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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHDC2016-029 Staff Report Item No. B. 1005 McMath Ave. 12/12/2016DEPARTMENT 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. B. DATE: December 12, 2016 APPLICANT: Page Wilson, Paul Page Dwellings, LLC ADDRESS: 9005 McMath Ave. COA REQUEST: ill -House-' PROJECT BACKGROUND AND DESCRIPTION: The subject property is located at 1001-1007 McMath Avenue. The property's legal description is "Lot 10, 11, and 12, Block 5, Masonic addition to the City of Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas." This site that is under consideration for the two row houses has been vacant since before 1978. 1005 McMath will be reviewed in this item, 1003 is a separate item. This project will be required to be reviewed by the Planning Commission and the Board of Directors to revise the PCD. This will occur after the HDC has finished their review. PREVIOUS ACTIONS ON THIS SITE: No previous actions were on this site were located with a search of the files. The Sanborn maps below show two previous structures have been on this site. In the 1897 Sanborn, there was a small dwelling at the corner of 10th and McAlmont (later renamed McMath). It was a one story frame dwelling with a composition roof and two outbuildings. On the 1913, 1939 and 1939-1950 Sanborn maps, the property is shown with a large two story frame dwelling with a slate or metal roof. Note that these are fire insurance maps and the issue was fire safety and slate or metal was categorized as the same in fire retardants standards. A large wrap around porch faced the street corner and had a metal or slate roof also. A one story addition on the rear had a composition roof as did the "Auto House" in the rear that fronted on the alley. Page 27 of 63 Sometime after the 1950 map, the home was demolished and was still shown as vacant in the 1978 survey. It has been vacant since. 0I F L o f � J Q U' : z 3 +- - o 0 U. � FE f y s 1897 Sanborn Map (site is on upper left) UP i ti 5 a r: WEST 'rovosed elevations e 1, f h 1913. 1939 and 1939-1950 Sanborn maps NORTH EAST SOUTH 71 1001 McMath PROPOSAL AND WRITTEN ANALYSIS OF THE APPLICATION BASED OFF OF INTENT AND GUIDELINES: This proposal is to add two "Row Homes" at 1003 and 1005 McMath. This staff report will address 1005 McMath. 1003 McMath is a separate item on this agenda. The "Row House" is three stories tall with a gable front roof with stained oak horizontal siding on the front fagade Page 28 of 63 with a front loading single car garage. The entry to the house is a side entry near the rear of the house. Authority of the Little Rock Historic District Commission is authorized by the following: Text of the Arkansas state statute: 14-172-208. Certificate of appropriateness required - Definition. (a)(1) No building or structure, including stone walls, fences, light fixtures, steps, and paving or other appurtenant fixtures, shall be erected, altered, restored, moved, or demolished within an historic district until after an application for a certificate of appropriateness as to exterior architectural features has been submitted to and approved by the historic district commission. The municipality or county shall require a certificate of appropriateness to be issued by the commission prior to the issuance of a building permit or other permit granted for purposes of constructing or altering structures. A certificate of appropriateness shall be required whether or not a building permit is required. (2) For purposes of this subchapter, "exterior architectural features" shall include the architectural style, general design, and general arrangement of the exterior of a structure, including the kind and texture of the building material and the type and style of all windows, doors, light fixtures, signs, and other appurtenant fixtures. (b) The style, material, size, and location of outdoor advertising signs and bill posters within an historic district shall also be under the control of the commission. The city ordinance states in Sec 23-115. — Certificate of appropriateness required. Sec. 23-115. Certificate of appropriateness required. No building or structure, including stone walls, fences, light fixtures, steps and paving or other appurtenant fixtures shall be erected, altered, restored, moved, or demolished within the historic district created by this division until after an application for a certificate of appropriateness as to the exterior architectural changes has been submitted to and approved by the historic district commission. A certificate of appropriateness shall have been issued by the commission prior to the issuance of a building permit or other permit granted for purposes of constructing or altering structures. Sec. 23-119. Prohibited considerations. In its deliberations under this article, the commission shall not consider interior arrangement or use and shall take no action hereunder except for the purpose of preventing the construction, reconstruction, alteration, restoration, moving or demolition of buildings, structures or appurtenant fixtures, in the district, which are deemed by the commission to be obviously incongruous with the historic aspects of the district. The Little Rock City ordinance further states what criteria that new construction shall be reviewed: Sec 23-120. — General Criteria Page 29 of 63 (f) Generally, new construction shall be judged on its ability to blend with the existing neighborhood and area of influence. The commission shall consider, but not be limited to the factors listed for alterations in paragraph [subsection] (d). (d) When evaluating the general compatibility of alterations to the exterior of any building in the historic district, the commission shall consider, but not be limited to, the following factors within the building's area of influence: (1) Siting. (2) Height. (3) Proportion. (4) Rhythm. (5) Roof area. (6) Entrance area. (7) Wall areas. (8) Detailing. (9) Facade. (10) Scale. (11) Massing. The guidelines state on page 53 under Section V. Design Guidelines for Alterations and Additions and Detached New Construction: B. NEW CONSTRUCTION OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY BUILDINGS 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 should be upheld. 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. 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 Page 30 of 63 (foundation, floor -to -ceiling, porch height and depth.) 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.) The MacArthur Park Historic District Guidelines for Rehabilitation and New Construction are in keeping with the criteria set forth in the state statute and city ordinance as to what can be reviewed in an application for a Certificate of Appropriateness for new construction. The statute and ordinance require the Commission to evaluate new construction based on the following criteria: • Architectural style • General design • General arrangement of the exterior of a structure, including the kind and texture of the building material and the type and style of all windows, doors, light fixtures, signs, and other appurtenant fixtures • Siting • Height • Proportion • Rhythm • Roof area • Entrance area • Wall areas • Detailing • Facade • Scale • Massing ARCHITECTURAL STYLE The architectural style of the building is contemporary. Page 31 of 63 Elet GENERAL DESIGN. It is a three story single family residence with a gable end roof. The front fagade (west) is dominated by a garage door on the first floor and a large fixed window on the second and third floor. Windows on the other three facades are scattered with various sizes and shapes. The first floor is masonry; king size brick. The remainder of the front facade and the south facades are stained white oak laid horizontally. The remainders of the north and east facades are proposed to be corrugated CorTen steel wall panels. CorTen steel has a naturally oxidizing finish. Weathering steel is a group of steel alloys developed to obviate the need for painting and form a stable rust -like appearance if exposed to the weather for several years. The south facing slope of the roof is proposed to have solar panels. The roof is proposed to have standing seam CorTen steel panels. GENERAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE EXTERIOR OF A STRUCTURE, INCLUDING THE KIND AND TEXTURE OF THE BUILDING MATERIAL AND THE TYPE AND STYLE OF ALL WINDOWS, DOORS, LIGHT FIXTURES, SIGNS, AND OTHER I APPURTENANT FIXTURES See below for the descriptions of the remainder of the items. Wall light fixtures are a Progress cylinder light fixture model 5675- 20/30k antique bronze LED. These are proposed on each side of the garage door and by the entry door. The light is 14" tall and 5" in diameter. SITING The house will sit 10'-0" to the south of 1001 McMath, the mixed use building. It will sit 8'-0" north of 1005. The front setback will be aligned with the existing 1001 McMath. This setback relates to 1001 McMath and does not relate to 1007 McMath. With this house, 1005, sitting much closer to the street than 1007 McMath, the south side of the structure will be much more visible from the street. Large expanses of wall with little or no windows do not blend with the district. Proposed Light Fixture HEIGHT According to plans, the house is 37'-4" plus 1'-4" (foundation) for a total of 38'-8" tall. The height of 1001 per the plans is 35'-2". The law school dorms on McAlmont Street are between 32'-4' and 37'-0" depending on which parapet is measured. The yellow house is the shortest of them all at between 30 and 31 feet tall. This would be the tallest structure in the area of significance. Page 32 of 63 PROPORTION The proportion of this structure reads as very tall and skinny. This is a ratio of 1 wide to 2.41 tall. This is not a typical proportion for single family houses in the district. RHYTHM The west side of the structure does have a rhythm, in the fact that there is one opening per floor and they are centered in the wall. The other facades do not have a discernable rhythm. ROOF AREA. The house features a gable roof with a 9/12 pitch. The roof will be CorTen #ss675 standing seam roof, 16" wide and 22 gauge metal. There will be a fixed vented ridgecap 7" on each slope. Some historic houses originally had metal roofs, some standing seam and some metal shingles. The CorTen steel roof will be a matte finish as the steel rusts and produces a medium to dark brown color. The roof shape and material is appropriate to the district. Roof (J 3T 4'— ,t�f STAINED WHITE OAK" TIO stud as-e• a-- 1C yµ J d • BRK MLT J-TRIM rptEp 0 OR EOUIV, TYP WINENDW THROUGHOUT Level 3 � y 21'-4' Y F�14�0 WINDOW Level 2 m-o• KING BRICK Level i- J O� _ On T�- � NTYERNE�P�EL ! DOOR GRADE a West elevation of building SS675 Standing Seam WITHOUT Battens of Standing Seam roof Page 33 of 63 d Solar Panels The solar panels are to be located on the south side of roof. They are made by Sunmodule Plus SW280 Mondo Black. They are 8 kilowatt each and measure 66"x37" each. The proposal is to place 20 panels on the south facing slope of the roof for an area of 30'x12'. The location is for maximum efficiency, but they will be visible from the street. ENTRANCE AREA The entry door to the house is at the rear of the structure, not prominently displayed. This is non -typical for single family houses in the district. The dominance of the garage on the front fagade is also very non- typical for the district. Staff surveyed the district and did not find any front loading garages on single family houses. The visitor entry to the house is at the rear of the structure with few visual clues as to the location of the entry door. The entry door will feature a raised wood deck with 2x6 wood decking. This will be approximately flush with the threshold of the door. There will be no handrails or railings. There will be a small canopy over the door of CorTen standing seam roofing. lgdk qa � tt t- WALL AREAS This house features CorTen corrugated steel siding or stained white oak. White Oak is on the west and south facades and the CorTen is on the north and east facades. Sketch of entry area King size brick (oversize) is on the first floor with CMU foundation. The foundation is in CMU block for a maximum height of 2'-0". CMU block is short for Common Masonry Unit. These will be 8'x8'x16' smooth gray concrete blocks. The brick is a king size brick made by Boral, the Liberty Collection- Henderson with dimensions 9 5/8" x 2 3/" x 3". This is a larger size brick. This is a wire cut commercial brick. The CorTen siding is a A606-4 Western Stated/Bridger Weathering Steel, installed in a vertical orientation. It is a 22 gauge CorTen steel 7/8" corrugated in 37' wide ' panels. The spacing of the corrugations is 2 2/3" wide. The south side fagade will be sheathed in stained white oak siding with a bevel top and bottom installed flush with no overlap. It will be laid horizontally. The boards are approximately a 1" x 5". -- - 37'Out to Out -- - 327 Net Coverage (Roof Only) The garage door is a Masonite door, steel flush door in Corrugate 24 gauge steel and is insulated. It measures 7' tall by 12'. This is a single garage door with no raised panels or windows. 34%' Net Coverage (Wall Only) CorTen steel The entry door is a 36" x 80" Masonite Sta-Tru HD flush steel door with no glass. Page 34 of 63 N ,. _,.. .......,.-...._ _ f.- � Proposed garage door (door only, not surround or door The side and rear facades feature two horizontal slit windows, twelve square windows, and two vertical windows, one which is ganged with a casement window under a fixed window. The ratio of solid wall to windows is atypical with so little of the walls being dedicated to windows. The windows are Anderson 100 series Awning and Casement windows in Bronze. The windows are made of Fibrex — a blend of 40 percent wood fiber by weight and 60 percent thermoplastic polymer by weight. The letter of August 14th states they will be casement and awning windows. The windows, according to the sketches, will not have interior muntins. DETAILING The detailing on this structure will be minimal with the trim around the doors and windows will be J-trim with 1 W face. The corner trim will be 3 3/8" wide trim. FACADE The front fagade features a single garage door on the first floor with two fixed large widows on the second and third floor. The front (west) fagade will be sheathed in stained white oak siding with a bevel top and bottom installed flush with no overlap. It will be laid horizontally. The boards are approximately a 1" x 5". SCALE This proposed structure is unique to the district with a ratio of 1:2.41 width to height. This is not a typical width to height. Historic houses in the district are wider than this one at 16'. In the photos below, 923 McMath has a width to height of 1.5:1, 718 E 10th is more horizontal with a ratio of 1.74:1, 1007 McMath has a ratio of 1.3:1 and 712 E 11th has a ratio of 1.3:1. These numbers were generated from survey photos. All of these structures are wider than they are tall. Page 35 of 63 MASSING The massing of this building is taller in proportion than the rest of the buildings in the immediate area. The overall mass may be similar, but the overtly vertical nature of it does not blend with the neighborhood. If the two houses were joined by some architectural feature to emphasize the pedestrian visitor entry, the two houses might be read as one and the proportion of the width to height would be closer to a 1:1. SITE DESIGN Fencing is to be pine wood and 4"x4" utility wire, picture framed with pine and attached with galvalume screws. Driveways will be 12 feet wide in concrete with apron flares at the street. The walk to entry door appears to be large concrete paver stones in concrete based on the site plan. No detail has been given. This house does not blend with the area of influence nor does it blend with the district as a whole in the design factors of Siting, Height, Proportion, Rhythm, Entrance area, Wall areas, Scale, and Massing. The placement of the house on the lot should relate more to the historic house at 1001 McMath. This would be the tallest structure within the area of influence. Page 36 of 63 The overall proportions do not blend with the district and the rhythm of the exterior walls is undiscernible. The overall ratio of wall area to window area is inappropriate with too few windows or the windows being too small. The scale and massing are also atypical to the neighborhood. NEIGHBORHOOD COMMENTS AND REACTION: At the time of distribution, there were no comments regarding this application. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Denial COMMISSION ACTION: September 12 2016 See discussion of 1003 McMath for general comments on this item. A motion was made to defer both items at 1003 and 1005 McMath till October 10, 2016 for further information by Vice Chair Russell. The motion passed with a vote of 4 ayes, 1 absent (Holder) and 2 open positions. STAFF UPDATE: October 10 2016 On September 19, 2016 Staff received an additional drawing of an entry feature. It will span the area between the two buildings and function as a gate to the entry area. It will be made of horizontal white oak boards and have a 'roof' overhang. See the end of the report for more detailed drawings. Vie, The national register historic district and local ordinance historic district is named "MacArthur Park". The district was drawn to surround the park on all four sides and take in residential and commercial areas on all four sides of the park. This site is an important site in the district as it fronts onto MacArthur Park and is within view of National Historic Landmark Individually Listed Arsenal building. Page 37 of 63 The contributing structures on the street are the Law School at 1201 McMath (originally the UAMS Medical School), the house at 1007 McMath and the house at 923 McMath. In Arkansas, the out buildings are also shown as contributing as an accessory structure to the principal structure. They are not contributing in their own right. Staff inventoried the neighborhood for single family houses with garage doors on the front fagade of the house - there are none. There are seven detached garages with garage doors facing the street in the district. These structures are in the rear of properties where carriage houses were originally sited. The ones that were mentioned in the presentation, The Lincoln House at 301 E 7th Street, 624 S Rock Street, 1023 Cumberland and 1003 S Scott Street were built as residential with a carriage house in the rear of the structure. All of these are on corner lots with the garage doors facing the other street. The Lincoln House (paf3oramic photo) The Lincoln House, an Italianate structure is shown above with the front fagade facing 7th Street and the detached garage facing Cumberland Street. The detached garage is to the left in the photo behind the tree. Page 38 of 63 624 S Rock is shown above with the front facade facing Rock Street and the detached garage facing 7th Street. The detached garage is to the right in the photo. The Bragg Apartments at 1003 S Scott is shown above. This building from is unique in the fact that the detached garage is located at the far back corner of the lot with the garage accessible from both street and two garage doors on two fagades. This does fit the pattern in the facade that the garage is smaller in footprint area, smaller in mass and is located on a corner lot. Page 39 of 63 1023 S Cumberland front facade 1023 S Cumberland side facade 1023 S Cumberland is shown above with the front facade facing Cumberland Street and the detached garage on the right in the photos facing 11th Street. These four houses with the accompanying detached garages were a common form at the time. A larger principal structure was located at the front of the lot and a smaller, in footprint, detached garage at the rear of the property was either one or two story. The two storied examples were often used for servants' quarters and later were used as apartments for rental income. This pattern of houses with detached garages is common in multiple historic districts in the city. This pattern is not dependent on whether an alley is present. On page 2 of this report, the Sanborn Maps show multiple accessory buildings along the alley way in the 1000 block of McMath. The detached garages were built as an accessory structures on the lot. An accessory structure is built on the same lot as the principal structure; serves the principal building; is subordinate in area, extent, or purpose. These four examples are perfect examples of accessory structures. North Elevation 1011 Scott Street detached I East Elevation 1011 Scott Street detached garage South Elevation 1011 Scott Street detached I West Elevation 1011 Scott Street detached garage Page 40 of 63 This structure is the detached garage at 1003 S Scott Street. This structure does have corrugated metal in a vertical orientation on the east and south side. This detached garage is to the rear of the lot on the east and on the property line on the south, has access from the both streets, and is an accessory structure. The metal siding is on the sides of the garage that is farthest away from the house and farthest from the streets. The street facing fagades, the north and west fagade with the garage doors has brick veneer that matches the brick of the house. The west fagade, a solid wall that is closest to the house, is all brick that matches the house. Parking of cars does occur in the front setback of some structures that were built as single family houses in the district and has for some time. This is rare and the only cases that Staff knows of are the houses on the 600 block of Ferry Street. There is not an alley to the rear of these lots so parking on the street or in the front yards are the only option. At least one house does not have off street parking. There are also some apartment buildings that only have on street parking. The single family row houses that are proposed to be built have only a garage door on the front of the units. The added entry feature as shown in the revised drawings may not be built until the second unit is finished as a builder would have to work around it. The entry feature's gate to the entry area is not very pronounced and will depend on the walkway from the public sidewalk to announce that this is the entrance to the two units. Staff inventoried the district and did not find any single family structures with front facing garages. The houses that have parking in the front yards do not have alley access. 1003 and 1005 McMath have alley access from the rear of the lots. The cover letter states that "This will be our final application in MacArthur Park Historic District for New Construction." If that is true, then the floor plans could be modified and the garage doors could be located to the rear of the structures. In the Site Design section of the guidelines, it states that "Accommodations for automobiles should be as unobtrusive to the historic neighborhood as possible." Accommodations for automobiles include garage doors. Placing garage doors on the front fagade of a structure does not make the unobtrusive, nor the automobile parked behind it. Residential parking should be as stated on page 61 of the Guidelines: "Parking areas and garages for houses should be located in the rear of the house, with entrance from an alley or from a side driveway. Parking should not be in the front yard. Original designs, materials, and placement of driveways should be preserved. If the driveway must lead from the street through a side yard to parking in the rear, brick or concrete tracks or narrow strips are recommended, with grass or ground cover filling the median. Side or rear driveways should be gravel or smooth concrete, not asphalt, aggregate, or brick." The four examples of detached garages are in keeping with the guidelines since they access the garage through a side yard and the garage is in the rear of the lot. The guidelines would suggest that the floor plan be modified so that the garage doors are on the rear of the structure with access from the already paved alley. In the Guidelines on page 55, it lists four principles to follow. They are listed on page 4 and 5 of this report. 1. Building Orientation: "The fagade of the new building should be aligned with the established setbacks of Page 41 of 63 the area. Side and rear setbacks common to the neighborhood should be upheld. " The form of 1001 McMath could be viewed as a corner commercial building with residential uses above which were common in Little Rock in the past. However, the other buildings in those blocks adhered to a residential setback which accentuated the commercial form on the corner. Originally there were three houses in the 1000 block of McMath as shown on the Sanborn maps that had similar front yard setbacks. 1007 McMath is the only one of the three houses which had uniform setbacks to survive. 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." In the last hearing, the applicant stated that 1001 McMath was actually 38'-2" tall, three feet taller than the application showed. The roof on 1001 slants to the east which diminishes the mass as the viewer looks east. The houses proposed at 1003 and 1005 have a constant ridgeline of 38'-8". These two houses will be built taller and the farther one is to the east, the more the height difference will be between the buildings. This would be the tallest structure in the area of significance. The guidelines state that "New buildings should appear similar in mass and scale with historic structures in the area. This includes height and width." These individual structures do not comply with this statement. The individual houses ratios are unusually tall to their width. If the entry feature is added, and is deemed to visually combine the structures into one, the overall height to width could be more in line with other structures in the district. 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 features a gable roof with a 9/12 pitch. Some historic houses originally had metal roofs, some standing seam and some metal shingles. The roof shape and material is appropriate to the district. The entrance area to each unit is to the rear of the structure. The entry feature that was proposed might serve as the entry to the two units with the contemporary porch, but the horizontal slats of wood do not differentiate the door versus the rest of the wall section. More detail will be needed to be provided to assure that this reads as a combined entry to the units. The windows in the units on three sides are random and lacking rhythm. In the photos of houses, there is a discernable rhythm in the window placement. There is also a commonality of window shapes that are rectangular in shape placed vertically on the facade. 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 Page 42 of 63 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.) The wall areas are to be either stained white oak, brick, or CorTen corrugated steel siding in a vertical orientation. Wood siding is a common material in the district. Corrugated metal siding on a wall surface is found on accessory buildings in the district. Half of 1005 and more than half of 1003 is proposed to be built out of a material that is found on accessory structures on a non - dominant fagade. The standing seam roof proposed was used on several historic structures in the district. The garage door and entry doors into the units are flush with no glass inserts and no raised panels. The detailing on this structure will be minimal with the trim around the doors and windows will be J-trim with 1 %" face. The corner trim will be 3 3/8" wide trim. This house does not blend with the area of influence nor does it blend with the district as a whole in the design factors of Siting, Height, Rhythm, Entrance area, and Wall areas. The added submittal of the entry feature may affect the Proportion, Scale, or Massing of the structure. The placement of the house on the lot should relate more to the historic house at 1001 McMath. This would be the tallest structure within the area of influence. The rhythm of the exterior walls on the east, north and south sides are undiscernible. The overall ratio of wall area to window area is inappropriate with too few windows or the windows being too small. The scale and massing are also atypical to the neighborhood. The ordinance states in Section 23-120 (f): "Generally, new construction shall be judged on its ability to blend with the existing neighborhood and area of influence." With the above listed concerns, the proposed structure is not appropriate for the district. NEIGHBORHOOD COMMENTS AND REACTION: At the time of distribution, there were no comments regarding this application. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Denial COMMISSION ACTION: October 10. 2016 See discussion of 1003 McMath for general comments on this item. Mr. Wilson stated he wanted to defer application to next meeting. Vice Chair Russell made a motion to defer both applications to the November 2016 hearing and Commissioner Kelley seconded. The motion passed with a vote of 5 ayes, 0 noes, and 2 open positions. STAFF UPDATE: November 14 2016 Staff received an email from Mr. William Page Wilson on October 14, 2016 asking for a deferral to the December 2016 agenda. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of the deferral to the December 12, 2016 agenda. Page 43 of 63 COMMISSION ACTION: November 14, 2016 The applicant requested a deferral to the November 2015 hearing via email on October 14, 2016. A motion was made to accept the deferral to the December 2016 hearing by Commissioner Ted Holder and was seconded by Commissioner Dick Kelley. The motion passed with a vote of 5 ayes, 0 noes and 2 open positions. STAFF UPDATE: December 12. 2016 Staff received an email from Mr. William Page Wilson on November 18, 2016 asking for a deferral to the January 2017 agenda. His email stated: We do not have time to update our plans for 1003-1005 McMath Ave. I would like to defer to January 2017. If we change the plan completely, I think we will request a withdrawal. Consider this as our deferral. We will inform staff should we decide to change plan entirely. Sincerely, Page STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of the deferral to the January 9, 2017 agenda unless the application is to change completely. If that is the case, Staff recommends withdrawal. COMMISSION ACTION: December 12 2016 The applicant, Page Wilson, approached the podium and stated that he wanted to withdraw his application at this time. Brian Minyard, Staff, asked him to verify if he was asking to withdraw both items. He replied yes. Commissioner Toni Johnson made a motion to waive the bylaws in reference to Section 7 Withdrawals to allow a withdrawal of two items without the request being submitted in writing more than five days in advance of the hearing. Vice Chair Russell seconded and the vote passed with a vote of 5 ayes, 0 noes, 1 open position and 1 recusal (Frederick). Commissioner Toni Johnson made a motion to withdraw the items at 1003 and 1005 McMath without prejudice. Vice Chair Russell seconded and the vote passed with a vote of 5 ayes, 0 noes, 1 open position and 1 recusal (Frederick). Page 44 of 63