New additions.

Front/east addition: new addition to east elevation along the façade, to measure 24'-6" wide by 12'-8" deep and be recessed 1'-5.5" from the front façade of the house. The front addition will feature a side-gable roof with an 8/12 pitch, an exterior of brick veneer, and two bays of 9/9 double-hung windows with "style, size, trim, and sill to match the existing," along with shutters to match the existing. Addition will feature brick quoins and a brick solider header course above the windows.

Covered porch addition: on the east elevation, located behind the proposed new front addition, a covered porch with a 2/12-pitch, shed roof will extend 22'-9.5" towards the rear of the house.

Garage addition: new three-car garage addition to the rear right corner (east elevation) of the house. The garage addition will measure 25' wide by 36'-1" deep and feature a 6/12 pitch hipped roof, an exterior of brick cladding, and three garage bays facing the east side elevation.

Rear addition: new addition to rear (south elevation) of house. The rear addition measures approximately 32'-2" wide (the full width of the existing house) by 17'-1.5" deep, and features a 6/12 pitch hipped roof and an exterior of brick cladding.

New driveway: new 12' wide driveway extending from Emoriland Boulevard, leading to an approximately 32' wide parking pad area outside the three-car garage.

1. 1916 Emoriland Boulevard is a contributing resource to the Fairmont Park NC Overlay. The house is a Colonial Revival-style Minimal Traditional house. Minimal Traditional houses are typically modest one-story forms with narrow facades and minimal architectural detail. The proposed additions revise the Minimal Traditional house to reflect a Ranch house in width and a contemporary house form with the attached three-car garage.

2. The application was postponed at the October 2024 meeting to allow the applicant to revise the drawings in response to the design guidelines, staff recommendation, neighborhood input, and Commission discussion. Discussion related to the placement of the front addition and the massing of the third-story garage.

In lieu of revisions, the applicants have provided a letter citing design motivations, the creation of a new wider lot, neighborhood crime, and existing three-car garages within the overlay. While the HZC does not review new subdivision plats within existing districts, the original lots of record in the neighborhood were 50' wide, and the houses were designed accordingly. Of the three cited existing garages, none were reviewed or approved by the HZC. The garage at 1736 Emoriland Blvd pre-dates the overlay, 2221 Fairmont Blvd is outside of the overlay, and the garage at 2055 Emoriland Blvd also pre-dates the overlay.

3. The proposed additions are significantly large in footprint, approximately doubling the overall square footage of the house.

4. Guidelines recommend that additions are placed on the side or rear of buildings, discouraging additions to the front that obscure original architectural designs. The proposed rear addition and garage additions meet the guidelines for placement. The front/east addition is set back from the façade by only 1'-5.5" and almost doubles the existing façade width. Guidelines note that "if additions are made to the existing building, they should be located at least 5' behind the front façade of the existing building." The front addition is not sufficiently differentiated from the original façade of the house and should be revised in placement.

5. The additions use materials and design elements compatible with the primary structure, including brick cladding, quoin detailing, brick soldier header courses above windows, and windows with sills and shutters to reflect the existing.

6. Guidelines recommend that doors of attached garages do not face Emoriland Boulevard, and they should be located at least 15' behind the front façade; the design does meet these guidelines. The garage will be large in scale and visible from the street due to the adjacent vacant property. Three-car garages are typically not in character with the neighborhood context. SOI Standards note that new additions "shall be compatible with the massing, size, scale, and architectural features to protect the historic integrity of the property and its environment." The Commission should discuss the overall massing of the proposed garage. There is no historic precedence for a three-car garage in the neighborhood.

7. Guidelines recommend that driveways be "as narrow as possible," 9'-12' wide, and encourage separate tire strips. The driveways are 12', comparable to the minimum required width of 10'. The parking pad outside of the three-car garage is relatively large. Additional landscaping and screening may serve to obscure the large garage and parking pad.