2-D-25-IH

Level III: New Primary Structure

Approve Subject To Conditions

APPROVE Certificate 2-D-25-IH, subject to the following conditions: 1) the final site plan to meet City Engineering standards; 2) parking location to be revised to avoid the front yard; 3) the final site plan to include a walkway to the street; 4) foundation to be clad in stucco or parge-coated, and siding to be lap siding with an overlap, as opposed to Dutch lap, flush panel, or board-and-batten siding; 5) the final site plan to include a native or naturalized shade tree in the front yard and rear yard, and the remaining trees in the rear yard should be retained if at all possible.

Case File

Recommendation

Staff recommends approval of Certificate 2-D-25-IH, subject to the following conditions: 1) the final site plan to meet City Engineering standards; 2) parking location to be revised to avoid the front yard; 3) the final site plan to include a walkway to the street; 4) foundation to be clad in stucco or parge-coated, and siding to be lap siding with an overlap, as opposed to Dutch lap, flush panel, or board-and-batten siding; 5) the final site plan to include a native or naturalized shade tree in the front yard and rear yard, and the remaining trees in the rear yard should be retained if at all possible.

Applicant Request

New primary structure

- 1. The house is proposed to be set 43'-5" front the front property line. The average front setback of the block is 41'. The adjacent houses are set significantly back, at 70' and 79'. The proposed front setback will be mirrored by the other houses and will be more in line with the block. The final site plan should be revised so that the front walkway connects to both the street and the driveway.
- 2. The block to receive new construction lacks significant context, as almost all the houses on the street are infill construction, interspersed with Minimal Traditionals and vacant lots. The 25' wide by 73'-8" deep house is significantly deeper than the nearby houses, which are between 28'-40' deep. However, the lot has a steep slope and is approximately 200' deep, and the depth results from the basement-level story built along grade. This rear massing will be minimally visible from the right-of-way due to the grade and small side setbacks of adjacent houses, but it will be visible from Savoy Street, which runs along the rear lot line. The Board should discuss the depth of the house.
- 3. Infill Housing design guidelines recommend that on lots without alleys, new driveways should be at least 20' behind the front façade of the infill house with access limited to one lane between the street and the front façade. Parking can also be accessed from the rear street on through lots. Parking is a concrete pad located in front of the house and accessed via a driveway from Divide Street. Parking should be revised to avoid the front yard. The final site plan should meet City Engineering standards.
- 4. The one-story, three-bay façade on the front elevation is similar in scale and height to the context. No other houses on the block feature an additional basement-level massing, but those lots are not as steeply sloped.
- 5. The house features a half-length, 8'-8" deep front porch recessed under a projecting front-gable massing supported by two 8" square wooden posts, which meets the design guidelines.
- 6. Guidelines recommend window and door styles be similar to historic houses on the block, with similar placement and ratio of solid to void. The 4/4 single-hung windows are compatible with the 6/6 single-hung windows on most houses in the block, and all elevations except the left elevation feature a sufficient ratio of solid to void. The left elevation will be minimally visible from the street due to small setbacks, but it features large swaths of blank siding, particularly on the rear massing. The Board should discuss whether an additional window on the left elevation of the rear massing is necessary.
- 7. The 6/12 roof pitch matches guidelines and the neighborhood context. The design benefits from the complexity of the trim and partial cornice returns, which should be retained.
- 8. The asphalt shingles and vinyl horizontal siding meet the design guidelines. The foundation appears to be a concrete block, which should be clad in stucco or parge-coated to meet the design guidelines. The final siding material should be lap siding with an overlap, as opposed to Dutch lap, flush panel, or board-and-batten siding.
- 9. The final site plan should be revised to include a native or naturalized shade tree in the front and rear yards. Guidelines state that "Healthy trees that are outside the building footprint should be preserved." The remaining trees in the rear yard should be retained and indicated on the site plan, unless revisions to the parking location make removal necessary.
- 10. The applicant is proposing two additional houses on the adjacent lots. They are differentiated by variations in the roof design on the projecting porch massing. The Board should discuss whether any additional differentiation is necessary.

Property Notes / Work to be Completed

- New primary structure fronting Divide Street. The residence is one-story on the facade elevation with an additional basement-level story extending towards the rear of the property, along the grade. The front massing features a side-gable roof, and the rear massing features a front-gable roof, both of which have a 6/12 pitch and are clad in asphalt shingles. It features an exterior of vinyl lap siding and an unspecified foundation that appears to be a concrete block. The house is 25' wide by 73'-8" deep (front 37'-2" and rear 36'-6") and is proposed to be set 43'-5" from the front lot line. It features a half-length, 8'-8" deep front porch with a front gable roof supported by two 8" square wooden posts. Parking is a 10' wide by 42' deep concrete driveway in the front of the house and is accessed via Divide Street.
- The façade (northeast) features three bays, with paired windows above brick veneer in the left bay, a full-lite door in the central bay, and paired windows and a porch railing in the right bay. The left elevation features one window on the front massing and another on the rear massing. The right elevation features a pair and two windows on the front massing, and the rear massing features a pair and one windows and a secondary entrance with a deck. The rear elevation features the deck and steps on the left, and a two-story projecting front-gable massing on the right, with paired windows in the second story. All windows are 4/4 and single-hung.

Applicable Guidelines

Heart of Knoxville Infill Housing Design Guidelines

- 1. Front Yards
  - Consistent front yard space should be created along the street with the setback of a new house matching the older houses on the block.
  - A walkway should be provided from the sidewalk or street to the front door. Along grid streets, the walk should be perpendicular to the street.
  - Healthy trees that are outside the building footprint should be preserved. The root area should be marked and protected during construction.
- 2. Housing Orientation
  - New housing should be proportional to the dimensions of the lot and other houses on the block.
  - On corner lots, side yard setbacks should be handled traditionally (that is, closer to the side street). The zoning requirement to treat corner lots as having two frontages should not apply in Heart of Knoxville neighborhoods.
  - Side yard setbacks should be similar to older houses on the block, keeping the rhythm of spacing between houses consistent.
- 3. Alleys, Parking, and Services
  - Parking should not be in front yards.
  - Alley access should be used for garage or parking pad locations. On level ground, pea gravel or similar material may be used as a parking pad off alleys.
  - On streets without alleys, garages or parking pads should be at least 20 feet behind the front façade of the infill house with access limited to one lane between the street and the front façade.
  - Garages which are perpendicular to the alley should be about 18 feet from the center line of the alley pavement, allowing a comfortable turning radius for a driver to enter a garage.
  - Alley-oriented parking pads, garbage collection points, and utility boxes should be screened with a combination of landscaping and fencing.
  - On those streets which have alleys, driveways should not be permitted from the front of the house.
  - On corner lots, a driveway to the garage may be provided off the side street.
- 4. Scale, Mass, and Foundation Height
  - The front elevation should be designed to be similar in scale to other houses along the street.
  - The front façade of new houses should be about the same width as original houses on the block.
  - New foundations should be about the same height as the original houses in the neighborhood.
  - If greater height is to be created (with new construction or an addition), that portion of the house should be located toward the side or rear of the property.
- 5. Porches and Stoops
  - Porches should be part of the housing design in those neighborhoods where porches were commonplace.
  - Porches should be proportional to original porches on the block, extending about 8-12 feet toward the street from the habitable portion of the house.
  - Porches should extend into the front yard setback, if necessary, to maintain consistency with similarly sited porches along the street.
  - Porch posts and railings should be like those used in the historic era of the neighborhood's development. Wrought iron columns and other materials that were not used in the early 1900's should not be used.
  - Small stoops centered on entry and no more than 5 feet deep are appropriate on blocks where porches were not traditional.
- 6. Windows and Doors
  - When constructing new houses, the window and door styles should be similar to the original or historic houses on the block.
  - To respect the privacy of adjacent properties, consider the placement of side windows and doors.
  - The windows and doors on the front facade of an infill house should be located in similar proportion and position as the original houses on the block.
  - Attention should be paid to window placement and the ratio of solid (the wall) to void (the window and door openings).
  - Contemporary windows such as "picture windows" should not be used in pre-World War II neighborhoods.
- 7. Roof Shapes and Materials
  - New roofs should be designed to have a similar pitch to original housing on the block
  - More complex roofs, such as hipped roofs and dormers, should be part of new housing designs when such forms were historically used on the block.
  - Darker shades of shingle were often used and should be chosen in roofing houses in Heart of Knoxville neighborhoods.
- 8. Siding Material
  - Clapboard-like materials (such as cement fiberboard) should be used in constructing new housing where painted wood siding was traditionally used.
  - Brick, wood shingle, and other less common material may be appropriate in some older neighborhoods, particularly those with a mix of architectural styles.
  - Faced stone, vertical siding, and other non-historic materials should not be used in building new houses. In 1930-1950 era neighborhoods, faced stone may be appropriate (see Section 12).
- 11. Landscape and Other Considerations
  - One native or naturalized shade tree should be planted in the front and rear yards of in fill lots with 25 feet or more in depth to front of house