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Design Review Board approves new single-story house at 0 Texas Avenue with conditions
Summary
The Downtown Design Review Board approved a one-story primary residence at 0 Texas Avenue, requiring final site plans to meet city engineering standards, a front walkway, and front/rear tree plantings; board asked that the ADA ramp be integrated into the porch design.
The Downtown Design Review Board on Jan. 15 approved a certificate of appropriateness for a new one-story primary residence fronting Texas Avenue, subject to staff conditions that the final site plan meet city engineering standards, include a walkway to the street, and provide a tree in the front and rear yards.
Lindsay Illinois, Knoxville Knox County Planning, described the project as a one-story house with a front-gable roof, vinyl lap siding, a block foundation clad in stucco, a 6-foot-8-inch front porch recessed under a shed roof and a rear concrete parking pad accessed from a 12-foot driveway on Texas Avenue. Illinois noted the block lacks a strong historic context, so the porch depth was acceptable even though guidelines typically recommend an 8-foot porch; she added that final site-plan revisions related to a nearby stream buffer could be approved by staff.
The applicant, Innocent Rodasenga, confirmed an ADA-accessible zero-entry ramp at the front of the house and deferred technical questions to contractor Conrad Gobindra, who was also present. Rick Blackburn, Historic Zoning Commission, asked that the ramp be integrated with porch materials and railings rather than appear as an additive element; Blackburn said making the ramp "as low profile as that can be, and somehow be integrated with the front porch" would improve the project. Josh Wright, Urban Design representative, moved to approve the application per staff recommendations including the ramp-material integration comment; Laura Lynn, downtown resident representative, seconded. The motion carried.
Board member Josh Wright also recommended preserving an existing large tree on the wooded lot in lieu of adding a new sapling; the board noted that retaining mature trees can be an asset to these older neighborhoods. Illinois reiterated that the plan submitted for permitting must reflect the board’s conditions and that minor revisions may be approved administratively.
The applicant can submit revised drawings for permitting reflecting the board’s conditions; staff said a 14-day appeal period follows the board approval.
