Historic Zoning Commission

Ft. Sanders NC: Level II

7-F-21-HZ

Applicant Request

Exterior rehabilitation of existing house and new rear addition.

Exterior rehabilitation scopes include removal of vinyl siding and installation of Hardie lap siding (applicant proposes 7.25" exposure on Hardie siding), with Hardie diamond-pattern siding in front and side gable fields. Porch to be removed and reconstructed with a continuous CMU foundation with brick cladding, tongue-and-groove flooring, and a wood ceiling. Replacement windows (specifications or details not provided). Some windows on original section of house to be relocated.

Large rear addition. One section of the house to be removed and reconstructed, with an additional new two-story section to project from the rear. Addition to feature a cross-gable roof clad in asphalt shingles, an exterior of Hardie lap siding, gable fields clad in a diamond-pattern Hardie shingle siding, and two stories of one-over-one, double-hung vinyl windows. A secondary entry is located on the rear elevation.

Conditions of approval per 8/19/2021 HZC Meeting:
1) Final site plan to reflect City Engineering requirements for parking;
2) Revision to left side elevation and new projecting bays, to retain as much of the original cross-gable house massing as possible, with approval by staff;
3) Selection of a façade door to meet design guidelines, with approval by staff;
4) Exterior rehabilitation to include appropriately-sized window trim and cornerboards, and ~1' eave overhangs on all roof elevations.

Site Info

One-story frame residence with a cross-gable roof, an exterior clad in vinyl siding, and a stuccoed foundation. Topography slopes significantly towards the rear of the property line, accommodating a lower story on the basement with a secondary entry on the right (east) elevation. Interior brick chimney.

1. 1319 Forest Avenue is a contributing resource to the Fort Sanders National Register Historic District and local overlay. The house is a small one-story Folk Victorian house with a basement level, recessed to the rear of the property.

2. The applicant has submitted revised elevation drawings and a scaled site/roof plan which address the technical issues in the July application. The updated site plan meets the dimensional standards of the base RN-5 zoning.

3. Removal of the existing vinyl siding meets the design guidelines. The guidelines recommend using a lap siding comparable to original wood clapboard styles. Hardie lap siding should be 4"-5" in exposure (more narrow than the proposed 7.25" exposure) and include appropriately-sized corner boards and window and door trim.

4. Windows on the original house (side elevations) are proposed to be shifted and moved. The guidelines recommend that "window proportions and symmetry should be similar to the pre-1940 styles in the neighborhood." Original window placements should be maintained, namely the two windows on left side elevation.

5. Reconstruction of the front porch (currently supported by CMU piers and enclosed with wood lattice) meets the design guidelines. The overall porch footprint and porch details (square wood posts, square picket balustrade) should be maintained.

6. In general, the placement of a new addition on the rear elevation is appropriate within the design guidelines. Several adjacent houses feature two-story rear additions, as the block's topography slopes significantly towards the north (rear).

7. Removal of the two-story, flat-roof section on the rear right (northeast) corner may be appropriate, as the addition is not character-defining. The application also includes the removal and reconstruction of most of the original gable-roof massing (northwest corner).

8. The proposed addition is significantly larger than the original house; the addition will add between 35' and 40' in length to the original house, which is approximately 34' wide on the façade. Revisions to the proposed addition attempt to break up the substantial two-story addition with additional roofline complexity, slightly projecting bays (~9" projections, gable-roof bays are approximately 16'-17' wide) and new siding patterns on gable fields. Instead of the previously proposed large front-gable massing on the rear elevation, the rear elevation now includes a projecting gable-roof bay adjoining a shed-roof section. The revised designs reflect the recommendations of the neighborhood, which included to break up the massing and shape of the addition with projecting bays that are similarly scaled to the original façade bay.

9. The proposed rear addition contains sufficient complexity to break up the large rectangular massing, but as much of the original house's cross-gable roof form should be retained as possible. On the left side elevation ("side elevation 2" on drawings), the rightmost gable-roof bay (a new element) should be shifted to the left so that the original side-gable roof and window placements can be retained. If both projecting bays are shifted to the left (rear), the substantial shed-roof section can be reduced in size.

10. The replacement door on the façade should meet design guidelines ("similar proportions and features to pre-1940 architecture"). Exterior rehab should include appropriately-sized window trim and cornerboards. The new addition's roof should include ~1' eave overhangs on all elevations.

11. Final modifications to the site plan will be necessary to meet City Engineering standards for parking. The house and parking area need to remain below 45% impervious surface for the RN-5 zoning. The final site plan could be approved by staff, provided there are no substantial modifications to the addition's design and placement.