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STAFF REPORT . CONCERNING APPLICATION FOR A CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS Date: 04/05/2006 Application Number: Property Location: 2006 -OW 04 03 849 Forest Ave, South Bend Property Owner: Joan Downs- Krostenko & Brian Krostenko Landmark or District Designation: Chapin Park Rating: Contributing STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE/HISTORIC CONTEXT This is the Charles Bunn house, built in 1898 as a Gabled -T or Gabled -Ell. Ernest Young remodeled the house in 1925 for Neil and Helen Robertson. Robertson was a manager at the American Trust Company and owned the Hoosier Rubber Co. APPLICATION ITEMS: Install new garage door on the alley side (existing doors on the Forest Ave side to be retained) Remove driveway past the setback of the house for added green space and gardens Enlarge and replace remaining portion of cracked concrete driveway with concrete to match front walk (brick edge w/ square scores) and front porch Replace concrete front walk in -kind with square scoring to match front porch Install picket fence with scalloped top (see site plan for placement) Install rock retaining wall to support raised lawn, stone to match foundation of home CHAPIN PARK GUIDELINES The environment. Required. New or different fencing requires a C of A and shall reflect the style and character of the individual property and the surrounding environment and properties. Recommended. Front yard areas, common lawns and tree lawns should remain open. Building Site. Required. Fencing visible from the street in front of the structure shall be open (meaning spaces between the pickets) and consistent with the historic character of a structure enclosed. Prohibited. No changes may be made to the appearance of the site by removing trees, fencing, walkways, outbuildings, or other elements before evaluating their importance to the property's history and development. Front yard areas shall not be transformed into parking lots nor paved nor blacktopped, nor enclosed by solid fences, chain link, nor industrial/commercial style fences. Windows and Door. If new sashes or doors are installed, the existing or original materials, design and hardware should be used. RECOMMENDATION The standards do not prohibit new garage doors. Because the new door will not be visible from Forest Avenue and the existing garage doors will remain, the character of the structures will not be altered from the principle elevation. Staff recommends approval. The standards do not mention removal of driveways, specifically, only historically significant features. The driveway does not seem to be historically important, and the additional garden and green space is an appropriate change for a residential property in the district. Staff recommends approval of this project. Though the standards prohibit paving in the front yard, this is the replacement of existing paving with minimal enlargement, about 30 sq. ft. and the replacement of the front walk in -kind with the addition of the square scoring. Staff finds — that these are appropriate changes and recommends approval. The rock wall is in -scale with the yard and the mouse and it uses materials related to the property. Staff recommends approval. The picket fence conforms to the districts standards and guidelines for fences and their placement. The style will reflect the Victorian ancestry of the house as well. Staff recommends approval.