gated alleyway with the mailbox, who lives in an alley ? I would like to see if in the summer people put patio furniture outfront.
I'm a little overwhelmed.

CORRECTION!!!
I took a walk down there to check it out myself. My initial report is incorrect.
THEY DID NOT TAKE DOWN THE FENCE. They merely put up a thingy on the front so the front added section can slide to the side to park on the pavement. The fence is still there, now its just adapted to pull a car in.

The gate with the mailbox is because those houses have additional houses behind them. You go down the alley and there is another house.
The front "patio's" are legal, the houses were made with front "yards", which some people cemented and chose to make a sitting area.
The court yard is indeed a street...its Miller Street, and probably the 700 block.
The great walled enclosure used to be the school yard, when the school was still active. The gentleman who purchased the school redid the fence, and made access for vehicles. He put a lot of time and effort, and money into trying to do it as nicely as possible. He planted many beautiful vines that soften the fence, and took the trouble to actually landscape the outside of the fence, which the houses on Miller court face. He makes custom furniture in there, and from what I understand his wife has a yoga studio.
I consider him a good neighbor, as he went out of his way to make it nicer than he had to, and it is his own personal property.

Well, 30 some-odd more days and the Streets violation should start appearing in Municipal Court records, so long as it went unanswered by the property owner. If I see it pop up in Muni Court I'll be happy to post each and every court doc here on FTUS.

If this guy continues to get away with this I'm annexing my pavement. And if that's ok I'll declare war on my neighbor and take their pavement too! I just need some of that camouflage war paint to make this official.

This is a serious problem. Blocked sidewalks make me roll down the middle of the street. That used to be safe back before all the new people moved into the neighborhood with cars. So please don't annex your sidewalk. It's not yours, and I need it for safety's sake.

Unless you are annexing your sidewalk for something that will serve the whole community like opening an Applebee's takeout-only stand or putting up inflatable holiday decorations which are only temporary anyways.

My sidewalk will be annexed for one reason and one reason only; to expand my kingdom! There's only 2 ways to get more land these days, buying and taking and obviously buying is for the suckazzzzz.

I'm picking out the colors I want for my all-concrete elevated fenced-off pavement porch deck.

I'm thinking camo; it will fit in with the deer blind.

ANOTHER CORRECTION.
After careful examination, it appears nothing has changed...except my source of information has been deemed unreliable.
Fence still up, in its original capacity.

The fence that is upsetting people is not new, as a matter of fact, that fence or one similar has been on that pavement for years. The people who live there now purchased the property as is, with a fence extending right to the curb of Hewson St. I can remember a fence being on that pavement since I went to Holy Name School in the 60's....that home has been sold a few times since the fence was placed there and I'm not sure it ever bothered anyone. I hope the fence stays....new people cannot change things that have. Exixted from before they were born...

I quite beg to differ.

I went to school at Holy Name until 1967 and that fence WAS NOT THERE.

Beg to differ....cute. my point is that Hewson Street has always been a strange street....that fence may not have been there in 67, but it wasn't much after that when the fence went up. I remeber the family name was Campbell that placed the fence there. The neighbors used the pavement as a parking spot because the street was so narrow. They had more problems with people damaging the fence that was only around the yard, not the paving.they complained much like people are complaining now. No one listened. You could never walk on the sidewalk anyway, because cafs were parked there....people who lived there tried everything to stop cars from parking there....and fencing was last resort.

The lot lines for most properties do not extend to the curbline. This property owner did not build the fence, but is also responsible for the previous taking of public property as well.

That being said, there are plenty of illegal structures to go around, some more egregious than others. Some are a result of human error (bad surveying). There are many remedies: alteration so that it conforms, zoning variance to legalize the structure, demolition, or nothing. It depends on how bad the deviance is and whether it creates a problem.

The original owners of the yard could have solved the problem with decorative parking bollards to ward off offending pavement parkers. They chose not to, obviously. While the current owner of the structure inherited this dispute from a long, long time ago, the bigger point I was trying to make was how retarded and medieval L&I and the Streets department is.

Both departments were dumbfounded when they were shown a picture of the fence. It's like space aliens came here from Mars. That fence has been there a very long time. It does stand out if you're walking along Hewson, you have to dart into the street to keep going. All these years it's been there and the City has never noticed the violation, or failed to react to complaints which I am sure have come before the recent one.

What was it... 311 was pegged about 8 times or so? Guess what: worse L&I issues that come in through the front intake desk that demand the City do something about it get a similar cold shoulder. L&I has gotten complaints about imminent collapses, done nothing, and then the structure actually does collapse even though L&I was given plenty of warning.

And I am not surprised that the Fire Department does their own Fire Code inspections and does not give that responsibility for L&I to do b/c you just can't trust L&I to get it right, or to get it done.

Both L&I and Streets need major improvements. It's hard to fight blight in Philadelphia when the two main agencies of the City that deal with blight are fundamentally broken.

We gave them a simple problem of a fence 3 1/2 feet too far out from where it should be. They failed.

That fence has not been there since the 60's. I graduated from Holy Name in the mid 80's and the sidewalk on Hewson St. was still there. There was a brick wall that started on Gaul St. and it went down Hewson St. until it hit the end of the property line at the convent.

Same.

I went to Holy Name too, the fence was not there. There was a pavement, because we would stand on it while waiting for the nuns to come out of the convent and walk across the street. Which anyone who went to Holy Name knows, was what the grade school girls did. We waited for our nun, and helped them carry their stuff over to the class room. Also, John the pretzel & waterice guy would park there after school. I'm very familiar with the area, and the fence does not go back that far. It may have been there for years, but not that many!
I remember the Campbell family too. I remember going into the house when it was an open house before the Campbells bought it. The fence along Hewson matched the fence along Gaul, in height and design, and it was located along side the pavement. The pavement was there. Trust me.
Just because something is old, does not make it right...I'm a walking example of that.

I'm so glad others have confirmed that I do not have Alzheimers. Thank you. I knew the fence wasn't there when I went to school but couldn't remember when it appeared.

How about sidewalk cafes? When you have to walk in the street to pass.

They are supposed to have a clear path that wheelchairs can pass through. However, they'll never be clear enough to let through a gay pride parade or 5 people out shopping together who all want to walk abreast, much less 2 parents pushing 2 strollers side-by-side.

When the chairs and tables at Old City cafes try to push everyone out into the street that's the best opportunity to pull out your cigarettes and smoke up a storm, or phone up a friend and have a loud cell phone conversation about running pustules.

Whys it gotta be a gay pride parade? Why not a St. Patty's day parade, sir? That is all.

It's all about the feathers

I know exactly what you're talking about! My love/infatuation of all things feathers made me lose many a nights sleep questioning whether or not I've been batting for the wrong team all these years. After much inner reflection I came to the conclusion that I just love, love, love feathers! And I guess girls are okay too.. But... feathers!!!

perfect FUS post

I submit the entire Americas as proof that yes, indeed, new people can change things otherwise we would all be living in round houses in Shackamaxon speaking Algonquin gathering our sustenance from the pristine waters of the river now known as the Delaware without the taste of Jacquin's or Kenzinger having passed our lips

The Lenni Lenape might not have drank Kenzinger, but I'm positive that the Susquehannocks brewed the first Yuengling by the headwaters of the Schuylkill.

Im gonna get a picture of the house from the early 80's to put this all to rest . I hope the kid has one still . ill post it for everyone

FYI, the house was sold 12/27/11.

Listed for Sheriff Sale today: not that it means it actually went but interesting. Came across it looking for something else

8-333a-B 18th Wd (716 Gaul St. - Premise a – 19125) 2223 sq. ft. brT#18145170Improvements: residential Property 18th Wd. (718 Gaul St. –Premise B – 19125) 2223 sq. ft. brT#181451800 Improvements: residential Property Jeanne SWeeT; WILLIam SWeeT C.P. September Term, 2008 no. 03792 $183,833.91 Scott a. dietterick, esq.; Kimberly a. bonner, esq.; Joel a. ackerman, esq.; ashleigh L. Levy, esq.; Zucker, Goldberg & ackerman, LLC

What do they want for that? I'd buy that sucker an make a tire safe parking lot.

This wasn't the first time it has been threatened with Sheriff's Sale:

http://bit.ly/AAW3J8

Looks like it was stayed for a while because that Preacipe was filed in '09.

And it looks like it's done and gone because the Preacipe went through:
http://bit.ly/xQlCsM