3-C-25-IH

Level III: New Primary Structure

Postpone

Recommendation

The Board should discuss the proposed height and scale of the house in the neighborhood context. If determined to be appropriate, conditions of approval should include:

1) the final site plan to meet City Engineering standards and to include one native or naturalized shade tree in the front and rear yards; 2) front setback to be revised to align with block, with final measurement provided to staff on final site plan, 3) the porch depth to be revised to at least 5' and the porch support to be revised to align with the neighborhood context, with details to be approved by staff; 4) windows revised to be single- or double-hung with consistent sizing; 5) additional windows to be added to the side elevations; 6) front door to be revised in placement to be located on the front elevation; 7) final construction to retain details shown in drawings; 8) slab or block foundation to be parge coated or clad in stucco; 9) primary siding material to be revised to clapboard style lap siding with an overlap.

Applicant Request

New primary structure

- 1. The house is proposed to be set 15' from the front property line . 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 should be recessed towards the rear property line to better align with the block, with specific measurement to be approved by staff. The site plan does include a walkway from the porch to the sidewalk.
- 2. The block to receive new construction is characterized by modified Queen Anne cottages, Craftsman bungalows, and infill construction. The 19' wide by 47.5' 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. 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 land between the street and the front façade. They also state that access on corner lots may be provided from a side street. Parking is a 20' wide by 20' deep concrete pad at the rear of the house that is accessed via Delaware Avenue, which meets the guidelines. The final site plan should meet City Engineering standards.
- 4. The three-bay, two-story façade is taller than the context, which mostly features one-story houses, and it does not align architecturally with other narrow houses in the neighborhood whose façades are far less complex and usually feature one or two bays. 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'-4" tall, not accounting for a foundation height to match the grade of the property.
- 5. The house features an approximately 5' wide by 3' deep front porch recessed under a shed roof and supported by one 18" square brick column. Guidelines recommend that porches are proportional to others on the block, are between 8-12' deep, and feature posts and railings similar to the historic houses in the neighborhood. While the porch width is appropriate for such a narrow house, it should be revised in depth, and a different support should be used that better matches the neighborhood and does not make the entry unnecessarily narrow.
- 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 half-lite, paneled front door is appropriate; however, the door faces the side elevation instead of the facade. The door should be revised in placement to be located on the front elevation.
- The house features 8 different window styles, most of which are fixed and single-pane, and the surrounding houses primarily feature single-hung windows. While the ratio of solid to void is sufficient on the façade and the rear elevation and the windows benefit from the wood trim, the side elevations, particularly the left elevation which will be visible from Delaware Avenue, feature large swaths of siding without transparency. The windows should be revised to be single-hung with more consistent sizing, and the window placement on the side elevations should be revised with additional windows.
- 7. While the proposed 12/12 pitch front gable roof meets the design guidelines, it is steeper than the context and makes the house disproportionately tall. While the design benefits from the complexity of the rake molds and partial cornice returns, the number of massings is not consistent with the size of the house. The final construction should include the rake mold, partial cornice returns, and trim seen in the plans.
- 8. The roofing and foundation materials are not specified. The standing-seam metal roof indicated on the plans would be appropriate. If the foundation material is taller than a concrete slab, it should be parge-coated or clad in stucco to meet design guidelines. The primary siding is proposed to be white board-and-batten, with dark board-and-batten siding (in the place of brick) and horizontal siding accents on the façade. Vertical siding, including board-and-batten, is not permitted as a primary siding material and can only be used as an accent. The dark board-and-batten and horizontal siding accents are appropriate, but the primary siding material should be revised to be clapboard style lap siding, as opposed to Dutch lap or flush panel siding.
- 9. The final site plan should include one 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 board-and-batten siding, a front-gable roof (12/12) pitch clad in an unspecified material, and a foundation of an unspecified material. The house is 19' wide by 47.5' deep and will be set 15' from the front lot line. It features an approximately 5' wide by 3' deep front porch recessed under a shed roof and supported by one 18" square brick column. Parking is a 20' wide by 20' deep concrete pad behind the house and is accessed via Delaware Avenue, a side street.
- The façade (east) features three bays with the porch and one 2/2 fixed window on the first story and one 2/2 fixed window on the second story. There is a front gable massing in the center and right bays that will be clad a dark board-and-batten siding, with paired 1/1 single-hung windows on the second story, and there is a 2/2 fixed window on the first story of the center bay. The first story of the right bay features a partial hipped roof massing clad in "horizontal smart siding" with a 4/1 single-hung window. The left elevation features no windows on the first story, and there is a front-gable massing with tripled, single pane fixed windows and the side of a small balcony on the second story. The right elevation features one 1/1 single-hung window on the first and second stories. The rear elevation features a secondary entrance with full-lite sliding doors and a deck on the first story with a projecting front gable massing directly above, supported by 12" posts, that features a single pane fixed window on the left and a small balcony with a door recessed into the massing.

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