5-H-22-HZ

Level III: Fourth And Gill H

Approved With Conditions

Recommendation

The Commission should discuss the townhouses' proposed style and their visual compatibility with the surrounding context; the narrow massing of the individual units in relation to the block; and the proposed roof and window forms.

Pending approval or additional conditions based on the above topics, staff recommends approval of Certificate 5-H-22-HZ subject to the following conditions:
1) Meeting all relevant dimensional and design standards for the C-G-2 zoning (5.3 and 5.4);
2) Meeting principal use standards for townhouse dwellings (9.3.I);
3) Incorporating a decorative wall, building extension, or other tactic determined to increase the building's visual depth along Gill Avenue, with approval by staff
4) All fiber cement lap siding to be smooth-finished and use an exposure pattern compatible with historic siding;
5) Meeting all relevant landscaping standards of the zoning code (12.7.B);
6) Final site plan to meet City Engineering standards.

Applicant Request

Other: New construction

- New townhouse development at the intersection of N. 4th Avenue and Gill Avenue; façades will front N. 4th Avenue and side elevation will front Gill Avenue. The development includes eight adjoining townhouses, with an overall rectangular footprint measuring 144' long. The townhouses are 21'-6" wide with an additional 7' deep front porch on the south elevation (fronting Gill Street), and 26'-5" wide on the north elevation. The overall massing features eight adjoining 18' wide, three-story townhouses. The townhouses have individual, 8/12 pitch, front-gable roofs, intersected by lower 4/12 pitch roof crickets for drainage. The roofs are clad in asphalt shingles, the exteriors are clad in brick veneer, and any visible foundations are clad in brick. Windows are aluminum-clad wood.
- The townhouses are proposed to be set 15' from the front property line, with the front porches set 12'-11" from the front property line. A paved parking area is located to the rear of the townhouses, accessed by a 22' wide driveway extending north from Gill Street. The parking area provides 14 parking spots and is 43' wide at the widest section.
- Each unit's façade (east) features three stories. The lower two stories are clad in brick veneer, which projects outward on the right side of each unit, creating a series of repeating rectangular massings. A horizontal dimensional brick veneer pattern is applied to units 1 and 2, and 5 and 6, with an alternating dimensional brick pattern at units 3 and four, and 7 and 8. On the left side of the first story, a 7' deep front porch is topped by a flat roof which projects outward from the façade. The third story features a porch recessed below the primary roof gable, which features a gable field clad in a decorative wood screen. The third story is clad in fiber cement lap siding.
- Each façade features a 7' by 6' two-light fixed window, an aluminum-clad entry recessed and set at a 90-degree angle to the entry porch, and a 6' by 3' fixed single-light window on the projecting rectangular massing. Two additional single-light windows (one 6' by 4' window and one smaller 4' by 2'-6 rectangle) are located on the second story. Recessed on the third story are an additional rectangular fixed window and a full-light aluminum-clad wood door adjoining a full-light sidelight.
- The south elevation (fronting Gill Avenue) features fixed, single-lights windows on the first, second, and third stories, with wall openings on the first and third story porches.
- The west (rear) elevations feature a section of dimensional brick veneer extending between the first and second stories, with the remainder clad in fiber cement lap siding. Fixed, single-light windows, 4' wide by 2'-6" tall, are located on the first, second, and third stories, with sections of flat fiber cement panels. A secondary entry is provided for each unit, topped by a flat metal canopy.
- The north elevation features a two-story, rectangular massing clad in brick veneer with the recessed section clad in fiber cement lap siding. A wall opening is located at the third-story roof terrace.
- CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL PER 5/19/2022 HZC MEETING:
- 1) Meeting all relevant dimensional and design standards for the C-G-2 zoning (5.3 and 5.4);
- 2) Meeting principal use standards for townhouse dwellings (9.3.I);
- 3) Incorporating a decorative wall, building extension, or other tactic determined to increase the building's visual depth along Gill Avenue, with approval by staff
- 4) All fiber cement lap siding to be smooth-finished and use an exposure pattern compatible with historic siding;
- 5) Meeting all relevant landscaping standards of the zoning code (12.7.B);
- 6) Final site plan to meet City Engineering standards.

Fourth and Gill H

- Style: N/A
  - Vacant lots.

Applicable Guidelines

Fourth and Gill Design Guidelines, adopted by the Knoxville City Council on April 20, 1999 and June 29, 1999.

- Infill Buildings
- There are vacant lots on many of the streets in the Fourth and Gill Historic District. They cause a gap in the streetscape, and should be redeveloped with new buildings that are sympathetic to the historic design of buildings in the neighborhood.
- New buildings should be contemporary in spirit. They should not be imitations of buildings of the past; rather they should respond to the present time, the environment, and the use for which they are intended. New buildings constructed in historic areas should, however, be compatible with older structures and sensitive to the patterns already in their environment.
- The materials that cover its exterior surface largely determine the appearance of a building. Similar materials develop a certain continuity and character. A building should not be visually incompatible or destroy historic relationships within the neighborhood. At the same time, new construction should not imitate historic style or period of architecture. This is also true for freestanding garages, sheds, and other outbuildings.
- Width of Houses and Lots
- Fourth and Gill developed along streetcar tracks, which followed a straight line. This formed the pattern of streets in the neighborhood, and set the pattern for lot sizes. As a result, the lots of Fourth and Gill are usually rectangular, with their narrowest side parallel to the street. The houses are also rectangular, or irregular, with narrow sides facing their street. This development pattern should be respected if new structures are built in the neighborhood. The consistent setbacks of the neighborhood create a visual order, help define public and private space, provide a margin of privacy for residents, and permit landscaping in front of a building.
- 1. Maintain the historic façade lines of streetscapes by locating the front walls of new buildings in the same plane as the facades of adjacent buildings. A new building should continue and reinforce the alignment established by neighbors. Never violate the existing setback pattern by placing new buildings in front of behind the historic façade line.
- 2. Avoid placing buildings at odd angles to the street.
- Scale and Massing
- The houses in the Fourth and Gill Historic District have a shape, or bulk, consistent with their time of construction. They appear larger than new buildings, with set back or projecting bays not found on many new buildings. The appearance this lends to the neighborhood is an important design attribute.
- 1. Relate the size and proportions of new structures to the scale of adjacent buildings.
- 2. Break up uninteresting boxlike forms into smaller, varied masses like those of most buildings from the historic period. Variety of form and massing are essential to the character of the streetscape.
- 3. New buildings should be designed with a mix of wall areas with door and window elements in the façade like those found on the neighborhood's historic houses. Also consider the width-to-height ratio of bays in the façade. The placement of openings with respect to the façade's overall composition, symmetry, or balanced asymmetry should be carefully imitated.
- 4. Relate the vertical, horizontal, or nondirectional façade character of new buildings to the predominant directional alignment of nearby buildings. A new building should continue and reinforce the alignment established by its neighbors. Alignment is basically the arrangement of objects in a straight line. The horizontal alignment of building elements such as porches, roofs, windows, etc., is one of the most effective ways of creating and maintaining a sense of relationship, a sense of connection, and unity among the elements of a street.
- 5. Relate the roof forms of the new buildings to those found in the area. Duplication of the existing or traditional roof shapes, pitches, and materials on new construction is one way of making new structures more visually compatible.
- Height of Foundations and Stories
- Historic houses in the Fourth and Gill Historic District are not built on slab foundations. They are built on raised foundations, usually of masonry. The color and texture of these brick, stone or stuccoed foundations adds richness to the neighborhood. The height of each story is enough to allow for interior ceilings that are more than eight feet tall. If infill housing is constructed, it should suggest the overall height, as well as the foundation and story height, of adjacent historical houses.
- 1. As a general rule, construct new buildings to equal the average height of existing buildings on the street.
- 2. Raised foundations, or the appearance of raised foundations, must be designed for any new housing constructed in Fourth and Gill. The height of the foundation should replicate those of adjoining buildings.
- 3. If building new structures, the eave lines should conform to those of adjacent properties. Divisions between stories should either be omitted, or should mimic neighborhood buildings
- Materials
- 1. The materials used for new buildings should be consistent with existing historic building materials along the street.
- Features
- 1. Always design front facades with a strong sense of entry. Strongly emphasized side entries, or entries not defined by a porch or similar transitional element, result in an incompatible flat first-floor façade.
- 2. Avoid replicating or imitating the styles, motifs, or details of older periods. Such attempts can present a confusing picture of the true character of the historical area.
- Roofs
- 1. The shape and pitch of roofs on new construction should imitate the shape and pitch of roofs on neighboring existing houses or other houses of the same architectural style.
- 2. The eaves on additions or new buildings should have an overhang that mimics [...] the existing buildings near the property. A minimum eave overhang of at least eight inches should be used on new construction. Fascia boards should be included on the gables.
- 3. Repair or replace roof details (chimneys, roof cresting, finials, attic vent windows, molding, and other unique roof features). Use some of these details in designing new buildings.
- 4. Materials used in new construction should duplicate the original roofing materials if possible. Asphalt shingles can be appropriate [...] and the color should be a dark green, charcoal gray, black or dark reddish brown to simulate the original roof colors.
- Porches
- 3. New front porches in Fourth and Gill must be large enough to provide seating, ie. six to eight feet in depth.
- 4. In new construction, the proportion of the porches to the front facades should be consistent with the historic porches in the neighborhood. Details such as columns, posts, piers, balustrades, and porch flooring must use materials that present a visually and physically appropriate appearance historically.
- Entrances
- Historic characteristics: The doors originally used on Fourth and Gill houses were wooden, often with beveled glass or stained glass inserts. Screen doors were commonly used.
- 1. Entry features that should be preserved include sidelights and transoms of plain, patterned, beveled or stained glass, fan light windows, entablatures and the original doors.
- 3. Service (rear or side) entrances should not be altered to make them appear to be formal entrances by adding paneled doors, fanlights, or sidelights.
- 4. Secondary entrances should be compatible with the originals in size, scale, or materials but should not give the appearance of a primary entrance.
- Wall Coverings
- 3. New construction should use wood materials rather than aluminum or vinyl siding. New buildings should also use corner and trim boards and appropriate window and door trim. Concrete composition planks may be appropriate for new construction.
- Driveways and paving: New curb cuts and parking lots should be kept to a minimum. The addition of curb cuts results in removing historic sidewalks, curbs or retaining walls. Access through alleys is preferable to adding curb cuts, or allowing front yard parking.
- SOI Standards for Rehabilitation
- 9. New additions, exterior alterations, or related new construction shall not destroy historic materials that characterize the property. The new work shall be differentiated from the old and shall be compatible with the massing, size, scale, and architectural features to protect the historic integrity of the property and its environment.
- 10. New additions and adjacent or related new construction shall be undertaken in such a manner that if removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of the historic property and its environment would be unimpaired.