Members of the Greater Bustleton Civic League were glad to hear the Zoning Board of Adjustment has agreed with the league’s opposition to legalizing a deck on the 9900 block of Alicia St. Not only did the zoning board reject the variance, it also ordered the homeowner to tear down the deck.
On June 26, during the league’s last session before the group breaks for July and August, President Jack O’Hara announced the city’s zoning panel had rejected Natalya Bulgakov’s variance request to legalize a deck on her home. Bulgakov needed a use variance to build the deck in her side and rear yards.
During the league’s May meeting, she told members she didn’t know she needed zoning approval for the deck. She said her father paid for the materials and had done the work.
According to the league’s minutes, photos of the property show the construction was of a deck, roof and stairs. During the league’s May session, many neighbors complained about the property, calling it a blight to the neighborhood. Members voted to recommend that the zoning board reject the application
The civic association’s recommendation has not always been followed by the zoning board. In the last year, the board OK’d a small manufacturing business for a house on a residential block of Haldeman Avenue and approved an auto business on Bustleton Avenue, despite overwhelming opposition from the league’s members and neighbors.
In other business June 26:
• Members applauded news that Wawa would be opening its newest Northeast store at Grant Avenue and Krewstown Road on June 28.
• Reporting neighborhood problems to the city’s 311 system has proved successful, O’Hara said. He said the city quickly took care of graffiti at Welsh Road and Alburger Avenue, and fined people who were conducting illegal street sales on Haldeman Avenue.
• Dana Perella of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health told members about the dangers and symptoms of Lyme Disease and West Nile Virus. She stressed how residents can prevent infections by using insect repellents, and mosquito-proofing and tick-proofing their homes. Residents can call the city’s mosquito hot line, 215–685–9027, to report problems.
The league’s next membership meeting will be at 7 p.m. on Sept. 25, at the American Heritage Federal Credit Union’s Carriage House, Red Lion Road and Jamison Avenue.
The league’s hot line is 215–676–6890; its website is www.gbcleague.com ••
