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Board hears bid to expand in‑home daycare; asks for DOT note and trash plan before decision
Summary
Owners of Child's First Step told the Board of Zoning Adjustment they want to expand their basement child development center from nine to 20 children, with six staff and hours of 7:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m. Office of Planning and the ANC recommended approval; the board left the record open for a DOT confirmation on pickup/drop‑off and a written trash‑management plan before scheduling a decision.
The District of Columbia Board of Zoning Adjustment on July 1 considered a request from Roselene Ribero and Francisco Korea to operate a 20‑child child development center in the basement of their single‑family home at 6511 Piney Branch Road NW.
Beth Davis, the applicants’ agent, told the board the center would enroll up to 20 children (six infants, eight toddlers and six preschoolers), employ six staff, and operate Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. She said the center has operated at the site since 2022 with nine children and that the applicants live in the upstairs residential portion of the house.
Office of Planning recommended approval, finding the proposal consistent with the zoning standard for a child development center and noting that DOT had indicated no formal pickup/drop‑off plan was necessary based on the applicant’s description of mostly walking and biking families. OP also filed a supplemental report noting an existing child care provider within 1,000 feet but concluding the effect would not be adverse.
Board members focused questions on three operational issues: capacity and building safety, parking and pickup/drop‑off, and trash management. Davis and the applicants said they had discussed egress and fire‑safety details with the Department of Buildings and believed the basement’s 1,580 square feet could be safely configured for the requested headcount. They described two on‑site parking spaces behind the house and additional informal street parking in front and on the neighboring parcel the applicants also own.
On curbside circulation, Davis reported a DOT meeting the day before the hearing in which the agency said the center’s pattern of staggered drop‑offs and many walking families made a formal pickup/drop‑off plan unnecessary; she said DOT staff offered to place a confirming note in the record if the board requested it. Several board members asked the applicant to obtain that short DOT statement for the file.
Board members and OP also pressed the applicants to address trash. Applicants said they already use city collection and have contracted a private hauler for additional pickups; they committed to file a concise trash‑management plan that would specify frequency and vendor and describe where and how bulk items would be stored and removed to avoid alley nuisances.
Neighbors and many current parents gave live testimony in support. One parent said she walks three blocks to the center and credited the owners with providing “a loving and welcoming environment.” Another nearby resident described the site as one of the few places on the block with regular available short‑term parking and said many families walk rather than drive.
The board left the record open and asked the applicant to file a short trash‑management plan and to obtain a supplemental DOT statement memorializing the pickup/drop‑off discussion. The board indicated it would schedule a decision once those materials are filed; staff and the applicants discussed a July 8 submission window for DOT and a July 15 decision date, subject to the board receiving the requested items.
Next steps: the applicant is to file the DOT confirmation and a short trash‑management plan; the board will consider the record closed and make its decision once those materials are received.
