Historic Zoning Commission

Ft. Sanders NC: Level II

4-A-22-HZ

Applicant Request

Exterior rehabilitation of existing house and new side and rear addition.

Exterior rehabilitation scopes include removal of vinyl siding and installation of fiber cement lap siding, with a fiber cement diamond-pattern siding on front and side gable fields. Front porch to be removed and reconstructed with a brick-clad foundation, tongue-and-groove flooring, and a wood ceiling. Front porch will be extended in length, wrapping around front left corner of house and projecting from side addition. Replacement windows. Roof replacement with new asphalt shingles.

Additions: side addition to measure 25'-1" long by 10'-6" wide, recessed from the primary façade by 9'-1". Side addition features a side-gable roof. Rear addition connects to both the main massing of the house and the new side addition, measuring 16'-5" long by 30'-6" wide. Rear addition will extend the primary hipped roof slope. Additions are two stories tall above a basement, with a foundation clad in brick, an exterior of fiber cement lap siding, and gable fields clad in diamond-pattern fiber cement siding. Double-hung, one-over-one windows will be added to the basement level on side and rear elevations. One secondary entry on the main level accesses a new rear deck, and another secondary entry accesses the ground level at the basement. Additions feature three levels of paired and single double-hung, one-over-one, vinyl windows.

CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL PER 5.19.22 HZC MEETING:
1) Receiving all applicable variances at the May 17, 2022 BZA meeting;
2) Final site plan to meet City Engineering requirements for parking;
3) Retention or replication of appropriately-sized cornerboards and window trim;
4) Retention of character-defining features such as partial cornice returns and façade gable details;
5) Use of one-over-one, double-hung windows and appropriately-sized window trim.

Site Info

Two-story, wood-frame residence with a hipped roof with a lower projecting front gable, an exterior clad in vinyl siding, and a stuccoed foundation. A full-length, hipped-roof porch is supported by square wood posts on stuccoed piers.

1. 1537 Forest Avenue is a contributing resource to the Fort Sanders National Register Historic District and the local overlay. The house is a two-story Queen Anne residence.

2. The applicant is requesting four variances from the Board of Zoning Appeals at the May 17, 2022 meeting, including a reduction of interior side setbacks, a reduction of the minimum lot width for the proposed use, a reduction of required parking spaces, and an increase of driveway width. Other than these deviations, the provided site plan meets the standards of the base zoning. Final modifications to the site plan will be necessary to meet City Engineering standards for parking. Site plan approval is contingent upon the granting of the necessary variances at the May 17 BZA meeting and subject to City Engineering standards.

3. Removal of the existing vinyl siding meets the design guidelines. New siding installation should include appropriately-sized cornerboards and window and door trim (not currently shown on drawings).

4. Reconstruction of the front porch roof and foundation meets the design guidelines. The applicant will extend the front porch to project out from the new side addition. The replaced wood posts on piers should use brick or cut stone as column supports and maintain the larger size of the posts.

5. In general, the placement of a new addition on the side and rear elevation meets the design guidelines. The side elevation is substantially recessed from the façade and will be easily differentiated from the primary house. The rear elevation will be inset from the original house's east elevation. Several adjacent houses have two-story rear additions, along with many houses on the 1400 and 1300 blocks of Forest Avenue. The street's topography slopes significantly toward the north (rear).

6. To accommodate the new rear and side additions, a limited section of the overall roof form will be removed and reconstructed. The rear and side elevations do not contain major character-defining features and reconstruction meets the design guidelines.

7. The proposed additions are large in size, adding 30'-6" in width on the rear and an extra 25'-1" long addition on the side elevation (to an approximately 24' wide by 40' long, two-story house). Similar to recent additions at 1319 and 1533 Forest Avenue, the applicant has broken up the substantial additions with roofline complexity, projecting bays on the left side elevation, and a recessed massing on the right side elevation. The revisions to this design reflect recommendations of the neighborhood, which include to break up the massing and shape of the addition with projecting bays and window placement that are similar in scale to the original façade.

8. The application includes opening up windows on the façade and side elevations which were most likely partially or fully enclosed with vinyl siding, which is a benefit to the overall design. Any remaining original exterior details should be retained, including the eave overhangs, the siding detail and partial cornice returns in the front gable field, and the window and louvered vents on the front gable.

9. The proposed window, doors, and roofing, and siding materials meet the Fort Sanders design guidelines.