Possible business expansions
tops Bustleton agenda

By Lauren Fritsky
Times Staff Writer

A business owner who wants to expand his diner almost struck out at the season opener of the Greater Bustleton Civic League.
The group grappled with how to treat a vacant lot, which could legally become any of 100 uses ranging from a livestock shop to a barber, which is part of the applicant’s proposal.
Lazarus Triantafillou, owner of Andonio’s Diner at 9244 Krewstown Road, needs a variance to build a one-story, 800-square-foot building to bridge the gap between his 2,400-square-foot restaurant and the vacant property next door, which he owns and uses solely for parking.
The extra space would be used for more tables at the diner. The unused building would be sold. The property’s zoning classification of "area shopping center" permits a host of uses, many of which the civic group rejected.
Triantafillou and his architect, Adib Mahdi, met with the board and some neighbors over the summer. Board members told the pair then that they’d need to restrict some potential uses before the plan was approved.
"You can put anything there," said one resident. "I want to know what."
The civic league’s corresponding secretary, Maureen Greene, said that in the past the group has been lenient with applicants who eventually went on to sell their properties to owners who converted them to unsavory uses.
"We get someone who’s a member of the community, he’s a nice guy, we trust him," she said. "Fifteen years later, he sells."
The group struck more than a dozen uses, including an automobile showroom, liquor store, hotel, post office, bowling alley and car wash. The list will be included as a proviso with the applicant’s zoning variance.
Among the uses the group would allow are an antique shop, bakery, florist and library.
Triantafillou signed off on the list of off-limits uses that night, which provoked one resident to say, "It seems like we’re rushing this through." The business owner also agreed to continue his Oct. 3 hearing before the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
In other news from the Sept. 26 meeting:
• City Councilmen Bill Greenlee, an at-large Democrat, and Jack Kelly and Frank Rizzo, both at-large Republicans, spoke briefly as candidates for re-election in the Nov. 6 municipal election.
• Capt. Joseph Zaffino, the new commander of the 7th Police District, told the group he is aggressively targeting speeding on Roosevelt Boulevard and other issues. Zaffino is a 26-year police veteran who has spent most of his career in patrol and who previously served in the district as a sergeant.
• The group announced that over the summer it reached an agreement with the owner of a property at 103 Geiger Road who will sell several used cars at his auto body shop.
The group also said that a car wash at 9400 Bustleton Ave. was sold by its previous owner, Vince Fletcher.
• Board member Barry Stucker thanked the group for supporting the annual 9/11 Interfaith Memorial with Temple Beth Ami and Maternity BVM Parish. The group donated $200 the event. ••
The Greater Bustleton Civic League next meets on Wednesday, Oct. 24, at 7:30 p.m. at the American Heritage Federal Credit Union, 2060 Red Lion Road.
Reporter Lauren Fritsky can be reached at 215-354-3038 or lfritsky@phillynews.com