9-A-25-IH

Level III: New Primary Structure

Recommendation

The Board should discuss the proposed foundation height.Staff recommends approval of Certificate 9-A-25-IH, subject to the following conditions: 1) the final site plan to meet City Engineering standards, with minor revisions to parking placement to be approved by staff; 2) the final site plan to include a tree in the front and rear yard, retaining the existing mature tree if at all possible; 3) the foundation to be parge-coated or clad in stucco and the siding to be clapboard style with an overlap; 4) the front porch depth be revised to 8' and the supports to be at least 8" by 8".

Map Case File

Applicant Request

New primary structure.

- 1. This case was postponed at the September meeting to give the applicant the opportunity to attend.
- 2. The average front setback of the blockface is 25.4', with adjacent houses at 16' and 24'. The proposed 21' front setback is appropriate. The site plan includes a walkway from the front porch to the street.
- 3. Parking is a concrete driveway at the rear of the lot and is accessed via the alley, which meets the design guidelines. The final site plan should meet City Engineering standards.
- 4. Guidelines recommend that existing healthy trees on the site should be preserved and protected during construction. There is a mature tree towards the rear of the lot that should be retained and indicated on the site plan, if at all possible. The final site plan should include a tree in the front and rear yard.
- 5. The block to receive new construction is characterized by modified Queen Anne cottages, Minimal Traditionals, and infill construction. The 28' wide by 46' deep house is generally proportionate to the dimensions of the lot and other houses on the block.
- 6. The three-bay, one-story façade is similar in height and scale to the context of the block, which only features one and one-and-a-half story houses. However, the foundation is depicted as a slab-on-grade with no steps leading to the front porch. The design guidelines recommend that new construction feature raised foundations similar to other houses along the block, and the foundation will likely need to be raised due to the grade. The Board should discuss the proposed foundation height.
- 7. The design features a partial-width, 6' deep front porch with a front gable roof, featuring shingles in the gable field and a header that is supported by two square posts. The porch depth should be increased to 8', and the posts should be at minimum 8" by 8" to be compatible with the context and meet the design guidelines.
- 8. Guidelines recommend window and door styles be similar to historic houses on the block with a similar ratio of solid to void. The 1/1 single-hung windows and quarter-lite paneled door are compatible with the context, and all elevations feature sufficient transparency.
- 9. The 6/12 pitch front-gable roof is the minimum typically approved by the design guidelines, and the design benefits from the eave overhangs that reflect the context.
- 10. The asphalt shingles and lap siding meet the design guidelines. The exterior of the slab foundation should be parge-coated or clad in stucco, and the lap siding should be clapboard style with an overlap, as opposed to Dutch lap or flush panel siding.

Property Notes / Work to be Completed

- New primary structure fronting Hiawassee Avenue. One-story residence features an exterior of lap siding, a 6/12 pitch front-gable roof clad in asphalt shingles, and a slab foundation. The house will be 28' wide by 46' deep and is proposed to be set 21' from the front line (porch at 15'). It features a partial-width, 6' deep front porch with a front gable roof supported by two square posts. Parking is concrete driveway at the rear of the lot and is accessed via the alley.
- The façade features three bays, with a window on each side of the front porch in the central bay, which contains a quarter-lite paneled front door and an additional window on its left. The right and left elevations each feature two windows, and the rear elevation features one window and a secondary entrance with a small patio. All windows are 1/1 and single-hung

Applicable Guidelines

Heart of Knoxville Infill Housing Design Guidelines

- 1. Front Yards
  - Consistent front yard space should be created along the street with the setback of a new house matching the older houses on the block.
  - A walkway should be provided from the sidewalk or street to the front door. Along grid streets, the walk should be perpendicular to the street.
  - Healthy trees that are outside the building footprint should be preserved. The root area should be marked and protected during construction.
- 2. Housing Orientation
  - New housing should be proportional to the dimensions of the lot and other houses on the block.
  - On corner lots, side yard setbacks should be handled traditionally (that is, closer to the side street). The zoning requirement to treat corner lots as having two frontages should not apply in Heart of Knoxville neighborhoods.
  - Side yard setbacks should be similar to older houses on the block, keeping the rhythm of spacing between houses consistent.
- 3. Alleys, Parking, and Services
  - Parking should not be in front yards.
  - Alley access should be used for garage or parking pad locations. On level ground, pea gravel or similar material may be used as a parking pad off alleys.
  - On streets without alleys, garages or parking pads 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.
  - Garages which are perpendicular to the alley should be about 18 feet from the center line of the alley pavement, allowing a comfortable turning radius for a driver to enter a garage.
  - Alley-oriented parking pads, garbage collection points, and utility boxes should be screened with a combination of landscaping and fencing.
  - On those streets which have alleys, driveways should not be permitted from the front of the house.
  - On corner lots, a driveway to the garage may be provided off the side street.
- 4. Scale, Mass, and Foundation Height
  - The front elevation should be designed to be similar in scale to other houses along the street.
  - The front façade of new houses should be about the same width as original houses on the block.
  - New foundations should be about the same height as the original houses in the neighborhood.
  - If greater height is to be created (with new construction or an addition), that portion of the house should be located toward the side or rear of the property.
- 5. Porches and Stoops
  - Porches should be part of the housing design in those neighborhoods where porches were commonplace.
  - Porches should be proportional to original porches on the block, extending about 8-12 feet toward the street from the habitable portion of the house.
  - Porches should extend into the front yard setback, if necessary, to maintain consistency with similarly sited porches along the street.
  - Porch posts and railings should be like those used in the historic era of the neighborhood's development. Wrought iron columns and other materials that were not used in the early 1900's should not be used.
  - Small stoops centered on entry and no more than 5 feet deep are appropriate on blocks where porches were not traditional.
- 6. Windows and Doors
  - When constructing new houses, the window and door styles should be similar to the original or historic houses on the block.
  - To respect the privacy of adjacent properties, consider the placement of side windows and doors.
  - The windows and doors on the front facade of an infill house should be located in similar proportion and position as the original houses on the block.
  - Attention should be paid to window placement and the ratio of solid (the wall) to void (the window and door openings).
  - Contemporary windows such as "picture windows" should not be used in pre-World War II neighborhoods.
- 7. Roof Shapes and Materials
  - New roofs should be designed to have a similar pitch to original housing on the block
  - More complex roofs, such as hipped roofs and dormers, should be part of new housing designs when such forms were historically used on the block.
  - Darker shades of shingle were often used and should be chosen in roofing houses in Heart of Knoxville neighborhoods.
- 8. Siding Material
  - Clapboard-like materials (such as cement fiberboard) should be used in constructing new housing where painted wood siding was traditionally used.
  - Brick, wood shingle, and other less common material may be appropriate in some older neighborhoods, particularly those with a mix of architectural styles.
  - Faced stone, vertical siding, and other non-historic materials should not be used in building new houses. In 1930-1950 era neighborhoods, faced stone may be appropriate (see Section 12).
- 11. Landscape and Other Considerations
  - One native or naturalized shade tree should be planted in the front and rear yards of in fill lots with 25 feet or more in depth to front of house.