Historic Zoning Commission

Fourth and Gill H-1 (postponed from 2/21/2019): Level II

2-J-19-HZ

Applicant Request

Level II. Handicap ramp and garage door

1) Install new overhead steel garage door with carriage door and hardware appearance in garage-opening which faces Third Street. (approved at Feb. 21, 2019 HZC meeting).
2) Install handicap ramp with wooden floor boards and simple black metal hand/guard rail on rear of house with a landing at the public sidewalk on the side street (N. 3rd Avenue) of the corner lot. The original stones at the existing retaining wall are uneven and the dimensions may need to be slightly altered to work with the height of relocated retaining wall.

Site Info

One-and-one-half-story frame with weatherboard wallcovering. Hip roof with lower cross gabled front dormer, sawn wood bargeboard with pendant, asphalt shingled roof covering. Nine-over-six-light windows in gables, 1/1 double-hung windows on remainder of house. One-story front and side wrap-around porch with bellcast porch roof, curved ornamental half-timbering in front gable, narrow wood porch columns, front-facing brackets with applied sunburst design with brackets creating segmental arches. Two interior offset brick chimeys. Brick foundation. Irregular plan. Designed by George Barber.

1. The house is a contributing resource in the Fourth and Gill H-1 Overlay and the National Register Historic District.

2. The proposed garage door has a side-opening appearance and strap-hinge and spade-handle hardware, so is therefore appropriate to allude to a period carriage house door. It is not replacing an original carriage house door.

3. The front of the garage and the door is prominently visible since it is adjacent to the sidewalk facing Third Street.

4. The handicap ramp is proposed for the rear which is not a character-defining elevation since it has been remodeled. However, the ramp will be visible from the right-of-way since the lot is on a corner.

5. The installation of the ramp will not result in removal of or damage to historic features.

6. The precedent for approval of handicap ramps for residential use has been for construction with wood materials. Handicap ramps are not recommended to be constructed as permanent features and have been constructed of wood so that they may be easily removed.

7. The guardrail is recommended to be no higher than the minimum code requirement of 34 inches high. Balusters or pickets are not required on the ramp.