Design Review Board

Lonsdale Infill Housing Overlay District

3-A-22-IH

Staff Recommendation

Staff recommends approval of Certificate 3-A-22-IH, subject to the following conditions:
1) Parking to meet Infill Housing guidelines and City Engineering standards;
2) Incorporate another native or naturalized shade tree in the rear yard;
3) Select a front door more appropriate for the neighborhood context.


Location
1506 Ohio Ave. 37921

Owner
James James Gallman

Applicant Request
New Primary Structure
1. The house is proposed for the left side of a 200' wide lot. The lot is uniquely wide for the context, measuring approximately 200' wide and 115' deep. The house will be set 20' from the front property line, 85' from the right side property line, and 49' from the left side property line. The block lacks sufficient context for an average front setback. A recently approved house at 1520 Ohio avenue was approved to be set 20' from the front property line. The side setbacks will be wider the typical neighborhood pattern, but the 85' right side setback could allow the current or future property owner to subdivide and create a second smaller-sized lot. The front setback will be consistent with the other house on the block. The site plan includes a concrete walkway to the street.

2. While the block does not retain sufficient historic house, the façade width is compatible with the historic houses in the surrounding neighborhood. The block does not retain many historic structures from which to draw context.

3. The parking has been revised from the initial submissions to be accessed from the alley. Engineering has also noted the presence of a 30' buffer zone from the top of the bank, which should be noted on the site plan, along with the distance from the buffer zone to the proposed house.

4. Rotating the house to make the shorter side face the street has made the house more compatible with the scale of the surrounding context, though the house does not contain extensions or bays. The house will be placed on a 16" tall foundation, which is generally compatible in height with historic houses in the neighborhood.

5. The house has been revised to include an 8' deep by 13' wide front porch, with a 5/12 pitch, front-gable roof supported by 6 by 6 columns with a handrail.

6. The proposal includes sufficient transparency on the front and side elevations. The door shown in elevation drawings is not compatible with the historic context.

7. The house has been revised to incorporate a 5/12 pitch roof. The minimum pitch approved by the Board has typically been 6/12, though some 5/12 pitch houses have been approved in the past. The house incorporates no additional roofline complexity other than the added front porch roof.

8. The proposed vinyl siding, stuccoed foundation, and asphalt shingle roof meets the design guidelines. Vinyl Dutch lap siding has typically been discouraged in Infill Housing reviews.

9. The site plan incorporates one tree in the front yard and landscaping/shrubbery in the side yards.

10. The previous submission was postponed in November 2021 and denied without prejudice in January 2022. The applicant completed a workshop with the Design Review Board in February 2022 to discuss potential modifications. Tactics discussed in a workshop rotating the house ninety degrees so the narrow side faces the street, the addition of guardrails on the porch and steps, and the modification to include a double window on the façade. Along with the discussed changes, throughout the previous reviews, the applicant has incorporated a front porch, window and door trim, eave overhangs, and a front porch. Previous reviews have recognized the lack of substantial historic context on the block. A narrow, long modular manufactured house may remain inappropriate for a block defined by greater roofline complexity and more standardized massings.

Staff Comments
New primary residence fronting Ohio Ave. Modular manufactured house, rotated ninety degrees from previous submissions, to measure 26'-4" wide by 60" long, with an 8' deep, 13' wide front-gable roof porch projecting from the right side of the façade. House is proposed to be set 20' from the front property line, 85' from the right side property line, and 49' from the left side property line. Parking is accessed from the alley and located on the rear of the property, as an 18' by 81' concrete parking pad.

The 5/12 pitch, front-gable roof is clad in asphalt shingles, the house is clad in vinyl Dutch lap siding, and the house rests on a 16" tall stuccoed foundation. The two-bay wide façade features paired one-over-one windows, with a door centered under the porch. There are secondary entries on both side elevations.

Case History