3-B-25-IH

Level III: New Primary Structure

Approve Subject To Conditions

APPROVE Certificate 3-B-25-IH, subject to the following conditions: 1) house be moved towards the street to align with the front setback pattern of the blockface; 2) final site plan to include a walkway to the sidewalk and to meet City Engineering standards, with minor revisions to be approved by staff; 3) parking placement to be revised to meet the design guidelines and avoid the front yard; 4) final construction to retain details shown in drawing; 5) final site plan should include one new native or naturalized shade tree in the front and rear yards; 6) foundation be clad in brick, parge-coated, or clad in stucco.

Case File

Recommendation

Staff recommends approval of Certificate 3-B-25-IH, subject to the following conditions: 1) house be moved towards the street to align with the front setback pattern of the blockface; 2) final site plan to include a walkway to the sidewalk and to meet City Engineering standards, with minor revisions to be approved by staff; 3) parking placement to be revised to meet the design guidelines and avoid the front yard; 4) final construction to retain details shown in drawing; 5) final site plan should include one new native or naturalized shade tree in the front and rear yards.

Applicant Request

New primary structure

- 1. The house is proposed to be set 27' from the front property line, with a half-length porch at 19' from the front property line. The average front setback of the blockface is 20.1', with the adjacent houses at 9' and 7'. The house should be moved towards the front property line to align with the blockface. The final site plan should include a walkway from the porch to the street.
- 2. The block to receive new construction is characterized by modified Queen Anne cottages, Shotguns, Minimal Traditionals, and infill construction. The three-bay façade is proportionate to the lot and other houses on the block.
- 3. Infill Housing design guidelines state that parking should be accessed via the alley if one is available. The rear alley is not accessible, as another lot sits behind the subject property. The guidelines for lots without alleys should be followed, which recommend that 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 is a concrete pad and driveway in the front yard, and it should be revised to meet the design guidelines and avoid the front yard. The final site plan should meet City Engineering standards.
- 4. The three-bay façade is similar in scale and height to the context.
- 5. The design includes a half-length, 8' deep front porch recessed under a projecting front-gable roof supported by two 14" tapered, cedar-wrapped columns with a simple 24" square bases and capitals, which meets design guidelines. The design benefits from the horizontal header, which should be retained.
- 6. Guidelines recommend window and door styles be similar to historic houses on the block, with similar placement and ratio of solid to void. All elevations feature sufficient transparency, and the paneled doors and 3/1 single-hung fiberglass windows match the historic context.
- 7. The 8/12 roof pitch matches the neighborhood context, and the design benefits from the complexity of the partial hipped roof massing, overhanging eaves, corner boards, and trim, which should be retained.
- 8. The asphalt shingles, vinyl siding, and faux cedar shakes meet the design guidelines. The block foundation should be parge-coated or clad in stucco to meet the design guidelines. The vinyl siding should be clapboard style lap siding, as opposed to Dutch Lap or flush panel siding.
- 9. The final site plan should include one new native or naturalized shade tree in the front and rear yards.

Property Notes / Work to be Completed

- New primary structure fronting East Oldham Avenue. One-story residence features a front-gable roof (8/12 pitch) clad in asphalt shingles with a front-gable massing on the left of the façade and a partial hipped roof on the right, an exterior of vinyl lap siding with corner boards, and a block foundation. The house is 32' wide by 40' deep, and the main massing will be set 27' from the front property line. It features a half-length, 8' deep front porch recessed under a projecting front-gable roof supported by two 14" tapered, cedar-wrapped columns with a simple 24" square bases and capitals. Parking is a 19' wide by 19' deep concrete pad in front of the house and an adjacent 10' wide by 27' deep driveway, both of which are accessed from East Oldham Avenue.
- The façade (northwest) features three bays, with tripled 3/1 windows and faux cedar shakes in the gable field in the left bay, a paneled, 4-lite wooden door with faux cedar shakes and two 2/2 fixed transom windows in the gable field in the center bay, and paired 3/1 windows in the right bay. The right elevation features one 3/1 window and one 2/1 window, and the left elevation features paired 3/1 windows and one 2/1 window. The rear elevation features two 3/1 windows and a secondary entrance with a stoop recessed under a projecting front gable massing with decorative brackets. All windows are single-hung and made of fiberglass.

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