ZBA Hearing - June 17, 2026

we are looking at a referral and so strike everything i said this is a referral and

mainly because it sits in an ICMX industrial commercial mixed use zoning which contemplates

both commercial and retail uses. Our property is approximately 31,000 square foot parcel

of it and it you can see from our exhibits of six

it is a former writing

and go to seven

as you can see here's allegheny up top side street rose hill the other side street c street parking

lot for the former Rite Aid parking lot and the structure right here. And here are additional photos.

and here are additional photos at exhibit 14.

this is during the winter time and this is clearly on allegheny avenue um this photo

i find significant because it actually shows the board exactly what cmx what what icmx

districts should look like it is a combination of commercial and industrial uses and this our

proposed use will fit right in now given this i want the board to just note that autozone

is the nation's retailer for automotive parts and accessory operating more than 6 000 stores across

the united states right sounds like a commercial but they got that way because they actually

serve local communities every day. And they've done that for decades. This particular site

will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. The store will be staffed with no more than eight employees

per shift. And AutoZone, like in most of their locations, they're committed to hiring locally,

which I think that will be a boom for this area considering that Rite Aid just closed

and and and we can step right in and maintain promote the economic volatility in that neighborhood

now we will have construction but members of the board our construction is only limited to

four months why because let's see if you can see from our appeal we are far from well here from our

piff uh can we see it

we are not doing any construction of any kind we are we are taking an existing detached structure

they we are not asking for any dimensional relief we're not even asking for signage

at this application in this application right with that we believe that we satisfy section 14-3037

of the code because with that we're not creating congestion we're not overcrowding our land

where we don't compromise light and air we don't tax our utilities we're we're adjacent to conforming

uses because we're on this commercial corridor right you know the building is in in existence

so there are no fire or safety issues and honestly we submit that we comply and and and maintain a

good relationship with the comprehensive plan so in short we submit that we have no negative

impact with our application and and the fact that we're bringing this building back to life

we we we know that this will help the surrounding community now we did

I touched on it real quickly but we did get the support of the council person

as we can see here and we did get the support of the local RCO which

which is here um aside from that right that i believe that this application is right for the

board to grant and with that i would like cassandra to be elevated so i can just talk to her

sorry panel edit check okay thank you cassandra are you there yes all right i think the board

chair would like to swear you state your name and spell for the stenographer cassandra peeler

c-a-s-s-a-n-d-r-a-p-e-e-l-e-r do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and

nothing but the truth? Yes. Could you turn on your video, please?

I'm not sure if I'll be able to.

I assure you, Mr. Chairman, she's better looking.

Go ahead. Start your presentation. I was going to say, I assure you, Mr. Chairman,

then she's better looking than me so um i i don't think i'll comment on that

um miss pierler um did you hear everything i stated to the board today

Ms. Peeler, did you hear everything I stated to the board today?

Yes, I did.

And would you adopt that as your testimony if you were to appear before the board, if you were asked those same questions, if you were asked questions today about the project?

Yes.

All right. Is there anything you would like to add?

No, there's not.

All right. Members of the board, that concludes my presentation. We open ourselves up for questions.

Thank you. Questions from the board.

are you are you planning any upgrades to the uh landscaping around the parking

I believe we will have to because of of in order to get the final CEO so but we don't have a

landscaping plan yet the way AutoZone would like to like to do this we're under agreement

we get the use we close then we build

okay other questions yes so you're not doing vehicle repair or anything this is just

you're selling the parts and things like that people that is windshield wiper blade or they

need or new windshield wiper blades or they need uh whatever it is or they need cans of oil

or when you need windshield wiping floor or car mats gotcha okay and then um but but they

buy these and then they have them they install them someplace else if there's something that

needs to be installed yeah so you're not doing any of that no okay nor do we encourage it and

we we we shoo people away when that happens

okay um all right so um okay um and then uh

is this in an area where there's some sort of parking for people so that when they come they

can park and go in um we do have significant parking um if i can go back to seven

this is our aerial here is allegheny avenue in order to enter you enter straight into a parking

okay all right okay and and the the average customer time if you will is 20 minutes so

there's no reason for all day parking there's no reason for anybody to hang out there you come in

Do you buy your product?

You may ask a couple of questions.

You may have to wait in line.

Then you leave.

Mm-hmm.

All right.

Thank you.

Mm-hmm.

I have a quick question.

I'm assuming most of the customers are drive up, but in case there are like walk-in customers

or for pedestrians, are there, I think they call them ballots in the front of the store

to prevent anyone from getting hit by a car walking up to the store no no we don't have

bullets let me just go to other photographs or just i guess any plan for pedestrian safety

yeah i i think they will this will come in place they they they have them yes they have they have

them oh yeah across the front yeah i thought you meant at the street oh oh no no i'm talking about

the corner of the store yeah at the at the building itself yes we have the other questions

comments from our attorney yes um you mentioned the agreement of sale it looks like it was signed

on march 12th of 2025 is that still active is that a yes yes that's a yes okay and what is

its length like when does it expire uh cassandra when does it expire

All right, I need to check our documents.

So now, while we're waiting now, so I imagine that you'll be putting up AutoZone signs,

so that'll come in as a separate package, okay.

Yeah.

Okay.

Thank you.

So this, we have approval periods for it, and this will be a purchase for us, but it

just goes until we get the approvals, it'd be extended.

So it's, it's...

I presume you have a zoning contingency, is that what you're saying?

Yeah, so it stays active until the buyer decides to extinguish it.

Gotcha. Okay, thank you questions or comments from the virtual audience.

You see a hand.

Planning Commission.

Nina Salmonic the Planning Commission in 2018 the zoning map was amended from industrial i2 to

icmx industrial commercial mixed use at this location in accord with recommendations from

the comprehensive plan and with the support of the community the proposed use will not cause

detrimental impacts the neighborhood beyond what might normally be expected the city planning

commission recommends that the zoning board grant the special exception m i two zero two five zero

zero four eight three five three thirty eight to fifty six east allegheny avenue i vote yes

michael johns my vote is yes cheryl gaston my vote is yes tenetta graham my vote is yes

All right, McAdams, my vote is yes.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Members of the board.

Number six.

I will be excused.

MI 2026-000847-378-East Upsil Street.

Alan Nockmson is the attorney.

so i think i had three in a row with you am i right i i do two okay could you uh state your

name and spell for the stenographer alan knockamson a-l-a-n the last name knockamson n-o-c-h-u-m-s-o-n

do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do could you

identify your client a relationship to the property uh my client is above and beyond daycare

uh and in the virtual audience uh is its uh owner lois johnson oh oh oh there you go

yeah yes please there's a letter of support from east mount airy neighbors rco um

um our vice chair has a few questions for you hi good afternoon have you submitted your documents

and exhibits five days in advance of this hearing yes i have and do you waive the reading of the

referral as typically to its accuracy i do all right thank you you can share your screen proceed

all right thank you

all right uh let me see it's taking oh here we go so again i represent above and beyond the

academy llc uh it's a daycare in the east mount airy uh airy section of philadelphia and uh we're

here to present this with miss johnson to my left i have 13 exhibits here we'll go through them

I'll have some questions for Ms. Johnson regarding it.

And again, as the Vice Chair stated, this is a referral.

So as the Board knows, this use is conditionally approved under the City of Philadelphia Zoning Code.

This is a CMX1 property.

So the standard here is that we have to show that our use is no worse than what you would typically expect of a use of this type.

This property has been used as a daycare since 2012.

Ms. Johnson has owned it since 2019.

What she's looking to do, as you can see from the notice of referral, is to expand the child care center use to the second and third floors.

Currently, it's on the first floor.

She's been very successful there, and there's a demand in the neighborhood for here.

As you can see, this use was approved in 2012, where it was on the first floor.

So we're doing an extension of that use.

uh the uh as the chairman stated

AS THE CHAIRMAN STATED, WE HAVE A LETTER OF SUPPORT.

WE HAD UNATIMOUS EITHER SUPPORT OR NON-OPPOSITION, BOTH AT THE COMMUNITY LEVEL AS WELL AS THE

RCO BOARD LEVEL.

IT WAS A VERY EXTENSIVE LETTER, IT WAS A GREAT DISCUSSION ABOUT MS.

JOHNSON AND HER 20-PLUS YEARS OF CHILDHOOD EDUCATION EXPERIENCE.

There were some discussions about, you know, making sure we keep the trash, you know, properly dealt with,

which is always an issue with any commercial property, but this is a commercial property, a SAMX1 property.

So we have no issue if there was a proviso trash to be stored outside, there is room for that.

And, you know, just making sure some other things about making sure we have extermination services once a month.

And, you know, just making sure that we, especially with the increased use, to tighten up the drop-off and pick-up plan with the parents, which will be done on Chew Street.

This is a corner property.

So, but a great, like, summary of the meeting that Mr. Goldberg handled on our behalf.

And then we just have the history of the property.

You can see there's a zoning permit to allow for this use on the first floor.

Again, we're just tripling the size of our facility.

and we're excited about that as well and then just a little bit about um you know uh you know

miss john's uh miss uh well machinea sorry uh machinea so i would ask for her to be sworn in

maybe she can uh give a little bit of background please state your name and spell for the stenographer

Lois Sheena Johnson, L-O-I-S-S-H-E-E-N-A-J-O-H-N-S-O-N.

Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

Counsel?

Hi.

Ms. Sheena, why don't you tell the board a little bit about your educational background first?

Why don't you get the mic a little bit closer?

I'm sorry.

Is that better?

Not at all.

That's great.

That's great.

So I have been in the education field, particularly early childhood.

it's going on 22 years. I do have a bachelor's in education from Temple University and then I

attained my master's degree online and I've worked in the classroom as a preschool teacher

for about eight years and then I transitioned into administration becoming a director

and my husband, my family, they saw that this is something that I'm very passionate about

So I really, really enjoy working with the little ones, my preschoolers, so I stepped out and this is where my passion is. I really, really love what I do. I make it my duty to be at my facility every day. I'm not the type of owner that stays at home. I am in the classroom. I'm changing kids. I'm supervising. I'm taking care of them, feeding them.

I'm very, very hands-on. So this is something I'm really, really passionate about. And there is a dying need for child care. I have a lot of families that are supporting me. A lot of people show up every day and I don't have the capacity. Right now, I'm only licensed for 14 on the first floor.

and I see you know like some parents have to make a decision which child they would want to enroll

because sometimes I have one slot and being located right next to an elementary school

you know it's like oh my gosh I have an older kid that can go across the street but then my baby has

to go somewhere else so I'm really trying to give back to the community it's something like I said

that I'm really really passionate about and I just want to create a school where the children are

safe where the children are emotionally psychologically and cognitively developing

and just to make families feel comfortable because I'm a mom too and I want children when they come

to me to have fun I want them to learn and you don't just make the parents feel comfortable

so that's really my my goal again me being passionate about what I do and this is something

that I really really want you know working out for not just myself but for the neighborhood

So I have on the screen here a little bit of literature about your daycare facilities.

So why don't you explain to the board who the children are in terms of age ranges and

a little bit about the programs that you have at the facility.

So it is a very structured program.

One thing that I tell my parents, if you're looking for a daycare, this is not the place.

We don't babysit.

So I enroll children ages one to five.

When they turn one, they transition to kindergarten.

Allowing me to expand will allow me to probably take on infants, but for now, it's ages one to five. We do have a curriculum, which I sparehead. I do all the lesson plans. We follow the creative curriculum. Everything is hands-on. It's structured around themes. There is a lot of science. There's a lot of STEM activities, arts and crafts. We have a lot of outside support coming in, like I will plan fun.

arts and craft. We have a lot of outside support coming in, like I will plan fun things now that