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Revised concepts for Aldersgate Way civic building lean toward agrarian forms; staff seeks material, sign, and refuse details
Summary
Design team for a proposed fire/EMS station at 110 Aldersgate Way presented agrarian‑inspired sketch options after a Historic Zoning Commission deferral. Staff said the site sits within the preservation overlay and asked for clarification on materials (brick/stone), coloring, refuse enclosure access, and monument sign placement; commissioners asked the team to make the new building read as a distinct agrarian outbuilding rather than read as an extension of the nearby church.
The design team returned to the DRC with conceptual sketches for a civic building at 110 Aldersgate Way — the parcel that includes Franklin First United Methodist Church — following a deferral at the Historic Zoning Commission. The project was introduced as a fire/EMS station; staff emphasized the site’s location within the historic preservation overlay and that the building will be most visible from Mack Hatcher Parkway.
Staff told the committee that earlier feedback encouraged the design to reference agrarian outbuildings on the property (barns, the Daniel McMahon House) rather than replicate the church architecture. The submission included several schematic options that showed barn‑like forms, various massing studies, and a proposed monument sign at the cul‑de‑sac entrance; staff reminded the group that monument signs are not recommended by the design guidelines and noted dumpsters must include a separate pedestrian access gate per the zoning ordinance.
Commissioners offered constructive feedback: several preferred simpler, rural forms that step down in scale, suggested showing the building in context with the on‑site barns and McMahon House, and asked the applicant to translate conceptual sketches into accurate square footage and material choices (brick versus fiber cement siding). Applicant representatives said the church and county are supportive of the general direction but that trustee and congregation buy‑in remains relevant. No final determination was recorded; staff requested material palettes, refined massing that acknowledges agrarian context, and a reconsideration of the monument sign location and design.
