Fox Chase Homeowners Association members last week heard a request by the owner of a multi-family house at 8301 Rising Sun Ave. (at Hoffnagle Street) to legalize an addition from 2009.
The owner has lived in the house since 1994, and blamed the contractor for not getting a permit for the addition, which is not set back far enough from the property line.
During the presentation, it was revealed that FCHA bylaws say the group opposes the legalization of any existing structure.
Nonetheless, civic president Kate Friend took a non-binding vote, with members choosing to support the variance.
The owner will be in front of the Zoning Board of Adjustment on Feb. 8.
In other news from the Oct. 12 meeting:
• Mark Mroz, community relations officer in the 2nd Police District, said there have been a record 20 murders in the district this year. He said there have been 47 cars stolen in the district in the last month. He thanked City Councilman David Oh for sponsoring a bill that became law, increasing fines for and booting illegally parked tractor trailers.
Mroz also mentioned that Officer Pat Saba, formerly of the 2nd, was one of three SWAT members shot earlier in the day while serving a warrant in North Philadelphia. Saba, though shot in the hip, drove the other two wounded officers to the hospital. Mroz also recalled that Saba was right behind Cpl. James O’Connor when he was killed in 2020 in Frankford while serving a fugitive arrest warrant.
• Rockledge Mayor Jim Caffrey and Police Chief John Gallagher attended the meeting. Gallagher said his wife is starting to see some of the same crimes in their Fox Chase neighborhood as she saw in her native Grays Ferry. He said some people who commit violent crimes in Philadelphia are released on their own recognizance.
“The leadership of the city of Philadelphia is terrible,” Gallagher said, singling out District Attorney Larry Krasner. “People are not safe.”
• City elections commissioner Seth Bluestein said mail-in ballots were sent to voters who requested them on Columbus Day weekend. The deadline to request a mail-in ballot is Nov. 1. Ballots must be received by 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 8. The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 24. Register at vote.pa.gov/Register. Polls are open on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. More information is at vote.phila.gov.
• SEPTA will have an open house on Thursday, Oct. 20, from 6-8 p.m. at the American Legion Loudenslager Post 366, 7976 Oxford Ave. There will be a discussion about proposed bus route changes in the Northeast. There will be light refreshments. Another meeting will be on Tuesday, Oct. 25, from 6-8 p.m. at Vogt Recreation Center, 4131 Unruh Ave.
• Loudenslager American Legion will host a Veterans Day ceremony on Sunday, Nov. 6, at 3 p.m.
• Fox Chase Homeowners Association will meet on Wednesday, Nov. 9, at 7:30 p.m. at Loudenslager. ••
