Historic Zoning Commission

Old North Knoxville H: Level I/II

5-G-21-HZ

Applicant Request

Exterior rehabilitation, including new front porch, new two-story deck, and new gable-roof dormer addition. Application also includes new asphalt roof shingles, removal of non-historic "brick-look" cement siding, and repair and replacement in-kind to existing wood siding underneath. All new wood siding will match existing in dimensions, exposure, and placement, along with cornerboards and trim.

Front porch: removal of non-historic front-gable stoop over door. New front porch to reflect similar designs on adjacent Queen Anne cottages in E. Oklahoma Avenue and draw from footprint of 1917 Sanborn map. Front porch will be 5' deep by 29'-1" wide, with a low-pitched hipped roof, and extend almost the full length of the façade, supported by new turned wood posts.

Rear addition: removal of existing shed roof structure over existing one-story rear addition. Reconstruction of roof above addition to add an additional half-story, with a new gable roof measuring 12'-1" tall from existing wall height to roof peak. Gable roof will feature a pitch that matches the main hipped roof, new roof shingles to match existing structure, with lap siding, fascia boards, partial cornice returns, and wood trim to match existing house. The gable field will feature a three-over-one, double-hung wood window, measuring 4'-4" tall by 2'-8" wide. The existing four adjoining single-light windows on the rear elevation will remain, followed by a new entry accessing the deck. The deck will feature two adjoining French doors with sidelights, and wood trim to match existing house. The new rear elevation doors will measure 8'-8" wide by 6'-10" tall.

New screened-in porch and second-story deck: A 23'-3" wide by 10' deep, two-story porch structure to project from rear elevation. The rectangular porch addition will be enclosed with siding (to match existing lap siding) and screened-in, with two screen doors on the rear elevation. Above the screened-in porch, a pressure-treated wood deck will be accessible from the house's main story. The deck will feature square wood pickets and a rail.

Conditions of approval per 5.20.2021 HZC Meeting:

1) any new wood elements introduced on siding and trim should match originals in dimensions, exposure, design, and placement;
2) rear addition and roofline massing to match submitted 3-dimensional rendering, with an offset in rooflines to differentiate the rear addition from the original roofline;
3) if new fenestration is to be added to the rear elevation to access the screened porch, new documentation should be submitted to staff or the Commission as necessary;
4) the front porch turned wood columns be 6" instead of 4";
5) if the door is replaced, a Queen Anne-style door be selected, with approval by staff.

Site Info

One-story residence with a steeply-pitched, hipped roof with projecting gables, clad in asphalt shingles. Exterior is clad in non-historic brick veneer and rests on a brick foundation. Façade features a gabled portico with square wood posts on wood piers. Two interior offset brick chimneys.

1. 322 E. Oklahoma Avenue is a contributing resource to the ONK National Register Historic District and the local overlay.

2. Replacement of the asphalt shingle roof is appropriate. The removal of the non-historic brick veneer siding and repair to existing wood lap siding beneath, including replacement in-kind to missing sections, meet the design guidelines. All new wood elements should match the originals in dimensions, exposure, and placement, including cornerboards, trim, and other discovered details.

3. The application cites a 1917 Sanborn map and nearby Queen Anne cottage porch designs for the front porch. The street address numbers have shifted over time; the 1917 Sanborn map depicts a recessed corner porch on the subject house which was likely enclosed in the early- to mid-twentieth century. The National Register nomination dates the modifications to c.1920.

Although the Sanborn maps do not provide a clear reference for the proposed porch's footprint, in the opinion of staff, comparable original front porches on Queen Anne cottages (on E. Oklahoma Avenue and throughout Old North Knoxville) provide sufficient support for the proposed front porch's design and placement.

The proposed front porch dimensions should be compared with the adjacent property to confirm similar proportions. The proposed porch should incorporate tongue-and-groove wood floors and a low-pitched hipped roof comparable to the roof on adjacent 326 E. Oklahoma Ave. The Commission should discuss the turned wood posts versus more simple square posts.

4. The application includes sufficient documentation of the deteriorated rear shed roof to warrant replacement/reconstruction.

Guidelines note that roofs that are visible from the street shall retain their original shapes, recommending "do not introduce roof elements such as dormers to a roof shape that is original." Guidelines also recommend that "new additions should not be visible from the streets."

Rear dormer additions have been approved on a case-by-case basis in Old North Knoxville, provided the rear dormers/roofline modifications are modest in size and minimally visible from the street. The proposed modification to the roofline is appropriate as the rear shed-roof section is not part of the original house. However, the proposed roofline modification is significantly large in size, measuring approximately 26'-7" wide (the width of the existing shed-roof section) and 12'-1" tall from the bottom of the gable to roof peak. In the opinion of staff, the proposed gable roof modification/dormer addition could be appropriate, but should be reduced in scale to be less visible from the street.

5. The proposed two-story deck is also relatively large in relation to the primary house, measuring 10' deep by 23'-3" wide. However, it will be installed on a rear addition, which is significantly lower than the front of the house due to the site topography, and will not be visible from the primary right-of-way. The rear deck and screened-in porch will not require the removal or alteration of any character-defining features.

6. The four adjoining-double-hung windows which will be replaced by paired French doors and sidelights are not original to the house. This section was likely a corner sleeping porch which was enclosed at a later date. Removal of the windows to be replaced with the French doors and sidelights is appropriate. While the French doors with sidelights are not necessarily "secondary in importance" per the guidelines, they will not be visible from the right-of-way and will not detract from the overall integrity of the house.

If additional fenestration is to be added to the rear elevation to access the screened-in porch, new documentation should be submitted to staff or the Commission.