Design Review Board
Lonsdale Infill Housing Overlay District
9-A-24-IH
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends approval of Certificate 9-A-24-IH, subject to the following conditions: 1) final site plan to include a walkway from the front door to the street; 2) revisions to parking to meet design guidelines and avoid the front yard; 3) final site plan should meet City Engineering standards; 4) revisions to façade and side elevation window design and placement, with approval by staff; 5) final site plan to include one tree in front and rear yards; and allowing for additional Board discussion and conditions on the front porch design.
OwnerR. Jason Barnes Barnes Capital Management LLC
Applicant Request
New Primary Structure1. The house is proposed to be set 22' from the front property line. The average of the blockface is 18.5', with the two adjacent houses at 17' and 20'. The front setback will be generally consistent with the block. The final site plan should include a walkway from the front door to the street.
2. The block to receive new construction is characterized by Minimal Traditionals, modified Queen Anne cottages, and infill construction, which are largely small, rectangular plan houses. The adjacent house is a small, rectangular Minimal Traditional house; the proposed new house is proportional to the modest houses on the block. The side yard setbacks are consistent with the block.
3. Infill Housing design guidelines recommend that on lots without alleys, new driveways 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. Parking is currently proposed for the front yard and should be revised to meet guidelines. The final site plan should meet City Engineering standards.
4. The façade is similar in width to the context, which already features relatively small houses. The house is depicted to be on an elevated concrete block foundation, which will reflect historic houses on the block. The concrete block foundation should be clad in stucco or parge-coated to match the context.
5. Guidelines recommend a front porch proportionate to original houses on the block, extending about 8-12' to the street, but also note that "small stoops centered on entry and no more than 5' deep are appropriate on blocks where porches were not traditional." The two Minimal Traditional houses on the block lack front porches but the remainder of the houses, including the infill construction, have partial- or full-width porches. The Board should discuss the necessity of a full-width porch on the smaller house.
6. Guidelines recommend window and door styles be similar to historic houses on the block, with similar placement and ratio of solid to void, and also note that "contemporary windows such as 'picture windows' should not be used" in historic neighborhoods. The façade windows should be revised to typical sizes of double-hung windows (could be paired) to reflect the context; the right side elevation should feature at least one window to avoid a large swath of siding with no transparency.
7. The hipped roof has a sufficiently steep pitch for the neighborhood context.
8. Vinyl siding meets the Infill Housing design guidelines but the vinyl siding should be a horizontal lap siding with an overlap instead of Dutch lap or flush panel siding.
9. The final site plan should feature one native or naturalized tree in the front and rear yards.
Staff Comments
New primary structure fronting Adcock Avenue. One-story residence features a hipped roof (8/12 and 6/12 pitch). The house is square in shape, with a small hipped-roof entry stoop centered over the door. The house is proposed to be clad in vinyl siding with a concrete block foundation. Parking is proposed for the front of the lot, via an 18' by 18' parking pad in front of the house.
The façade (east) is three bays wide and features two multi-light picture windows flanking a central door. There are no windows proposed for the right elevation, and one for the left, with two windows and a secondary door accessing a deck on the rear elevation.