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Council remands Veil Nova townhome designs after members call elevations repetitive and lacking porches
Summary
Council remanded Shea Homes' Veil Nova townhome design back to staff after members said the proposed elevations lacked the front-porch character shown in the neighborhood's design guidelines and risked producing a repetitive streetscape given narrow lot sizes.
Council members raised concerns about the architectural quality of a Shea Homes townhome product proposed for the Veil Nova development, saying the submitted elevations did not reflect the front-porch character highlighted in the community’s design guidelines. One council member said, “All the examples had a front porch. None of these have a front porch,” and urged staff to return to the developer for design alternatives.
Planning staff and a Shea Homes representative said the product includes four floor plans, six elevation types and 15 color/material palettes and that the design-review committee reviewed and signed off on the elevations. The developer’s representative said the plans were revised per the design-review committee’s direction and that different plan/elevation combinations would produce varied streetscapes.
Councilmembers pressed staff and the applicant on lot-size constraints and how those restrictions limited porch depth and façade relief. Citing the potential for repetitive facades along narrow setbacks, the council voted to remand the application to staff to work with the developer on additional alternatives and to report back to council.
The council’s remand does not deny the application but asks staff to pursue design adjustments and return with options that better match the Veil Nova design guidelines and neighborhood context.
