LAWRENCE HISTORIC RESOURCES
ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW
STAFF REPORT
A. SUMMARY
DR-10-163-11 6 E 6th St; Roof Replacement; Certified Local Government Review and
Downtown Urban Conservation Overlay District Review; The property is in the environs of the
Consolidated Barb Wire Building (546 New Hampshire), Register of Historic Kansas Places,
Lawrence’s Downtown Historic District, National Register of Historic Places and within the
Downtown Urban Conservation Overlay District. Submitted by City of Lawrence, property owner of
record.
B. PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The applicant is requesting to replace the existing slate portion of the roof of the Lawrence City Hall building with a synthetic slate roof. The property is zoned GPI.
|
|
|
|
Existing slate roof |
Existing slate roof |
C. STANDARD FOR REVIEW
Standards for Evaluating the Effect of Projects on Environs (Certified Local Government)
1. The character of a historic property’s environs should be retained and preserved. The removal or alteration of distinctive buildings, structures, landscape features, spatial relationships, etc. that characterize the environs should be avoided.
2. The environs of a property should be used as it has historically been used or allow the inclusion of new uses that require minimal change to the environs’ distinctive materials, features, and spatial relationships.
3. The environs of each property will be recognized as a physical record of its time, place, and use. Changes to the environs that have acquired historic significance in their own right should be retained and preserved.
6. New additions, exterior alterations, infill construction, or related new construction should not destroy character-defining features or spatial relationships that characterize the environs of a property. The new work shall be compatible wit the historic materials, character-defining features, size, scale and proportion, and massing of the environs.
Downtown Design Guidelines
The City Commission and the Historic Resources Commission have adopted a set of Downtown Design Guidelines (2009) to review projects within the Downtown Urban Conservation Overlay District. The guidelines that relate to this project are:
PART TWO – PRINCIPLES, STANDARDS, AND CRITERIA
7. New Construction
7.1 New infill buildings should be multistory in height, up to and within appropriate limits.
7.2 The height of a new building must be in acceptable proportion to its width, following patterns and proportions established by existing structures; likewise, story-to-story heights must be appropriate.
7.3 The height of new buildings and additions shall relate to the prevailing heights of nearby buildings. New construction that greatly varies in height from adjacent buildings shall not be permitted.
7.4 Buildings on the interior of a continuous block face must be no more than one story taller than adjacent structures. Buildings on corners must be larger is scale than adjacent structures.
7.5 A building’s overall proportion (ratio of height to width) must be consistent with existing historic structures.
7.6 Storefront- and/or display-style windows must be included in all retail developments at the street level on the primary facade.
7.7 Corner buildings shall be a minimum of two-stories in height; taller buildings are encouraged at corner locations.
7.8 In cases of infill construction, the width of a building’s façade should fill the entire available space.
7.9 Facade widths for new buildings and additions should correspond with other buildings widths in the same block. On Massachusetts Street, widths are typically built to increments of 25 feet.
7.10 If a site is large, the mass of a new building’s facade should be broken into a number of smaller bays to maintain a rhythm similar to surrounding buildings. This is particularly true for storefront level facade elements.
7.11 The size and proportion of window and door openings on a new building should be similar to other buildings in the block.
7.12 The ratio of window area to solid wall for new construction shall be similar to other buildings in the block.
7.13 New construction shall be built with party-wall construction methods. Exceptions will be made for detached governmental, civic, or institutional buildings and when required by residential egress requirements.
7.14 The composition of an infill facade (that is, the scale, massing, and organization of its constituent parts) shall be similar to the composition of surrounding facades in the block.
7.15 The setback of a proposed building shall be consistent with the setback of adjacent buildings, and/or with nearby buildings fronting on the same street. Buildings must be placed with the express goal of continuing the overall building line of a streetscape.
7.16 Rhythms that carry throughout a block (such as the patterns, placement, sizes, and spans of windows, doors, etc.) shall be sustained and incorporated into new facades.
8. Additions
8.1 The size and the scale of additions shall not visually overpower historic buildings.
8.2 Additions should be situated and constructed so that the original building’s form remains recognizable by differentiation.
8.3 In the case of historic buildings, additions should be designed so that they may be removed in the future without significant damage or loss of historic materials.
8.4 An addition’s impact on a site in terms of loss of important landscape features shall be considered.
8.5 Additions should be located as inconspicuously as possible, to the rear or on the least character-defining elevation of historic buildings.
8.6 Additions shall be constructed so that there is the least possible loss of historic fabric.
8.7 Character-defining features of historic buildings should not be obscured, damaged, or destroyed.
8.8 The size and the scale of additions shall not visually overpower historic buildings.
8.9 Additions should be designed so that they are compatible with the existing building in mass, materials, color, proportion, and spacing of windows and doors. Design motifs should be taken from the existing building, or compatible, contemporary designs introduced.
8.10 It is not appropriate to construct an addition that is taller than the original building.
8.11 Additions that echo the style of the original structure, and additions that introduce compatible contemporary elements, are both acceptable.
9. Detached Building Forms
9.1 Detached building forms should have a high degree of architectural embellishment.
9.2 Detached building forms should be set back from the property line. The setback, typically three to five feet, serves as a green space between the building and the sidewalk.
9.3 The overall design of a detached building should be carried throughout all of the facades; for detached buildings, primary and secondary facades may be appropriately differentiated by changes in material and by degrees of architectural embellishment.
10. Building Materials
10.1 Original building materials, whether located on primary, secondary, or rear facades, shall be retained to every extent possible. If the original material has been overlaid by such coverings as aluminum or stucco, these alterations should be removed and the original material maintained, repaired or replaced with similar materials.
10.2 Building materials shall be traditional building materials consistent with the existing traditional building stock. Brick, stone, terra cotta, stucco, etc., shall be the primary facade materials for buildings fronting along Massachusetts Street.
10.3 While traditional building materials such as brick, stone, terra cotta, stucco, etc., are the preferred building materials for buildings fronting New Hampshire, Vermont Street, or numbered streets, consideration will be given to other materials.
10.4 Materials should be compatible between storefronts or street-level facades, and upper levels.
10.5 The secondary facades of buildings facing Massachusetts Street shall be composed of building materials consistent with the existing traditional building stock brick, stone, terra cotta, stucco, etc.
10.6 While permanent materials should be considered for party-wall construction, other materials which meet associated building and fire code requirements will be considered.
10.7 Masonry walls, except in rare instances, shall not be clad with stucco, artificial stone, parging, or EIFS (Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems). This includes publicly visible party-walls constructed of brick or rubble limestone.
10.8 Existing unpainted masonry walls, except in rare instances, shall not be painted. This includes publicly visible party-walls.
13. Secondary and Rear Facades
13.1 Secondary facades for corner buildings (i.e., facades that do not face the primary north/south street) shall contain secondary display windows and/or secondary storefronts.
13.2 Secondary facades shall contain upper story windows.
13.3 Secondary facades should be balanced in design and shall provide a distinction between lower and upper sections of the building.
13.4 Secondary facades should not directly compete with the primary facade.
13.5 While rear facades on older structures are more symmetrical in their design, more recent buildings may provide a more utilitarian design approach. In most cases, rear entrances and openings should occupy a relatively small part of the rear facade and exhibit more of a utilitarian character.
13.6 Rear facades should be maintained and developed to support the overall appearance of Downtown Lawrence.
13.7 Rear entrances on buildings that face public-parking areas are encouraged.
13.8 Rear facades should provide sufficient architectural features, such as window and door openings, to articulate the building facade.
13.9 Rear facades should not compete with the primary facade of the structure.
13.10 Pedestrian-level window and door openings may be covered with security features such as screens or bars. However, every effort should be made to maintain the visual appearance on rear facades which face surface parking areas.
13.11 Maintain the pattern created by upper-story windows and their alignment on rear facades that face surface-parking areas.
13.12 Existing windows on rear facades should not be eliminated or decreased in size or shape.
13.13 While not encouraged, upper windows on rear facades that do not face parking areas may be closed in a reversible manner with compatible material.
14. Office, Institutional, Religious, Utility, and Other Non-Retail Buildings
14.1 Non-retail buildings fronting Massachusetts Street shall contain storefronts or a storefront appearance at the street level. Storefronts shall be pedestrian oriented, include fundamental storefront elements such as recessed entry and/or division into bays, and consist primarily of transparent glass. Most storefronts in Downtown Lawrence contain 65% to 80% glass. Storefront designs shall reflect this prevailing, glass-to-other-building-material ratio.
14.2 Non-retail buildings fronting numbered-streets, Vermont Street, or New Hampshire Street shall be pedestrian oriented. A ratio of 40% to 60% window area to wall surface shall be provided on street level facades at these locations.
14.3 The existing form of non-retail category buildings such as churches, industrial facilities, warehouses, etc. shall not be obscured or so transformed as to render the original form unrecognizable.
15. Architectural Details, Ornamentation, and Cornices
15.1 Existing ornamentation such as curved glass displays, terra cotta detailing, cast iron pilasters, transoms, ornamental brickwork, brackets, decorative cornices, quoins, columns, etc. shall be maintained.
15.2 Retain and preserve any architectural features and details that are character-defining elements of downtown structures, such as cornices, columns, brickwork, stringcourses, quoins, etc.
15.3 If original detailing is presently covered, exposing and restoring the features is encouraged.
15.4 Existing identifying details such as inset or engraved building names, markings, dates, etc. should be preserved.
15.5 Cornices shall not be removed unless such removal is required as a result of a determination by the Chief Building Inspector that a cornice poses a safety concern.
15.6 Original cornices should be repaired rather than replaced. If replacement is necessary, the new cornice should reflect the original in design.
15.7 New construction should provide for a variety of form, shape, and detailing in individual cornice lines.
16. Rooflines and Parapets
16.1 The original roofline and parapet features of existing buildings shall be retained.
16.2 Mechanical equipment should not be visible from the pedestrian level and should be screened through the use of parapet walls or projecting cornices.
D. STAFF RECOMMENDATION
In accordance with the Standards for Evaluating the Effect of Projects on Environs and the Downtown Design Guidelines, the standards of evaluation, staff recommends the Commission approve the proposed project and make the determination that the proposed project does not encroach upon, damage, or destroy listed historic properties and their environs with the following conditions:
1. Any changes to the approved project will be submitted to the Historic Resources Administrator prior to the commencement of any related work.