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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 07-11-2011/lri�SE.I r DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT ' LITTLE ROCK HISTORIC 723 West Markham Street �If i 1 DISTRICT Little Rock, Arkansas 72201-1334 � •a.t , I COMMISSION Phone: (501) 371-4790 Fax: (501) 399-3435 e• , STAFF REPORT ITEM NO. One. DATE: July 11, 2011 APPLICANT: Alice Lightle ADDRESS: 617 Cumberland Street COA REQUEST: Iron fence and gates PROJECT BACKGROUND AND DESCRIPTION: The subject property is located at 617 Cumberland Street. The property's legal description is Lot 1 MacArthur Place Subdivision to the City of Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas. This house was built in 2006 and is a non-contributing structure to the district. This application is for addition of an Iron fence and gates in the front and sides of the house. PREVIOUS ACTIONS ON THIS SITE: On July 14, 2005, a COA was approved and issued to Andrew and Tina Boyd for construction of a single-family house. qzz 2 CAPITOL x Q7N . % w •. r �PTH c . - a • rare iorH ,�_ , 7 117N `a r9q+y 8ATESV V . Location of Project PROPOSAL: The proposed fence will start at the north side of the house, extend to the driveway, then continue to the front property line near the sidewalk, and continue along the sidewalk with a gate at the sidewalk to the south property line. There it will continue to the rear of the house and then return to abut the house. The fence will be three feet tall and have fleur-de-lis spear point on the top. The picket will be 1/2 inch solid bar and the posts will be covered by "olde tent top" finals. These are pyramidal in shape and in Staff's opinion, more functional than decorative. The walk gate at the sidewalk will feature the same design with a flat top and will be 4 1/2 feet wide and three feet tall. The fence will be a powder coat gloss black finish. This fence will match the fence installed at 618 Rock Street. (There will not be a brick retaining wall installed with this COA as was with 618 Rock Street.) There will be a gate across the driveway. This driveway serves two houses (617 Cumberland and 618 Rock). The gate for the driveway will be 5 feet tall and 10 feet wide. It will be of the same design of the fencing with a mechanical swing gate operator. The gate will be a powder coat gloss black finish. This application may be required to go to the Board of Adjustment for a fence height variance based on where the driveway gate is located. Sec. 36-516(e)(1)a Residential fence and wall standards of the Little Rock Municipal Code states: Between a required building setback line and a street right-of-way, the maximum height shall be four (4) feet. Other fences may be erected to a maximum height of six (6) feet. s• - F- from southwestILI 1 ■ View down driveway • ■ • • - WRITTEN ANALYSIS OF THE APPLICATION BASED OFF OF INTENT AND GUIDELINES: On page 66 of the Guidelines, the following is stated: 3. Fences and Retaining Walls: Iron, wood, stone, or brick fences or walls that are original to the property (at least 50 years old) should be preserved. If missing, they may be reconstructed based on physical or pictorial evidence. Sometimes a low stone or brick wall supports an iron or wooden fence. 2 Fencing material should be appropriate to the style and period of the house. Cast iron fences were common through the Victorian period and should be retained and maintained. Wrought iron and bent wire fences are also historic. Wood picket fences may be located in front, side, or rear yards, generally following property lines. They should be no taller than three feet (36') tall, pickets should be no wider than four inches (4') and set no farther apart than three inches (3`). The design shall be compatible with and proportionate to the house. Wood board privacy fences should be located in rear yards. They should be no taller than six feet (72'), of flat boards in a single row (not stockade or shadowbox), and of a design compatible with the structure. The privacy fence should be set back from the front fagade of the structure at least halfway between the front and back walls. Chain -link fences may be located only in rear yards, where not readily visible from the street, and should be coated dark green or black. Screening with plant material is recommended. Fences should not have brick, stone, or concrete piers or posts unless based on pictorial or physical evidence. Free-standing walls of brick, stone, or concrete are not appropriate. New retaining landscape walls are discouraged in front yards. Certain front yards that are in close proximity to the sidewalk may feature new walls that match the materials of the building and be consistent with historic walls in the neighborhood. Landscaping walls should match the materials of the building and be consistent with historic walls in the neighborhood. There are a number of iron fences in the immediate area of this house: three houses at 618-624 Rock, the Pike Fletcher Terry Mansion at 7th and Rock, The Lincoln House at Cumberland and Rock, to name a few. This proposed three-foot fence is in keeping with the height and scale of the historic fences. This fence would exactly match the fence at 618 Rock Street. There will not be a brick retaining wall installed with this COA. This application may be required to go to the Board of Adjustment for a fence height variance based on where the driveway gate is located. Sec. 36-516(e)(1)a Residential fence and wall standards of the Little Rock Municipal Code states: Between a required building setback line and a street right-of-way, the maximum height shall be four (4) feet. Other fences may be erected to a maximum height of six (6) feet. This property is zoned PD-R and the setback line on this property is 12 feet. If the driveway gate is set at least 12 feet back form the front property line, the driveway gate will not require a Board of Adjustment hearing. The sketch appears to show the gate behind the front wall of the house, but is not dimensioned. That being said, the Design Guidelines state that front and side yard fences should be 3 feet in the front yard and halfway down the side of the house before becoming 6 feet tall. This proposed gate at 5 feet is taller than the guidelines suggest. The distance that the drive gate is located behind the front facade of the house should be determined. A reduction in the height of the gate could make the gate more appropriate to the area. There is not a fence along the property line to the north along the commercial parking lot, so the fence would be more of a visual deterrent than a physical one. NEIGHBORHOOD COMMENTS AND REACTION: At the time of distribution, there were no comments regarding this application. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Approval with the following condition: 1. Obtaining a fencing permit. 2. Set the drive gate to the east of the facade of the house. 0 ' DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND LITTLE ROCK DEVELOPMENT HISTORIC 723 West Markham Street DISTRICT Little Rock, Arkansas 72201-1334 Phone 50] 371-4790 Fax: 501 399-3435 �� • ; C011ihi1SSION ( ) ( > ,F APPLICATION FOR A CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS 1. ApplicationDate: 13 2. Date of Public Hearing: at 5:00 p.m. 3. Address of Property: i 4 4. Legal Description of Propertyr SIAF "V to tck.l . NtY�1 ti- .. - P: ; 5. Property Owner (Printed Name, Address, Phone, Fsaii): b lTF, F i2jxY. irQ1. -4-29nL • 6 -?rVi ALM,HCiJ;�­9DCOWCAST.NF_r 6. Owner's Agent: (Printed Name, Address, Phone, Emaif): 7. Brief Project Description: Nanuywl] MoNr n4- PP�aiM"_ANb S+nllt Wh LaU�: Prop_ ACCEM T 8. Estimated Cost of mprovements:,,t, 9. Zoning Classification: Is the proposed change a penri use? Yes No 10. Signature of Owner or Agent: (The owner will need to author¢e any Agent or person representing the owner at the public hearing). NOTE: Should there be changes during construction (design, materials, size, etc.) from the approved COA, applicant shall notify Commission staff and take appropriate actions. Approval by the Commission does not excuse applicant or property from compliance with other applicable codes, ordinances or policies of the city unless stated by the Commission or staff. Responsibility for identifying such codes, ordinances, or policies rests with the appliicaM, owner, or agent. .......... .------- ..................... .................. ................ I—— ------------------- (This section to be completed by staff): Little Rods Historic District Commission Action _ Denied _ Withdrawn _ Approved _ Approved with Conditions _ See Attached Conditions CS Revised 7/2009 Alice Lightle 617 Cumberland Street Little Rock, AR 72202 June 8, 2011 Little Rock Historic District Commission Department of Planning and Development 723 W. Markham St. Little Rock, AR 72201 To Whom It May Concern: I am submitting this letter in conjunction with an Application for a Certificate of Appropriateness for proposed changes to 617 Cumberland Street. Our property is open to Cumberland Street from the front. This includes our front yard and the driveway we share with our neighbor, which continues to the rear of the property and leads to our two garages. One of our vehicles was broken into and the sound equipment stolen while it was parked in the driveway behind the house. I have also had several items stolen from the front yard, including a rather heavy planter and an American flag that was ripped out of its bracket. Furthermore, we have often discovered individuals sitting on our front porch. Many of my neighbors have successfully deterred unwanted activity by the placement of ornamental iron fences and gates. After looking at neighboring fences, we and our neighbor would like to place a small fence around our front yard and an automatic gate at our driveway to deter further criminal activity. I have attached a drawing from the fencing company showing the location and length of the fence and gate. It will surround the front yard inside the property line, and will have a walk gate over the sidewalk leading to the front door. The fence will be 3 ft. tall and have "fleur-de-lis" spears. A walk gate, which is 3 ft. tall and 4% ft. wide, will be constructed of 1 ''/2" C-channel for top and bottom rails and x %:" solid bar pickets topped with the "fleur-de-lis" spears. The walk gate and fence will be installed on 2'/z" x 2'/2" square metal posts topped with "olde tent top" post caps. The walk gate will be installed using batwing hinges and a gravity latch. The gate for the driveway will be 5 ft. tall by 10 ft. wide. It is a single -panel ornamental iron swing gate constructed of 2" x 2" 1 ]-gauge square metal frame, with x V 16-gauge square tubing pickets topped with "fleur-de-lis" spears and a flat metal v-brace. The gate will be installed on a 4" x 4" square metal post using elite power hinges and a matching latch post. The posts will be topped with "olde tent top" post caps. There will be a swing gate operator powered by a maintenance -free battery charged by a trickle charger. All fences and gates will be powder -coated with a gloss black finish. I have included pictures of similar fences in our neighborhood, all within a block of our property, including the fence of the neighbor with whom we share our driveway. We will be using the same contractor and same fleur-de-lis finials. I have also included the drawing of the placement of the fence and gate by the contractor. Please let me know if you need any further information. Thank you for your consideration, Alice Lightle Cover letter from May 18 2011 8:52RM gURLITYFEMCE&COMST 5019458173 P•2 Plan of QUALITY FEN E & CONSTRUCnON CD11i[PANY, INC. I`I 5010FAst wowway f Noith Little RocJ6 AR 72117 ptw4 j501) 945=5241 • Fax (501) 945-8173 GATE OPENERS ORNAMENTAL IRON - COMMERCP*L RESIDENTIAL 7