3-C-25-IH

Level III: New Primary Structure

Recommendation

Staff recommends approval of Certificate 3-C-25-IH, subject to the following conditions: 1) final site plan to meet City Engineering standards; 2) final site plan to include a walkway from the porch to the street and a native or naturalized shade tree in the front and rear yards; 3) one window to be added to the right elevation and additional windows to be added to the first and second stories of the left elevation; 4) the primary siding material of the façade to be revised to lap siding; 5) applicant to submit a revised front door specification to staff for approval.

Case File

Applicant Request

New primary structure

- 1. The adjacent house is set 24' from the front property line, and the approved new construction at 2815 Johnston St will be set 27' from the front property line. The house is proposed to be set 25' from the front property line, which is appropriate. The final site plan should include a walkway from the front porch to the street.
- 2. The block to receive new construction is characterized by modified Queen Anne cottages, Craftsman bungalows, and infill construction. The 19' wide by 50' deep house is generally proportionate to other houses on the block. However, the lot is only 30' wide, and the house does not meet the RN-2 corner side setback (12'); the house would need to be 13' wide or less to be in compliance with side setback requirements. Article 16.6.D of the zoning code gives the Design Review Board the ability to "relinquish any need for variances within the overlay district" with a Certificate of Appropriateness, and states that "setbacks may differ from those required by the base district in order to realize the principles associated with the guidelines." The design guidelines state that "on corner lots, side yard setbacks should be handled traditionally (that is, closer to the side street)," and they recommend that "side yard setbacks be similar to older houses on the block." The previous building on the subject property was approximately 27' wide. The Board should discuss the width of the house and the possibility of approving reduced side setbacks via the Certificate of Appropriateness. In the opinion of staff, the side setback variances would meet the principles of the guidelines.
- 3. Parking is a concrete pad at the rear of the lot and is accessed via the side street, Delaware Avenue, which meets the design guidelines.
- 4. The three-bay, two-story façade is taller than the context, which mostly features one-story houses. While a two-story house on this block was approved by the Board in February 2025, that house was approximately 24' tall, whereas this house is 30' tall. The design incorporates trim dividing the floors, which assists in breaking up the visual scale of the building. The Board should discuss the height of the proposed house.
- 5. The house features a full-length, 5' deep front porch recessed under a shed roof and supported by three 8" square columns. While guidelines recommend that porches be at least 8' deep, the 5' deep porch is appropriate for such a narrow house.
- 6. Guidelines recommend window and door styles be similar, with similar proportions and ratio of solid to void, to historic houses on the block. The 1/1 single-hung windows are appropriate for the context, but a different front door should be selected to align with the neighborhood, including paneling and a square or rectangular window. The façade and rear elevations feature sufficient transparency. To avoid large swaths of blank siding, the left elevation be revised to include additional windows on both the first and second stories, and one window should be added to the street-facing right elevation.
- 7. The 9/12 front-gable roof meets the design guidelines and the context but could be reduced in pitch if necessary to minimize the height. The design benefits from the overhanging eaves and trim.
- 8. The composition shingles, fiber cement lap siding, and block foundation meet the design guidelines, but the foundation should be either parge-coated or clad in stucco. The façade is clad entirely in fiber cement board-and-batten siding, and guidelines encourage using the same siding material on all elevations. The façade siding should be revised to use lap siding to match the rest of the house, though board-and-batten could be used as an accent in the gable fields.
- 9. The final site plan should include a native or naturalized shade tree in the front and rear yards.

Property Notes / Work to be Completed

- New primary structure fronting Johnston Street. Two-story residence features an exterior of fiber cement lap siding with trim dividing the stories, a block foundation, and a 9/12 front-gable roof clad in composition shingles. The house is 19' wide by 50' deep, with the main massing to be set 25' from the front lot line. It features a full-length, 5' deep front porch recessed under a shed roof and supported by three 8" square columns. Parking is a concrete pad at the rear of the lot and is accessed via the side street, Delaware Avenue.
- The façade (east) is clad in fiber cement board-and-batten siding and features three bays, with a half-light door in the leftmost bay on the first story. The left elevation features one fixed window on the second story, and the right elevation features two 1/1 single-hung windows on the first story, with a transom window and single-hung window on the second story. The rear elevation features one window on the second story, and the first story features paired single-hung windows and a secondary entrance.

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