HomeMy WebLinkAbout6/22/2020 Item 3, Gaither
Wilbanks, Megan
From:Laura Gaither <
To:CityClerk
Subject:1137 Peach Street Agenda Item 3
First, I’d like to commend the builders for their work on the existing Peach Street houses in this historical plot.
Could the developer please provide North Elevations of Lots 1-4 with Lots 7-10 behind them (sim to p218)? I am unable
to comment on the two story buildings without elevations of both existing and new homes from Peach Street. It is also
optimistic of the developer to believe that residents would park in tandem. Parking on Peach Street is fierce as Court
House visitors and workers park there.
I would like to raise objections to the plan of Unit A (Lot 5) in both its scale (2 story) and its style (a
Colonial/Cape Cod marriage). My concern is that 1) the number of stories proposed is not within the norm of San Luis’s
contributing homes, and 2) the style of house, featuring double shed dormers, is not a feature of nearby contributing
homes. Paula Juelke Carr’s Historic Preservation Report for APN 002-316-005 emphasizes that the Mill Street historical
area is predominately populated by “Contributor Resources” made up of 1 to 1.5 story buildings and vernacular examples
of Victorian and Craftsman cottages. (p 259, p 260)
1) Number of Stories - The current proposal requests permission to build five 2 story homes at 1137 Peach which
currently has 1 story homes. This block has only one existing 2 story home (an obtrusive two story at 1121 Peach Street
with no contributing features).
As a corner lot, Lot 5 has a primary position on not just one, but two city streetscapes. I believe the proposed
house (using views provide on ps 224 and 225) is just too large given the existing buildings. The proposal is slightly
unclear: it states they want to build a two story building, but have provided examples of one and 1.5 story homes as their
guidelines (page 204, Figure 3).
The existing buildings (including adjacent property 1168 Mill and Lots 1-4 and Lot 6) are all 1 story or 1.5 story
homes – how does this proposed two story fit into the characteristics of the existing homes, as well as 99% of the 1 story
homes on Peach and Toro? I acknowledge that the house across the street, 1168 Peach, is a historic 2 story home; however
its complex roof lines, significant set back and its wrap around porch create a visually “lighter” house. It also sits lower on
the slope so that it does not significantly dominate Peach Street in spite of its height. The plans suggest that Lot 5 will
contribute to the neighborhood, but I do not feel its bulk will allow that, especially as its secondary setback on Toro will
be 10 feet, half the setback of Lot 6 at 771 Toro.
2) Style of House - The plan currently presented is sort of a Cape Cod or Dutch Colonial with a small porch tucked in the
ground floor. The guideline house (F.4 p204), is a 1 story house with out any dormers. The adjacent lot (1168 Mill Street)
features cut-in dormers that are hardly typical – there really isn’t anything else like it in the immediate neighborhood.
They are significantly smaller and more nestled into the roofline that the double dormers proposed for Lot 5. Additionally,
I’d like to note, that 1168 is also a 1.5 story home (F.15 p259).
The plans for Lot 5 are, stylistically, is lacking both its sisters’ Craftsman details, such as gable vents, wood
windows frames & doors, roof brackets, pillar & pier porch supports. It is also lacking the features of its Victorian sisters,
such as wood window frames & doors, decorative corbels or porch fretwork. But it is the double dormers that are most out
of keeping. I believe these shed dormers could be made smaller and less obtrusive. They dominate the roofline and the
pitch of the shed gables is too shallow. I’m concerned that the set backs of the shed dormers is not significant enough
from the lower walls and that it isn’t truly secondary to the house’s upper roof. My concern is that the dormers could
appear tacked on, and is visually unrelated to any of the houses in the neighborhood. Altering the double shed dormers
and porch characteristics could improve Lot 5’s contribution to this historic neighborhood.
3) Conclusion - What makes 1137 Peach Street so interesting is that a series of homes were built, over two decades in
which each building expresses its own personality. None of existing houses of Lots 1-4 look like each other. Each has its
own personality and reflects period characteristics. I believe a 1.5 story home at the corner of Peach & Toro could do a
better job at unifying either Victorian or Craftsman sensibilities while projecting period characteristics with as much
personality as her older sisters.
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