Commission approves new house and ADU at 809 East State Street after design simplifications

The Boise City Historic Preservation Commission voted 5-0 to approve a certificate of appropriateness for DRH25-00261, a proposed new residence and garage with an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) at 809 East State Street.

Staff reported that at the August hearing the commission had asked the applicant to reduce height, simplify the ADU design and clarify tree mitigation. Richard, a Boise City historic preservation staff member, said the applicant reduced the primary residence height from 29 feet 10 inches to 26 feet 8 inches (a 3 foot 2 inch reduction), simplified ADU windows and garage detailing, and supplied an arborist's tree mitigation plan. Based on those changes, staff changed its recommendation from denial to approval.

Richard referenced Secretary of the Interior guidance when describing compatibility: "The secretary of interior standard number 9 states that new residences shall be differentiated from the old and shall be congruous with the massing size scale and architectural features to protect the historic integrity of the property and its environment." He said staff considered the use of integral light-colored brick for the chimney and porch posts to be sufficient differentiation from a historic craftsman bungalow.

The applicant, architect Tad Jones of 1324 Boydston Lane, McCall, told the commission the design changes included lowering the roof height by 3 feet 2 inches, reducing basement and main ceiling heights, lowering porch height, changing the roof pitch, reducing dormer pitches, moving the primary residence slightly to better match setbacks, and reducing lot coverage from 35.7% to 34.9%.

Jones described revisions to the ADU and landscape work: "We removed the 3 over 1 windows and replaced them with 1 over 1 windows at the ADU. We also changed the garage door to be a much more simple design..." He also described tree protection measures and said protected trees and replacement plantings are shown on the landscape plan.

Commissioner Cindy Bonta asked about construction impacts given the site's proximity to Roosevelt Market and Roosevelt Elementary. Jones said the area is "very high density" and that "there are regulations that the contractor is gonna have to follow for construction," and that the team had discussed placement of the ADU with neighbors to avoid conflicts with driveways and alley access.

Commissioner Otter moved to approve DRH25-00261; Commissioner Moore seconded. Roll call recorded Montoto, Otter, Parks, Sales and Moore voting in favor; the motion carried.

The commission approved the application as conditioned per the staff report. Work will proceed under the standard building and construction regulations and with tree protection measures to be detailed in construction documents.