The Design Review Board on Sept. 24 approved architectural review for a new single-family house and a two-car garage at 172 Caroline Street with conditions specifying siding materials and the garage location.

Applicant representative Bob Flansberg of Dreamscapes Unlimited presented revised drawings showing a 10-foot first-floor plate, refined fenestration, a double front door, and a relocated garage footprint. The applicant said the submitted design reduced problematic elements raised at the workshop: window alignments were corrected, decorative brackets reduced in scale, and the detached garage that had been proposed was relocated onto Lot 1 so a historic garage could be saved and moved to a neighboring lot by a garage-moving contractor.

Board discussion focused on the garage and alley character. Board members praised the house design and materials (fiber-cement siding proposed, aluminum-clad windows, architectural shingles), but several members said the proposed breezeway visually read as an attached garage; because an attached garage is subject to a larger rear setback the board required the garage to be positioned to maintain alley character and allow room for a vehicle to park off the alley. The board directed the garage be located 18 feet from the rear/edge-of-pavement (alley) position that would provide adequate space for parking off the alley and to avoid private vehicles stopping in the public right-of-way. The board also required that no connector (breezeway) be built between the house and the garage so the garage reads as detached.

The board approved the project with conditions: (1) smooth cement-board siding (no wood grain finish) to be used; (2) the garage to be located 18 feet from the rear property edge/edge of pavement (siting to be coordinated administratively) and no connector to the main house; and (3) the applicant to provide updated site-plan/material details administratively. The motion passed unanimously.

Why it matters: The decision balances saving a historic garage (relocating it to the adjacent lot), approving new infill construction in a residential area, and preserving alley character by requiring a detached garage sited to allow off-alley parking.