9-H-25-IH

Level III: New Primary Structure And Site Plan Revisions

Approve Subject To Conditions

Recommendation

Staff recommends approval of Certificate 9-H-25-IH, subject to the following conditions: 1) meeting all relevant standards of Article 4.6 and Article 9.3.I, with minor revisions to be approved by staff; 2) revisions to the front setback to meet Article 4.6; 3) revisions to side elevation window design and placement, to be approved by staff; 4) roof pitch to be revised to at least 6/12; 5) siding to be clapboard-style with an overlap, with board-and-batten used as an accent and to allow siding variation on the side elevations with horizontal siding as the base; 6) the final site plan to retain the existing trees as much as possible, including at least one tree in the front and rear yard of both townhouse buildings; 7) approval of the site plan option featuring the shared driveway, with final site plan meeting City Engineering standards and any major deviations to the approved site plans and plat (6-C-25-IH), including the closure of the Ambrose Street right-of-way, to return the Board for review; 8) the foundation to be parge-coated, clad in stucco, or clad in brick veneer; 9) the porch posts to be at least 8" by 8"; and 10) incorporating differentiation between the two adjacent townhouse buildings, to be approved by staff.

Property Notes / Work to be Completed

- New primary structure fronting Ohio Avenue and site plan revisions for 6-C-25-IH. New four-unit townhouse building fronting Ohio Avenue, to the south of the four-unit townhouse building approved with 6-C-25-IH. The building is proposed to be set 25' from the front lot line. Overall, the main massing of the building measures 57'-10" wide (two units are 14'-7.5" wide and two are 14'-3.5" wide) by 46'-9" deep (not including front and rear porches). The building is two stories tall, featuring a 5/12 side-gable roof with two-story, front-gable massings (12/12 pitch) projecting from the façade of each unit. The roof is clad in asphalt shingles, and the foundation material is unspecified but appears to be concrete block. The exterior is clad in board-and-batten siding with horizontal siding used as accents between units on the façade.
- Parking is proposed to be accessed via a driveway entered from Ohio Avenue that would be shared between the two townhouse buildings that splits at the rear of the lot to access four parking spaces for each proposed building. The site plan indicates that landscaping would be installed on either side of the driveway and behind the parking spaces. An alternate site plan for both buildings proposes four parking spaces per building at the rear of the lot accessed via the unimproved alley.
- Each front-gable massing on the façade features paired single-hung windows on the second story, and the first story features a 3' deep entry stoop recessed under a shed roof supported by two small posts. The left and right elevations each feature three single-hung windows on the first story and one single-hung window and three small, fixed windows on the second story. The second story of the rear elevation features a sliding window for each unit and a 3/12 pitch shed roof massing over the deeper first story, which features a full-lite sliding door for each unit with a projecting balcony.

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.
- 10. Multi-Unit Housing
  - Multi-unit housing (where permitted by zoning) should have similar front yard space to that of the traditional single-family houses along the street.
  - In zoning districts where multi-unit housing is permitted, the height of the new housing should be similar to the original houses along the street.
  - Multi-unit housing should be designed to continue the architectural rhythm of the block. In addition to the same build-to line, porches, bays and breaks in the front façade should be created to mimic the look of older homes when looking down the block. This should be done by dividing
    the building into separate sections that are proportionally similar to original houses on the block.
  - Parking should be provided behind apartments with access from the alley.