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- .- STAFF REPORT CONCERNING APPLICATION FOR A CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS Date: 09-01-05 Application Number: 2005-0901 Property Location: 805 N Lafayette Blvd (vacant lot) Property Owner: Near Northwest Neighborhood Association Landmark or District Designation: Chapin Park Local Historic District Rating: Not Rated — Vacant Lot STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE/HISTORIC CONTEXT The Park Apartments, which once occupied this lot, were torn down in 2004 before the designation of the district. They had long been problematic for the neighborhood. APPLICATION ITEMS: "Pocket Park" at the comer of Lafayette and Lamont Terrace (see attached landscape plan) RECOMMENDATION Chanin Park Guidelines & Standards: I. Environment. Recommended. Vacant lots should be kept landscaped appropriately while vacant, and may be used for recreational or residential development (page 16). New site work should also be appropriate to existing surrounding site elements in scale, type, and appearance (page 16). The proposal for the Pocket Park follows the Chapin Park rehabilitation standards for vacant lots and general landscaping standards. The landscaping elements (trees, shrubs, terracing materials, paving material, benches) are well scaled to the lot, the neighborhood, and the nearby parklands. The design is reminiscent of informal English gardens, which should compliment the Colonial Revival home just to the west of the proposed park. The terracing will protect the adjacent property from erosion. The proposed walls will obscure the existing rough concrete block retaining wall. The limestone wall or the boulder wall would be much more appropriate to the district than the Pisa II block system, especially when viewing other terracing in the district. (See the walls at 407 Lamont Terrace.) The plan also calls for two benches and bollard lighting, which are well scaled and appropriate to the park and area. Staff finds the proposal to be compatible with the district's standards and guidelines and recommends approval with the exception of the Pisa II block system.