3-D-25-IH

Level III: New Primary Structure

Approve Subject To Conditions

APPROVE Certificate 3-D-25-IH, subject to the following conditions: 1) parking to be revised to meet design guidelines, with final site plan meeting City Engineering standards; 2) a window be added to the rear elevation; 3) final site plan to include a walkway from the porch to the sidewalk; 4) final site plan to include a new native or naturalized shade tree in the front and back yards; 5) all elevations to use the same siding material; 6) center gable to be absorbed into the main gable, creating two gables instead of three; 7) 6x6 posts are to be trimmed or painted; 8) hand rails and guard rails to be installed on front porch; 9) the rear elevation to be revised to show open air porch as stated by the applicant, rather than a screened in porch, subject to staff approval; 10) the materials constructed shall reflect those in the submitted drawings, except those subject to staff review; and 11) the driveway shall access the property from the alley.

Case File

Recommendation

Staff recommends approval of Certificate 3-D-25-IH, subject to the following conditions: 1) parking to be revised to meet design guidelines, with final site plan meeting City Engineering standards; 2) a window be added to the rear elevation; 3) final site plan to include a walkway from the porch to the sidewalk; 4) final site plan to include a new native or naturalized shade tree in the front and back yards; 5) all elevations to use the same siding material.

Applicant Request

New primary structure

- 1. The house is proposed to be set 30.5' from the front lot line. The average front setback of the blockface is 25.1', with the adjacent house at 24'. The house should be moved towards the front property line to align with the front setback pattern of the street. The final site plan should include a walkway from the porch to the street.
- 2. The block to receive new construction is characterized by Craftsman bungalows, modified Queen Anne cottages, Minimal Traditionals, and ranch houses. The 28' wide by 62' deep house is proportionate to the dimensions of the lot. However, it is deeper than most of the houses on the block which range between 25'-55' deep, although the neighboring house is 60' deep.
- 3. Infill Housing design guidelines state that driveways from the front of the house should not be permitted on streets with alleys. Parking is an 18' wide concrete or asphalt pad in front of the house that tapers to 10' wide next to the house and is accessed via Chickamauga Avenue. Parking should be revised so that it is accessed from the alley. The final site plan should meet City Engineering standards.
- 4. The one and a half story, three-bay façade is similar in height and scale to the context.
- 5. The house features a half-length, 8' deep front porch recessed under a partial-hipped roof and supported by two 6" square posts, which meets the design guidelines.
- 6. The 1/1 double-hung windows and paneled door match the context. The façade and side elevations feature sufficient transparency, but one window should be added to the rear elevation, to avoid large swaths of blank siding.
- 7. The 10/12 pitch front-gable roof is sufficiently steep for the context, and the design benefits from the complexity of the telescoped, projecting front-gable massings, the eave overhangs, and trim.
- 8. The dimensional shingles, fiber cement lap siding, and concrete block foundation clad in brick veneer all meet the design guidelines. The shake siding in the gable fields should be included in the final construction. The side elevations indicate vinyl siding. All elevations should use the same material.
- 9. The final site plan should include a native or naturalized shade tree in the front and back yards.

Property Notes / Work to be Completed

- New primary structure fronting Chickamauga Avenue. One and a half story residence features a front gable roof (10/12 pitch), an exterior of fiber cement lap siding with a wood grain finish , and a concrete block foundation clad in brick veneer. The house is 28' wide by 62' deep and will be set 30.5' from the front lot line. It features a half-length, 8' deep front porch recessed under a hipped roof and supported by two 6" square posts. Parking is an 18' wide concrete or asphalt pad in front of the house that tapers to 10' wide next to the house and is accessed via Chickamauga Avenue.
- The façade (northwest) features three bays, with two 1/1 double-hung windows on the left bay, a paneled front door in the center bay, and a projecting front-gable massing with two 1/1 double-hung windows in the right bay. The facade features another front-gable massing in the center and right bays, and all of the gable fields are clad in faux shake siding. The right elevation features three 1/1 double-hung windows, and the left elevation features four 1/1 double-hung windows. The rear elevation features a secondary entrance behind an 18' wide by 8' deep screened porch and is devoid of windows.

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.