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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report, With Minutes and Graphics As They Appeared in thhe Agends 05/11/2009�LITTLE ROCK G HISTORIC I DISTRICT COMMISSION DATE: May 11, 2009 DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT 723 West Markham Street Little Rock, Arkansas 72201-1334 Phone: (501) 371-4790 Fax: (501) 399-3435 STAFF REPORT ITEM NO. One. APPLICANT: Page Wilson, Paul Page Dwellings ADDRESS: Northwest Corner of 15th and Rock Street COA Single Story house on 15th Street REQUEST: PROJECT BACKGROUND AND DESCRIPTION: The subject property is located at 1422 South Rock Street. The property's legal description is Lot 7 of Block 49 of the Original City of Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas. This is a vacant lot. This application is for a request to amend the existing COA for the new infill construction of one single -story detached home and one two-story detached home with development of lots 8 and 9 to � � yam.. •.� ,� - 4Aw a _ F _ _ be reviewed at a later time. The single -story home Location of Project is located on the west portion of the lot at the alley and the two-story home is on the eastern portion of the lot at the street corner. This application will review the single -story home first and then the two-story home. Since the 2006 review of this site, there has been construction activity in the neighborhood. In June 2006, permits were issued for two duplex structures at 1517 and 1521 Cumberland Street. In July 2006, a permit was issued for a single-family residence at 1520 Rock Street. In September 2006, a permit was issued for a single- family residence at 1518 Rock Street. In February 2007, three permits were issued for single-family homes at 301, 305, and 309 East 15th Street. This application will be required to go to the Planning Commission and the Board of Directors for a Revocation of a PD-R for the three lots with a five-plex and creation of a one lot PD-R for platting of the lots into two lots, both 50' x 70'. This platting will divide the lot into two and prescribe setbacks on the lots. The PD-R will not review exterior finishes, scale, mass, roof pitch, etc. PREVIOUS ACTIONS ON THIS SITE: On November 13, 2006, a COA was approved for Page Wilson of Paul Page Dwellings for a five-plex multifamily unit on lots 7, 8, and 9 of this block. That project also included a zoning change to Planned Development - Residential (PD-R) that was approved by the Board of Directors on November 28, 2006. On January 7, 2000, a COA was approved and issued to Raymond Rogers for demolition of a four-plex structure that was severely damaged by the 1999 tornado. Several other structures in the 1300-1500 blocks of Rock Street were demolished around that time because of severe damage by the 1999 tornado. PROPOSAL: The applicant has proposed building two houses on the southernmost lot and split the lot into two building lots. These three lots ca. 1900 had a brick Craftsman two-story four-plex at 1422 and the Warner House at 1414 Rock Street that was a Queen Anne two-story house with wood siding. There was a building in the rear of the lots that is not pictured in the 1978 survey. The use is unknown but it appears that it was garages. The building straddled the property lines. The site of the application is shown in the center of the graphics below. +, 00 i �iRreeurN �pt�tNreLf�" E3 nod ENEl 3. M �irreeun,I � � .,txn6eerK g _ W � o N l ❑ UJ ITSONBATES— o� M o L �.I L� 5 EI e LJ 0-0 OTH Building footprints from 1978 Survey Current building footprints from GIS The south side of this block of 15th Street had five houses that faced the street in the 1978 survey, all on the south side of the street. All five have been removed but the western three have been replaced with different single-family structures. To the east on 2 l 15th, more houses face the street instead of the north -south streets. To have houses that face 15th is appropriate for the neighborhood. Alternatively, if you look at the houses and carriage houses in the neighborhood, it is typical to have the main house in a rectangular solid facing the named streets (Rock, Cumberland, etc) with a square carriage house of one or two stories in the back. See the above graphic "Current building footprints from GIS" that illustrates the point. In this proposal, the square structure is on the street corner while the rectangular structure is at the back of the lot. This is opposite of the traditional pattern. F� Site plan for the two houses A 14 - _ ;r — SOUTH ELEVATIONS ,;C,jE n V is L.„ . ..J Elevations of both of the houses 3 SINGLE STORY HOME: ' PROPOSAL: The first portion of thi on the western portion of the,I the h eet and will covered parking. pplication is for a single -story house to be built northwest corner of 15th and Rock Street. The be a two -bedroom two -bath structure without WRITTEN ANALYSIS OF THE APPLICATION BASED OFF OF INTENT AND GUIDELINES: The Guidelines state on page 63: "New construction of primary and secondary buildings should maintain, not disrupt, the existing pattern of surrounding historic buildings in the neighborhood. Although they should blend with adjacent buildings, they should not be too imitative of historic styles so that they may be distinguished from historic buildings. (Note: A new building becomes too imitative through application of historic architectural decoration, such as gingerbread, vergeboards, dentils, fish -scale shingles, etc. These kinds of details are rarely successful on a new building. They fail to be accurate, usually too small and disproportionate versions of authentic ones, and should be avoided.) "New construction of secondary structures, such as garages or other outbuildings, should be smaller in scale than the primary building; should be simple in design but reflect the general character of the primary building; should be located as traditional for the neighborhood (near the alley instead of close to or attached to the primary structure); and should be compatible in design, form, materials, and roof shape. "1. Building Orientation: The fagade of the new building should be aligned with the established setbacks of the area. Side and rear setbacks common to the neighborhood J- should be upheld. " The footprint of approximately 48 x 20 feet is similar to other primary structures in the area. There are two bays on the north side of the building. "2. Building Mass and Scale: New buildings should appear similar in mass and scale with historic structures (� in the area. This includes height and width." V The front of the house will face 15th Street. The house is proposed to sit 15' off the alley way as required by code. The front yard setback will be 15' also, the minimum required by code. The height of the proposed building is approximately 25 feet, which is 0 less than the buildings to the immediate west and southwest. Setbacks vary in the district, but overall, the scale and the setbacks of the building are compatible with the other smaller residences in the district. "I Building Form Basic building forms and roof shapes, including pitch, which match those used historically in the area should be used. Location and proportions of entrances, windows, divisional bays, and porches are important. Also consider heights (foundation, floor -to -ceiling, porch height and depth.)" The house, as described by the applicant, is a "Neotrot" (a new rendition of a dog trot.) The house is basically a rectangular solid parallel to the street with two bay extensions to the rear of the structure. The bedrooms are to each end of the structure with the public areas to the center. The center bay of the structure will be slightly recessed. The recessed area is not a porch. The stoop for the structure is shown approximately four feet wide. East Facade WEST ELEVATION West Facade Roof: The 8/12-pitched roof is compatible with the surrounding structures. The extension of the roof plane in the rear over the utility room and back porch bays is not typical of homes in the area. These bays will be on the interior of the lot and would normally be marginally visible from the street if the lots to the north were developed. Windows: The outer windows shown on the south elevation are pairs of windows are appropriate for the district. The center windows facing 15th Street are not typical for this area. The window(s) have nine panes and are floor to ceiling windows. Historic homes 5 in the area and new homes that do not disrupt the pattern of the neighborhood have more than one window per side of the structure. The side elevations of the house (east and west) have windows in the bathrooms only. This broad expanse of siding without windows is not typical for the area. The west elevation will be quite visible from 15th Street via the alley. Foundation: The new building will have a raised foundation; it will be 18" above grade COAat the highest corner of the lot. This will result in an 18-24" height at the front door or approximately three steps. The floor to ceiling height and the foundation level appears to be compatible with the district. 00A "4. Building Materials Building materials that are similar to those used historically for major surfaces in the area should be used. Materials for roofs should be similar in appearance to those used historically. New materials may be used if their appearances are similar to those of the historic building materials. Examples of acceptable new building materials are cement fiber board, which has the crisp dimensions of wood and can be painted, and standing seam metal roofs, preferably finished with a red or dark color. Finishes similar to others in the district should be used. If brick, closely match mortar and brick colors. If frame, match lap dimensions with wood or composite materials, not vinyl or aluminum siding. Details and textures should be similar to those in the neighborhood (trim around doors, windows and eaves; watercourses; corner boards; eave depths, etc.)" Siding: The horizontal siding of cypress shiplap siding will have a 6 1/4" reveal. There will be trim around the around the windows, doors, eaves, and corner boards which is typical. The cypress siding will not be stained, it will be allowed to weather to a natural grey color. Roof: The roof is proposed to be "galvalume." This is a corrugated ribbed metal roof with zinc coating similar to the old style tin roofs. While n the roofing material may have been used on secondary structures in the area, it is not compatible with the district for a primary structure. Photo of Galvalume roof. Windows: The windows in the house will be either Kolbe or Windsor windows, a wood VAwindow with a cladding of either vinyl or metal. The color of the cladding Pnd the material has not been specified. q GS- c��Ct u t VLF cep ' ,? Foundation: The materials of the foundation or underpinning have not been submitted to the Staff. Landscape: The sidewalk shown is on the street side of the property line, at the location typical for this neighborhood. This is shown on the "Site Plan" graphic on page three. Street trees are shown as well as other trees and shrubs on the property. The r parking areas will be to the rear and side of the house accessed off the alley. The I parking pad will be gravel with a wood boarder. There will be no covered parking, only the pad. The fencing will be approximately four feet high with some additional height to accommodate the slope of the ground. The fence is to be located originally on the Elevation of proposed fence property line only between the two lots. Gravel parking pad VC TWO STORY HOME: PROPOSAL: The second portion of this application is for a two-story house to be built on the eastern portion of the lot at the northwest corner of 15th and Rock Street. The house will face 15th Street and will be a three -bedroom two and one -half -bath structure without covered parking. WRITTEN ANALYSIS OF THE APPLICATION BASED OFF OF INTENT AND GUIDELINES: The Guidelines state on page 63: "New construction of primary and secondary buildings should maintain, not disrupt, the existing pattern of surrounding historic buildings in the neighborhood. Although they should blend with adjacent buildings, they should not be too imitative of historic styles so that they may be distinguished 7 0 from historic buildings. (Note: A new building becomes too imitative through application of historic architectural decoration, such as gingerbread, vergeboards, dentils, fish -scale shingles, etc. These kinds of details are rarely successful on a new building. They fail to be accurate, usually too small and disproportionate versions of authentic ones, and should be avoided.) "New construction of secondary structures, such as garages or other outbuildings, should be smaller in scale than the primary building; should be simple in design but reflect the general character of the primary building; should be located as traditional for the neighborhood (near the alley instead of close to or attached to the primary structure); and should be compatible in design, form, materials, and roof shape. 111. Building Orientation: The facade of the new building should be aligned with the established setbacks of the area. Side and rear setbacks common to the neighborhood should be upheld." The footprint of approximately 38 x 38 feet is similar to other primary structures in the area. The house features an inset porch on the southeast corner. Historically, houses faced the 1400 block of Rock Street, not the side streets. The lots were originally platted so that the front of the houses would face Rock. With this house being square, it would be ossible to turn the house with the front It door facing Rock. An alternative would !, be to not turn the house, but run the sidewalk to Rock Street and have an address off Rock Street. 1422 Rock Street from the 1978 survey "2. Building Mass and Scale: New buildings should appear similar in mass and scale with historic structures in the area. This includes height and width." The front of the house will face 15th Street. The house is proposed to sit 15' off both Rock and 15th Street property lines as required by code. The height of the proposed building is approximately 31 feet. With the bulk of the structure and the flat roof, the building's mass may appear larger than the surrounding structures. "3. Building Form Basic building forms and roof shapes, including pitch, which match those used historically in the area should be used. Location and proportions of entrances, windows, divisional bays, and porches are important. Also consider heights (foundation, floor -to -ceiling, porch height and depth.)" The house, as described by the applicant, is a modern interpretation of a "Four Square." The house is a square cube with a flat roof with a corner -recessed porch on the corner facing the intersection of the streets with the door facing 15th Street. It features three bedrooms and two baths on the top floor and public living areas with a half bath on the bottom floor. The applicant describes this house as a "modern four -square home." I JLII V{I- I -V--- I­11 A f NCAT}I EUVAMON North (rear) Facade Rock Street East Facade 711 WEST 9"AMN West Facade Roof: The flat roof is not compatible with the surrounding structures. There are structures with flat roofs as indicated by the letter "F" in the graphic below. However, these structures are multi -family structures, offices, or renovated school buildings that are now multifamily. These flat roof structures are not single-family homes. The W" notation is for the mansard roof of the Villa Marre. 9 �,� 0,4rp;IJ � wak Windows: The windows shown on the elevation of this building are not compatible with the district. The 15th Street (front) fagade of this house features a recessed R corner porch on the southeast corner with a two-story window to the left. A horizontal window is located on the second floor above the porch. The Rock Street (east) fagade features the other view of the recessed porch, another horizontal window over the porch and vertically ganged windows with accent siding between the two to tie the windows together into one visual unit. 10 cA nhur Park 11S rla t7ist'm r_ t Locations of flat roof structures 4-�RT„, R rv, The north and west facades feature windows in an "L" formation with horizontal windows on the second floor and vertical windows on the first floor and in the stairway. See graphics of elevations above for window placement, size, and arrangement. Foundation: The new building will have a raised foundation; it will be 18" above grade at the highest corner. This will result in an 18-24" height at the front door or approximately three steps. The floor to ceiling height and the foundation height appears to be compatible with the district. "4. Building Materials Building materials that are similar to those used historically for major surfaces in the area should be used. Materials for roofs should be similar in appearance to those used historically. New materials may be used if their appearances are similar to those of the historic building materials. Examples of acceptable new building materials are cement fiber board, which has the crisp dimensions of wood and can be painted, and standing seam metal roofs, preferably finished with a red or dark color. Finishes similar to others in the district should be used. If brick, closely match mortar and brick colors. If frame, match lap dimensions with wood or composite materials, not vinyl or aluminum siding. Details and textures should be similar to those in the neighborhood (trim around doors, windows and eaves; watercourses; corner boards; eave depths, etc.)" Siding: The horizontal ribbed steel siding is described more fully at www.morincorp.com. The single Element Metal Panel Systems will be in Patina Green color, which is mossy green in nature. There will be trim around the around the V windows, doors, eaves, and corner boards out of metal which could emulate the trim 10 boards on wood sided structures. The use of metal for a primary siding material is not compatible with the area. 28 BR-28 -- 1 112" Profile of siding Roof: The roof is proposed to be flat with a white membrane covering. A small parapet wall will prevent view of the roof. ` The material used may be appropriate for the area for rear v porches and the like, but the flat roof is not appropriate. Windows: The windows in the house will be either Kolbe or Windsor windows, a wood window with a cladding of either vinyl or metal. The color of the cladding and the material has not been specified. Clad windows inn w homes can be appropriate to the area. _ 'h PL�,�evt- c� Ua" { [ 5 Foundation: No materials have been submitted to the Staff. Landscape: The sidewalk shown is on the street side of the property line, at the 667 location typical for this neighborhood. This is shown on page 3 in the graphic "Site Plan" Street trees are shown as well as other trees and shrubs on the property. The parking areas will be to the side of the house accessed off 15th Street. The parking pad will be gravel with a wood boarder. There will be no covered parking, only the pad. The fencing will be approximately four feet high with some additional height to accommodate the slope of the ground. The fence is to be located originally on the property line only between the two lots. See earlier graphics for fencing details on page 7. There is a "Garden" shown to the northwest of the structure enclosed by a fence. This fence is not part of the application. It will feature raised garden beds. Summary Analysis of both houses: The Guidelines state on page 63 that: New construction of primary and secondary buildings should maintain, not disrupt, the existing pattern of surrounding historic buildings in the neighborhood. Although they should blend with adjacent buildings, they should not be too imitative of historic styles so that they may be distinguished from historic buildings. Staff has serious concerns over the design of the two structures proposed. On the one story house, the roofing materials chosen and the windows (placement, quantity, and size) are not compatible with the neighborhood. On the two-story house, the flat roof, the metal siding, and windows (placement, quantity, and size) are not compatible with the district. With modifications, the structures could be such that they "maintain, not 11 disrupt, the existing pattern of surrounding historic buildings in the neighborhood." As submitted, Staff feels that they do not meet the Guidelines. NEIGHBORHOOD COMMENTS AND REACTION: At the time of distribution, there was one natural comment regarding this application with questions on what the application was concerning. No details of the project other than there were two houses were discussed. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Denial as filed. 12 April 19, 2009 PaulPageDwellings proposes to build two separate low-cost homes facing south on 15th Street, between Cumberland Street and Rock Street. These homes represent the ideas of sustainability and will take their style, scale and passive features from the past. PaulPageDwellings wants to be innovative, but restrained, so that the homes can be attainable to first time homeowners and urban pioneers. Using existing infrastructure. on a marked bike trail and public bus route linked to the award- winning MacArthur Park Master plan "Connections a Vision For a City in a Park" and the SoMa Neighborhood Design Plan. we will continue to create a livable: traditional neighborhood. 'T'hese sustainable. economically viable homes w11I continue to build on the neighborhoods diversity and inclusive desires of those living nearby. We want to collaborate to build a walkable neighborhood. The first dwelling, the Neotrot brings back to life a former dogtrot once located at the corner of Daisy Batas mud Rock Street. Ilse Neotroi has two -bedrooms, with adjoining baths placed at either side of a center gathering room (dogtrot), kitchen, dining table. stating area are in this space. The pens are the bedrooms suites. The dwelling faces due south, to optimize solar gain in the winter and shade in the summer. The exterior display will be eight -inch shiplap cypress board, cut and milled locally. The roof Aill be m-core galvaiumc, a cool roof material that has a silver color to reflect and emit sunlight. There will be no standard fireplace, only a pellet stove, irdesired by homeowner. The windows will b: Windsor or Kolbe style, energy -efficient; both have exterior cladding, which will be operable for natural cross -ventilation. A whole house attic fan will be employed to assist in cooling. The outside areas will have wooden, horizontal fencing, the parking pads w9l consist of porous gravel, the grass, Bermuda (low watering) and the additional landscape will stress drought tolerant trees and plants. There will be areas to collect rainwater runoff from roofs and areas to grow food in raised garden beds. The first dwelling, along with the second home would meet many of the criteria for LEED Home and LEED for neighborhood development. Points would most likely be awarded for the connections and community site, the existing infrastructure, size of homes, lack of garages, cool roofs and water -efficient fixtures and landscape and numerous other home features. These two urban designs are developed with nature and culture in mind. The second dwelling, on the corner of I P Street, is interpreted as a modem Four -Square home. The 4-sq. dwelling faces south too.. The two-story has a kitchen and gathering Wee on the first noor. The second floor includes three -bedrooms and two bathrooms. Windsor or Kolbe windows that open for cross -ventilation, as well as a direct solar vent for the attic space, will act to cool the sleeping areas. PaulPageDwellings will not mimic the hip roof of the past, but instead use a flat -white membrane roof to reflect heat, cool the city and use its gradient behind a parapet wall to collect rainwater in the future. The exterior display would be a metal product turned horizontally, for low maintenance. Cover letter from applicant 13 durability and sustainabi I ity, much like the cypress board would perform aver its Iifecycle. The Four-Squarehouse usually had a porch and our 4-sg. Porch is located on the southeast corner. Interiors would be simple, just like the past. The fencing and outdoors again would be similar to the Neotrot, wooden and horizontal fences at a friendly height to neighbors and. pedestrians. Drought resistant grasses and planting would makeup the landscape. The driveway would be porous gravel pads. liaised garden beds and rainwater collection will be available and the southern exposure will also allow for f rb= renewable energy sources. The hoped for goal is to create a passive, sustainable dwelling far urb u3 pioneers ai at take advantage of its location to make possible the beliefs of a walkable neighborhood. Sincerely, LEER AP PaulPageDwellings w Qis ��-- Encl: photos, internet articles, physical samples Cover letter from applicant continued 14