Historic Zoning Commission

Old North Knoxville H: Level II

4-G-21-HZ

Applicant Request

After-the-fact review of work completed to façade elevation roofline, rear addition, and deck.

Rear addition was removed and reconstructed within the existing footprint (approximately 21' wide by 10' deep). Rear section was a non-original addition with a low-pitch shed roof, clad primarily in T-111 plywood siding, featuring a door on the left (north) side elevation, and three non-historic windows on the rear elevation).

New addition extends flush with the side elevation walls, with a primarily flat roof with a small shed-roof section sloping to the rear. The new addition is clad in wood siding with a ~6-8" overlap (compared to the 4-5" overlap on the existing house) and rests on a stuccoed foundation. A multi-light, fiberglass or vinyl door is located on the rear elevation, adjacent to a one-over-one, double-hung vinyl window.

A new rear deck has also been constructed, described in the application as 11' by 12', and 40-48" off the ground. The deck features square pickets attached to the sides of the rails, and a staircase that extends towards the front of the property line. The applicant is proposing to remove the deck and install a 4' by 4' wood stoop with steps to access a rear entry door (see site plan).

Before roofline modifications, the house featured a primary front-gable roof massing projecting from the right half of the façade, intersecting with a front-gable roof porch projecting from the left half of the façade. The applicant built a new roof section to connect the right-side gable-roof massing with the porch roof. To rectify this, the applicant is proposing 1) keeping the roofline modifications as currently installed or 2) installing a pitched "iceshield" element and covering it with asphalt shingles.

The applicant is also proposing modifications to the front entry. Currently, there are two doors, one facing the street and one on the front-gable massing, perpendicular to the street. The applicant proposes to enclose the right-side door and install a Craftsman-style door (see specifications) on the façade elevation.

Site Info

One-story frame residence, resting on a brick foundation, clad in weatherboard siding. Cross-gable roof clad in asphalt shingles. One-story, one-bay front porch with square wood columns. Interior brick chimney centered on ridgeline. Rectangular plan. Two entry doors.

1. 404 E. Oklahoma Avenue is a contributing structure to the ONK National Register Historic District and the local overlay.

2. The deck was constructed without an appropriate building permit or a COA. Rader Place, the right-of-way to the immediate rear of the property, is a recorded street, so this block has double street frontage. Per the zoning code, decks are not permitted to encroach into a front yard. Therefore, the applicant will remove the existing deck and replace with a 4' by 4' uncovered wood entry stoop with steps to access the secondary entry. As the new deck did not necessarily meet the ONK design guidelines and does not meet the City zoning code, removal is appropriate. The proposed stoop is a minor element that would not be visible from Oklahoma Avenue. Final specifications of stoop materials, height, support posts, balustrade, and stair rails should be submitted to staff for approval.

3. Citing structural concerns and non-historic materials, the applicant removed the approximately 10' long, shed-roof rear addition and reconstructed a new addition. The 1917 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map shows a footprint which reflects the previous siding details on the rear addition (see photos in application) - the rear left corner was most likely an original interior section, with the right half as a porch which was later enclosed with T-111 siding and non-historic windows.

Photos of the previous rear addition show a small (under 1 foot) inset on the house's right side. The addition has now been constructed flush with the primary residence, with a flat roofline continuing from the primary hipped roofline.

The Commission should discuss whether the new rear addition is sufficiently differentiated from the primary house, and what other tactics the applicant may take to differentiate the new addition from the original house. At minimum, the applicant should incorporate wood cornerboards (vertical trim piece) to differentiate the new addition from the primary house. The rear addition should also feature an additional window on the left side of the rear elevation, which is currently a large expanse of siding with no transparency. The Commission may choose further recommendations regarding the rear addition to meet the "additions" section of the design guidelines.

4. The roofline modification as completed (proposed as Option 1) does not meet the design guidelines and should be removed. The house is a Folk Victorian, with numerous comparable designs in the block and neighborhood. The 1917 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map shows the porch's original footprint, which was an L-shaped corner porch. Similar houses in the neighborhood feature low-pitch hipped or shed rooflines. The front-gable roof porch, projecting approximately 1' out from the primary house, was a non-historic modification. The front-gable porch roof intersects with the main front-gable roof and creates a flat section without drainage, contributing to roof leaks and deterioration. The small, non-draining section at the roofline intersection is the element the applicant aims to mitigate.

Ideally, the applicant would remove the front-gable roof porch and reconstruct the porch to match the footprint depicted on the 1917 Sanborn map, drawing reference for the porch roof and porch elements from nearby properties on the block. However, the front porch elements are not currently proposed for modification; the work proposed involves mitigation of the small flat section at the intersection of two rooflines.

Further information on Option 2 is needed, including specifications of the "iceshield" element and a rendering showing that the new element and shingles would not be visible from the street.

5. While enclosure of the non-historic door with wood lap siding to match the existing is appropriate, the proposed new door does not meet the design guidelines. The application does not include material specifications and the Craftsman style door is not appropriate for a Folk Victorian/Queen Anne cottage residence. The applicant should submit specifications for a new door which is "compatible with the historic character of the building or adjacent buildings," - for a Folk Victorian, this could include a wood, full-half, or one-third light door.