7-G-25-HZ

Level III: Fourth And Gill H

Recommendation

The Commission should discuss the front and corner side setbacks, window placement and sizing on the side and rear elevations, and whether additional detail is necessary on the side elevations.Along with any necessary revisions or conditions, staff recommends approval of Certificate 7-G-25-HZ, subject to the following conditions:1) final site plan to meet City Engineering standards; 2) final material specifications for the roofing, secondary entrances, porch columns, and porch ceiling to be approved by staff and included in final drawings; 3) the porch columns to feature trim at the top and base, as depicted; 4) the projecting sills, trim on the windows to be retained, and the windows to use simulated divided lites; 5) the final drawings to depict the foundation height and front steps as-built and a handrailing on the front porch if required by code, to be approved by staff; 6) the placement of the window and door on the right elevation to be aligned; and 7) a beltcourse with the same color as the window trim be introduced to divide the stories.

Map Case File

Applicant Request

- New single-family house fronting Morgan Street, with a side elevation along E. Fourth Avenue. The two-story house will measure 26' wide (32'-8" with side porch) by 57.5' deep, and the main massing is proposed to be set 22'-8" from the front property line (16' to the front porch), with a 17.5' corner side setback and a 10.5' interior side setback. Parking is a 26.3' wide by 28.7' deep concrete pad at the rear of the lot and is accessed via the alley.
- The house features an 8/12 pitch, hipped roof with a hipped roof dormer centered on the front roof slope, an exterior of fiber cement lap siding (smooth, 4" reveal) and a raised block foundation clad in brick veneer. The design features cornerboards, fascia, a frieze board, and 1' overhanging eaves. The façade features a full-length, wrap-around, 6'-8" deep front porch with a 4/12 pitch, hipped roof supported by 8" square columns, and it will be accessed via full-length brick steps. The materials for the porch columns and ceiling are not specified. The porch flooring will be wood tongue-and-groove, and no railing is proposed.
- The façade (southwest) features three bays, with paired 3/1 double-hung windows on each story of the left and right bays, flanking a quarter-lite wood paneled door on the first story. The right elevation features three irregular bays of 3/1, double-hung windows on both the first and second stories, with the front-porch wrapping around the front corner and a deck with a wood handrailing recessed under the primary roofline at the rear corner with a full-lite door. The left elevation features two and a pair of 3/1 double-hung windows on the second story and three 3/1 double-hung windows on the first story. The rear elevation features three 2/2 double-hung windows on the second story, and there are two 2/2 double-hung windows and a secondary entrance with steps leading to the deck on the first-story. All windows will be made from fiberglass-clad wood or aluminum-clad wood (Marvin Elevate "wood clad" product), and the window profiles on the elevation drawings and renderings conflict, with the drawings showing 2/2 windows in the place of the 3/1 windows.

Fourth and Gill H

- Style: N/A
  - Vacant lot.

Applicable Guidelines

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

- 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. Replacement roofs should copy the shape and pitch of original roofs, and the soffit, fascia and trim detail between roof and wall should mimic the original.[MW1.1]
- 2. The eaves on additions or new buildings should have an overhang that mimics the original eave, or where this is not feasible, 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 roofing existing buildings or new construction should duplicate the original roofing materials if possible. Asphalt or fiberglass shingles can be appropriate, as are slate, standing seam metal or metal shingle roof coverings. The color of roofing materials 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, i.e., 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
- 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 Materials
- Wood
- 3. New construction should use wood materials rather that aluminum or vinyl siding. New buildings should also use corner and trim boards and appropriate door and window trim. Concrete composition planks may be appropriate for new construction.
- 12. Siding or pressboard or particle board, and vertical siding (including T-111) is not appropriate for primary structures in the Fourth & Gill Historic District and should not be used.
- Infill Buildings
- Width of Houses and Lots
- 1. Maintain the historic facade 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 its neighbors. Never violate the existing setback pattern by placing new buildings in front of or behind the historic facade line.
- 2. Avoid placing buildings at odd angles to the street.
- Scale and Massing
- 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 facade like those found on the neighborhood's historic houses. Also consider the width-to-height ratio of bays in the facade. The placement of openings with respect to the facade'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.
- 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
- 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 facade.
- 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.