Historic Zoning Commission

Fourth and Gill H: Level III

2-B-21-HZ

Applicant Request

New primary residence on a double lot fronting Morgan Street. One-story residence with a flat roof, comprised of two primary horizontal massings connected by an inset hyphen. A flat-roof secondary structure (accessory dwelling unit) is located on the rear right (west) corner of the property. Project also includes a swimming pool on the rear left (south) corner of the property. A new curb cut will be made along Morgan Street to accommodate a new concrete driveway on the left side of the property and an attached porte cochere.

The house is proposed to be set 10' from the front property line, 12'-5.5" from the left interior property line, and 6' from the right interior property line. The secondary structure on the rear of the property is located 11'-6.5" from the rear property line. As currently proposed, the building is within its 35% allowable building coverage and the 45% allowable surface coverage of the RN-4 zoning.

The façade (northeast) features one rectangular massing, extending 65'-4" wide, with a 15'-6" wide carport on the left side, measuring 12'-8" tall to the top of the roof. A second horizontal massing is recessed 26' behind the front façade line and measures 18'-8" tall to the top of the roof.

Overall, the primary materials include painted metal roof coping, modular brick masonry veneer siding, aluminum-clad wood windows, painted steel lintels and a steel-framed porte cochere, and painted nickelgap polyash siding as a secondary siding on the façade.

The façade features a painted steel-framed porte cochere, extending above a concrete parking surface and leading to an aluminum-clad wood sliding door system on the recessed massing. The next bay is a porch, measuring 16' wide by 9' deep, fully recessed under the primary massing. The entry is located on the porch, featuring a stained wood pivot door with a single-light sidelight, accessible by a stained wood step. Four bays of aluminum-clad wood windows with operable sashes follow. A painted steel lintel extends the length of the porch, doors, and windows, which are surrounded by painted nickelgap polyash siding.

The left side elevation features the narrow sides of the two primary rectangular massings and the secondary structure, which are connected by a covered wood deck and the hyphen. An 8' tall by 3' wide aluminum clad wood window is located on the side elevation of the secondary building and the center massing. The porte cochere is screened on the left side by a stained wood screen.

On the right side elevation, the secondary structure/ADU is accessible by a painted steel garage door. On each side of the hyphen are aluminum-clad wood sliding door systems.

The rear elevation features full-length aluminum-clad wood window systems and sliding doors surrounded by painted nickelgap polyash siding topped by a painted steel brick lintel.

The project also includes a brick clad outdoor fireplace, wood decking surrounding the pool and on each side elevation, and stained wood fencing. A new concrete driveway accommodating two parking spaces is proposed for the leftmost side of the property.

Site Info

Existing vacant double lot, measuring 100' wide by 107' deep. 1903 and 1917 Sanborn Fire Insurance maps show lot reflecting its present-day current configuration, featuring a brick masonry multi-family structure.

I. SITE:
The property to receive the proposed new construction is on a southwestern edge of the Fourth and Gill Historic Overlay and National Register Historic District.

The lot is historically a double lot, measuring 100' wide by 107' deep; the applicant has provided copies of the 1903 and 1917 Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps documenting an attached multi-family brick structure on the lot. The use of the double lot in its original configuration is appropriate.

When the boundaries of the local and National Register historic districts were drafted, "edge properties" containing vacant lots were included when possible, especially if they originally held buildings which reflected the neighborhood's patterns of development. Properties on the edge were noted to introduce the district (see February 1999 HZC minutes).

Edge properties can serve as a transition between the historic district and the adjacent areas; in Fourth and Gill, this property and similar lots mark the transition between early to mid-twentieth-century commercial development and earlier residential styles. This particular property would be the first in the district if approaching from Morgan Street or E. 4th Ave. The Commission should discuss how the property serves to "introduce" the district and the range of architectural styles and forms that follow.

II. CONTEXT
In a workshop with the HZC (October 2020) and in the application, the applicant described the design as representing a transition between the commercial buildings on E. 4th Avenue and N. Central St, including the adjacent c.1965 building holding Graphic Creations (not within the overlay).

While the referenced context is outside the overlay and the district's stated period of significance, it is relevant as the property is a transitional lot on the edge of the overlay.

The lot to receive new construction does demonstrate a different context than other infill projects in Fourth and Gill (the 2016 infill construction on Deery Street), or a theoretical lot in the middle of Luttrell Street.

III. PERIOD OF SIGNIFICANCE
The stated period of significance for Fourth and Gill in the NR nomination is c.1880 to c.1930. This period of significance was selected for the original nomination in 1985 (with survey work completed 1982-1985). Typical National Register eligibility identifies properties as historic when they reach 50 years of age or older, so it follows that a nomination written in the 1980s would stop in the 1930s. Moreover, the vast majority of character-defining architecture in Fourth and Gill dates to the selected period.

The design guidelines slightly expand the period of significance, nothing the district as "a good representation of the residential architecture popular in America between the 1880s and the 1940s."

Periods of Significance are identified for NRHP nomination purposes to be "used in evaluating the relative importance of a change to the property and its historic character" (See HANDOUT 3, NPS Acquired Significance and Standard 4). Periods of significance may also identify later changes, which have acquired significance in their own right.

Periods of significance can be updated on a local and federal level, recognizing the evolution of a neighborhood and the changing character of the district. In districts in particular (versus individual properties), POSs become a "moving target," recognizing that new development and an evolution in styles and construction techniques is inevitable, especially if the original district is successful in preservation and revitalization.

To expand the formal period of significance for Fourth and Gill, the boundaries of the historic district would most likely need to be expanded as well, to collect the early- to mid-twentieth century buildings along N. Broadway, N. Central, etc.

IV. COMPATIBILITY
The Fourth and Gill design guidelines do not prescribe a specific style for new construction within the overlay. The Infill Buildings section note that "new buildings should be contemporary in spirit. They should not be imitations of buildings of the past; rather they should respond to the present time, the environment, and the use for which they are intended." New construction is recommended to "not imitate historic styles or periods of architecture." This note, reflected in the Secretary of the Interiors Standard 9 ("the new work shall be differentiated from the old"), can be interpreted in several ways (See HANDOUT 2). Another relevant article (See HANDOUT 1, "Regulating New Construction in Historic Districts: Contemporary Design,") notes that this can be taken to an extreme, where a contemporary design "distinctly stands apart, drawing attention to itself instead of working as part of the ensemble of buildings."

A contemporary style can exist in harmony with older styles of architecture; the design guidelines and SOI standards do not preclude contemporary styles. A contemporary style of construction is more appropriate on the subject lot than one with a more developed historical context. However, as noted in the guidelines, the goal is compatibility - a new building should "be compatible with older structures and sensitive to the patterns already in their environment." A new building should not be "visually incompatible or destroy historic relationships."

While some specific guidelines in the Fourth and Gill Design Guideline document are contradictory to contemporary styles, the concept of "compatibility" should be used as a guide for evaluation. SOI Standard 9 highlights "historic materials, features, size, scale, and proportions and massing" as the primary goals of compatibility.

Compatibility is further explored in "Regulating New Construction in Historic Districts: Contemporary Design," (See Handout 1), identifying "1) site placement; 2) height, massing, proportion, and scale; 3) materials; 4) development patterns; and 5) architectural characteristics." This article notes that "how such criteria are applied depends on the type of project and its location."

Along with specific design guidelines, the concept of "compatibility" should be used for an informed discussion of contemporary-style new construction on a transitional, edge property in Fourth and Gill.

SPECIFIC GUIDELINES
1. Width of Houses and Lots: The new house is proposed to be set 10' from the property line. The adjacent property, Graphic Creations, is set 35' from the property line fronting Morgan Street and approximately 24' from E. Fourth Avenue - however, the placement of this building accommodates surface parking on both elevations and shouldn't be used as a reference. A 10' front setback is consistent with the Cleveland Building at 729 Morgan St (~11') and the house at 731 Morgan St (~10'). Another infill house in the vacant lot at 723 Morgan St. would further reinforce the setback pattern.

2. Scale and Massing: The west side of the 700 block of Morgan Street features the mid-century, rectangular, flat-roofed Graphic Creations building, and the two-story, rectangular Cleveland building. These two buildings provide context for the rectangular form of the proposed new construction. The house is one story tall, with the secondary massing 6" taller than the façade-fronting massing.

The design does utilize varied massings in a contemporary style to breakup basic boxlike forms - especially on side elevations.

The façade demonstrates a mix of wall areas with door and window elements. As the design is in a contemporary style, the window and door elements themselves are distinct from those on the neighborhood's historic houses. The placement of openings is distinct from historic patterns of façade composition, but it does demonstrate a consistent pattern of solids to voids and breaks up larger massings with different siding elements.

Guideline 4 recommends relating the "façade character of new buildings to the predominant directional alignment of nearby buildings," focusing on the horizontal alignment of building elements such as porches, roofs, windows, etc, and the alignment of the building itself. The proposed design places the long end of a rectangular massing along the primary street, in a neighborhood characterized by narrow lots, which forced historic houses to be designed with narrow facades and longer side elevations. The Commission should discuss the significantly horizontal alignment of the proposed design.

5. Roof: The flat roof draws context from the nearby commercial buildings and the Cleveland Building at 729 Morgan Street. The flat roof is appropriate for the contemporary design and does not detract from the immediately surrounding neighborhood, as it is located on the periphery of the overlay and connects the nearby commercial structures with the residential context. Additional guidelines for roofs are provided in the "guidelines" section of the staff report, though several of these points are contradictory to a contemporary-style house.

6. Height of Foundations and Stories: The guidelines note that "raised foundations, or the appearance of raised foundations, must be designed" for any new houses in Fourth and Gill. The Commission should discuss the appropriateness of waiving this guideline in relation to the proposed style.

A one-story house does find context in Fourth and Gill, though they are generally oriented with the long side of the house along the side property lines. The eave lines pin the proposed design would serve as a transition between the one-story Graphic Creations building and the Cleveland Building nearby. The row of one- to 1.5 story houses on the other side of Morgan Street should be discussed in relation to the proposed design's proportions.

6. Materials: Guidelines recommend that materials used for new buildings should be consistent with existing historic building materials on the street.

The proposal includes modular brick veneer; brick masonry exteriors exist throughout the overlay, from Craftsman single-family residences to historic apartment buildings. The Commission should discuss if modular brick veneer appropriately reflects historic masonry materials.

The proposal also includes a nickel gap poly ash siding, which is a relatively new composite siding (see enclosed material specifications). The siding is 3/4-inch thick (versus 5/16-inch for typical Hardie or fiber cement products) and composed of more than 70% recycled polymer and fly-ash. The Commission should discuss the introduction of a new synthetic material in this application. Guidelines (written in the late 1990s) note that concrete composition planks may be appropriate for new construction, though particle board and similar lower-quality materials are not appropriate. Though a relatively new material, this particular siding material has been used as replacement siding in historic districts nationwide; planners have noted that the Boral material is useful "where moisture is an issue and natural wood has consistently needed replacement." The siding has an option for both smooth-finished and wood-grain.

Proposed windows are aluminum-clad wood. New houses and additions in Fourth and Gill are usually encouraged to use wood windows.

7. Features: Guidelines recommend a strong sense of entry, defined by a porch or a similar transitional element. The proposed entry is a wood pivot door with a full-light sidelight. Though recessed, the door design does reflect a strong sense of entry.

One priority in Fourth and Gill is a front porch, large enough to provide seating, with proportions consistent with the historic context. The proposed design includes a recessed porch, inset 9' from the primary façade. While the Cleveland building and some Craftsman houses have porches inset below broader roof structures, they generally extend towards the street instead of being recessed into the house.

The second guideline in the "features" section recommends "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." While this particular guideline is related to the replication of architectural details, the proposed design does indeed avoid replicating historic styles. The house's modern design would not be easily misconstrued as a historic building.

8. Other elements: there are not specific design guidelines for swimming pools in the Fourth and Gill design documents. Pools are generally evaluated to encourage minimal (or no) visibility from the public right of way (in ONK guidelines, they are recommended to be "as unobtrusive as possible") and receive landscaping or fencing as necessary to reduce visibility.

The proposed accessory dwelling unit/secondary structure is compatible with the design of the overall complex, with materials and proportions that correspond to the main house. Due to its height and recessed placement, it would be minimally visible from Morgan Street. The Commission should discuss the visibility of the secondary structure and whether additional transparency is needed to reduce empty wall space.

Parking/porte-cochere: guidelines recommend that new curb cuts be kept to a minimum, and access through alleys is preferable to adding curb cuts or allowing front yard parking. There is not an operable alley on this property. The Commission should discuss side yard parking and the placement of the porte-cochere, which could result in at least one car parked in the front of the house.