The Downtown Design Review Board on May 21 approved certificates of appropriateness for three new one‑story houses at 920, 924 and 928 Texas Avenue, with conditions requiring revised parking arrangements, accurate depiction of rear decks on submitted site plans, foundation parging or stucco, and a final reconfiguration of front porch columns on one of the houses.

Staff described the houses as 28 feet wide by 36 feet deep, set about 37.5 feet from the front lot line, each with an 8‑foot‑deep front porch and concrete parking pads accessed from Texas Avenue. Staff recommended revising parking to avoid front‑yard pads where possible, to use alleys when usable or provide a one‑lane driveway extending at least 20 feet behind the facade, and to provide accurate site plans and elevations for permitting.

Applicant Andrew Nugent said the alley behind the lots is not maintained and is not usable without substantial work, which is why parking pads were proposed in front. “That has never been maintained and there is no driveways or anything connected to it,” Nugent said. The board discussed that if an alley exists it is preferable to use it, but if it is unusable the driveways should be arranged to meet guideline expectations (one‑lane extending beyond 20 feet behind the facade).

Board members asked for minor design adjustments: staff requested that the foundation be parged or clad in stucco, that the final site plan include walkways from front porches to the street, and that the decks shown on the back of the houses be accurately depicted on resubmitted drawings. For 928 Texas Avenue board members later approved a motion to reconfigure the porch columns to omit two columns from the front elevation to improve spacing and proportion; the applicant agreed to resubmit elevations reflecting the change.

Motions to approve each house per staff recommendations carried, with the board adding the condition that the revised site and elevation drawings include the rear decks for staff approval, and, for the final house, that two front columns be omitted in the revised elevation. Staff said there is a 14‑day appeal period and that the applicant should submit final construction drawings and permitting documents that meet the conditions of approval.