6-D-23-HZ

Level III: Old North Knoxville H

Approved With Conditions

Recommendation

Staff recommends approval of Certificate 6-D-23-HZ, subject to the following conditions: 1) front setback to be revised to be compatible with the front setback pattern of the block; 2) final site plan to meet City Engineering standards; 3) siding materials to be wood or smooth-finished fiber cement, 4-5" in exposure; 4) gables to be clad in wood shingles or board-and-batten, omitting third siding design; 5) revision to side elevation window placement and proportions, with drawings submitted to staff; 6) all elevations of foundation to be clad in brick; 7) final window specifications to be submitted to staff for approval, including a profile indicating appropriate window trim and sills.

Applicant Request

Other: New primary structure

- New primary structure fronting Leonard Place. One-and-one-half-story house measures 28' wide by 63'-7" overall (length includes an 8' deep front porch and 12' deep rear porch. The house is proposed to be set 20' from the front property line. The house features a side-gable roof (pitch not noted) clad in asphalt shingles, an exterior of horizontal lap and board-and-batten siding, and a foundation which is 2'-10" tall at the façade. Parking (a 35' wide by 24' deep pad) is located at the rear of the house, accessed by the alley.
- The façade (south) features a centered front-gable roof dormer with three adjoining one-over-one windows, with a full-length, shed-roof porch supported by square wood posts on brick piers. The dormer is clad in board-and-batten siding with shingle siding above the windows. The three-bay façade features two double-hung, one-over-one windows followed by a Craftsman-style door flanked by sidelights.
- The left (west) elevation features three evenly spaced double-hung windows in the gable field, which is clad in board-and-batten siding and shingles. Four bays of windows are irregularly spaced on the left side. On the rear (north) elevation, a large shed-roof dormer is clad in board-and-batten siding with three small windows. The right (east) elevation features four bays of windows of different sizes on the first story, and three bays of windows on the gable field.
- CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL PER 6.15.23 HZC MEETING: 1) front setback to be revised to be compatible with the front setback pattern of the block; 2) final site plan to meet City Engineering standards; 3) siding materials to be wood or smooth-finished fiber cement, 4-5" in exposure; 4) gables to be clad in wood shingles or board-and-batten, omitting third siding design; 5) revision to side elevation window placement and proportions, with drawings submitted to staff; 6) all elevations of foundation to be clad in brick; 7) final window specifications to be submitted to staff for approval, including a profile indicating appropriate window trim and sills; 8) chimney either be brought within the footprint of the house or be extended vertically and clad in brick to reflect a typical chimney.

Old North Knoxville H

- Style: N/A
  - Vacant lot.

Applicable Guidelines

Old North Knoxville Design Guidelines, adopted by the Knoxville City Council on November 25, 2004.

- A. Roofs
- 1. The shape of replacement roofs or roofs on new construction shall imitate the shapes of roofs on neighboring existing houses or other houses of the same architectural style. Roof pitch shall duplicate the 12/12 pitch most often found in the neighborhood or replicate the pitch of neighboring buildings. Roof shapes shall be complex, using a combination of hips with gables, dormers where appropriate to the style, turrets, or other features that emphasize the importance of Victorian-era or Craftsman styles.
- 2. The eaves on additions or new buildings shall have an overhang that mimics existing buildings near the property. A minimum eave overhang of at least eight inches must be retained or used on new buildings or additions to existing buildings.
- 4. Materials used in roofing existing buildings or new construction shall duplicate the roofing materials originally found in the neighborhood. Asphalt or fiberglass shingles can be appropriate, as are wood, slate, standing-seam metal, or metal shingle or tile roof coverings.
- C. Porches
- 2. Design elements to be incorporated in any new porch design must include tongue and groove wood floors, beadboard ceilings, wood posts and/or columns and sawn and turned wood trim when appropriate. If balustrades are required, they must be designed with spindles set into the top and bottom rails.
- 3. New buildings constructed in ONK must contain front porches large enough (at least eight feet deep) to provide adequate seating.
- 4. In new construction, the proportion of the porches to the front facades shall be consistent with historic porches in the neighborhood.
- E. Wood Wall Coverings
- 1. Synthetic siding is inappropriate and is not allowed either as replacement siding on existing buildings or new siding in new construction.
- 4. New construction must incorporate corner and trim boards and appropriate window and door trim to be compatible with adjacent historic buildings.
- F. Masonry
- 12. Stucco surfaced masonry can be appropriate for foundation in new construction. Brick and stone can also be appropriate.
- NEW BUILDINGS
- New buildings should be contemporary in spirit. Slavish copies of historic buildings confuse the historic value of the existing buildings. New buildings should respond to the present time, the environment, and the use for which they are intended. New buildings constructed in historic areas should be compatible with the existing historic buildings and sensitive to the patterns of the environment where they will be placed. The use of similar materials can help in developing continuity. These principles apply to new homes as well as garages, sheds and other outbuildings.
- G. Setbacks and Placement on the Lot
- 1. Maintain the historic façade lines of streetscapes by locating the front walls of new buildings in the same plane as those of adjacent buildings. If existing setbacks vary, a new building's setback shall respect those adjacent.
- 2. Do not violate the existing setback pattern by placing new buildings in front of or behind historic buildings on the street.
- 3. Do not place new buildings at odd angles to the street.
- 4. Side yard setbacks for new buildings shall be consistent with those of existing historic buildings, so gaps are not left in the streetscape.
- H. Scale and Massing
- 1. Relate the size and proportions of new structures to the scale of adjacent buildings.
- 2. Break up uninteresting box-like forms into smaller varied masses like those found on existing buildings by the use of bays, extended front porches, and roof shapes.
- 4. New buildings must reinforce the scale of the neighborhood by their height, width and massing.
- 5. New buildings must be designed with a mix of wall areas with door and window elements in the façade like those found on existing buildings.
- 6. Roof shapes must relate to the existing buildings, as must roof coverings.
- I. Height of Foundations and Stories
- 1. Avoid new construction that varies in height, so that new buildings are equal to the average height of existing buildings.
- 2. The foundation height of new buildings shall duplicate that of adjacent buildings, or be an average of adjacent building foundation heights.
- 3. For new buildings more than one story, beltcourses or other suggestions of divisions between stories that suggest the beginnings of additional stories shall be used.
- 4. The eave lines of new buildings shall conform to those of adjacent properties.
- J. Materials
- 1. The materials used for new building exteriors shall be consistent with materials already found on buildings on the street.
- 2. Artificial siding and split-face block are not acceptable materials for use on new buildings.
- K. Features
- 1. Design new buildings with a strong sense of a front entry.
- 2. Use front porches in new designs, and make the size of those porches useable for sitting. New porches shall be at least eight feet deep, shall contain design features such as columns and balustrades that introduce architectural diversity, and shall extend across more than half of the front façade.