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APPLICATION ITEMS: Replace steps. All hand railing to same style/architecture as was previous existing style. Replace round spindles to
<br />square type as was original. Install all railings to lower height as original. Front yard — see diagram and Preservation Specialist report.
<br />DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT: At the September HPC meeting, the owner applied to "Change porch steps. Handrailings. Remove front
<br />landscaping. Replace with brick patio. Replace sidewalk in front of house. Install short wall in front of patio" with a unanimous vote by the
<br />Commission to deny the application. The owner has reapplied to put the porch detail back to its original design and to move forward with a
<br />redesign of the small front yard. The proposal of the front yard is to install a brick paver patio at the ground level and to install a 36" high brick
<br />wall around the patio.
<br />CHAPIN PARK LOCAL HISTORIC DISTRICT GUIDELINES AND STANDARDS
<br />I. THE ENVIRONMENT
<br />A. THE DISTRICT ENVIRONMENT
<br />The Chapin Park Local Historic District is a particularly fine residential area located close to downtown South Bend, the St. Joseph River,
<br />Memorial Hospital and Leeper Park. This section is meant to protect and guide appropriate maintenance of the common areas of the district (i.e.
<br />visual landscape and streetscapes).
<br />Required
<br />Brick streets contribute greatly to the character of the neighborhood. These streets have always been essentially passenger car thoroughfares. The
<br />appointments of the streets (i.e. lighting, curbs, horse hitches and monuments) should contribute as much as possible to their architectural,
<br />historic and residential character. Retention and maintenance of existing brick streets in the district is required. Repair work to fill voids and gaps
<br />must utilize brick paver materials and acceptable installation methods whenever applicable. When utility work dictates the removal of street
<br />sections (pavers), the original materials will be reinstalled. Brick streets shall be patched with brick pavers. Concrete, asphalt, fillers and similar
<br />materials shall not be used. All original streetlights shall be maintained, especially the George Cutter "Park View" streetlights designed by the
<br />Cutter Company for this neighborhood. Present efforts by the Neighborhood Association and the Historic Preservation Commission to restore
<br />"Park View" streetlights to the district shall continue. Any change in lighting must receive approval of the Historic Preservation
<br />Commission. New or different fencing requires a C of A and shall reflect the style and character of the individual property and the surrounding
<br />environment and properties.
<br />Recommended
<br />The current or historic character of lawns should be preserved. Front yard areas, common lawns and Vee lawns should remain open. New or
<br />replacement trees should be compatible in variety with those presently growing. Vacant lots should be kept landscaped appropriately while
<br />vacant, and may be used for recreational or residential development. When replacement of utility poles or power supply lines is necessary,
<br />consideration should be
<br />given to underground conduits or utility poles erected along rear property lines.
<br />Prohibited
<br />Existing relationships of buildings and their environments shall not be destroyed by widening existing streets, applying asphalt or other
<br />bituminous coverings or by introducing new streets or parking lots. Signs, streetlights, benches, new plant materials, fencing, walkways and
<br />paving materials which are out of scale or inappropriate to the neighborhood may not be used. The erection of high walls or barriers, which would
<br />alter the relationship of the houses, shall be prohibited. Utility poles with high intensity overhead lights shall not be used on main thoroughfares.
<br />B. BUILDING SITE, LANDSCAPING & ACCESSORIES
<br />This section focuses on individual properties and amenities. Building sites tend to be irregularly shaped, of varying topography and with different
<br />setbacks with regard to plots. Alleys are generally behind houses. Landscape accessories like fences are unique to each structure. Chapin Place
<br />presents a unique situation within the district. Applications from properties that have property lines on Chapin Place will be considered on a case-
<br />by-case basis.
<br />Required
<br />Fencing, walkways, outbuildings, private yard lights, signs (i.e. house numbers) and benches (visible from the street) as well as trees located in a
<br />yard or tree lawn which reflect the property's history and development shall be retained. A tree located in such areas shall only be removed if the
<br />removal is required due to storm damage,
<br />disease, threatened damage to a structure or for such other reason acceptable to the Historic Preservation Commission. Storm damaged or
<br />diseased trees should then be replaced with an approved species at the same or approximate location wherever possible. Fencing visible from the
<br />street in front of the structure shall be open (meaning spaces between the pickets) and consistent with the historic character of a structure
<br />enclosed.
<br />Recommended
<br />New site work should be based upon actual knowledge of the past appearance of the property found in photographs, drawings and newspapers.
<br />New site work should also be appropriate to existing surrounding site elements in scale, type and appearance. Front yard areas should remain
<br />open. (See above for information regarding fences.) Trees in close proximity to a building may cause structural damage. Owners are encouraged
<br />to remove these trees and replace (or replant) them at a more appropriate location as soon as planting season permits and upon approval of a
<br />C of A.
<br />Prohibited
<br />No changes may be made to the appearance of the site by removing trees, fencing, walkways, outbuildings or other elements before evaluating
<br />their importance to the property's history and development. Front yard areas shall not be transformed into parking lots nor paved nor
<br />black -topped, nor enclosed by solid fences, chain link, nor industrial/commercial style fences. The installation of unsightly large devices, such as
<br />television satellite dishes, skylights or solar panels, shall not be permitted in areas where they detract from the architecture of a building, are
<br />intrusive to the public view of the building or are highly visibly from a public street, or ruled inappropriate after Commission review. Utility
<br />poles with high-intensity overhead lights should be installed so that they cannot be seen from a street. The Commission will evaluate all
<br />installations as well as any potential exceptions resulting from special circumstances, before granting a C of A.
<br />II. EXISTING STRUCTURES
<br />D. ENTRANCES, PORCHES AND STEPS
<br />Most houses in the district have either an open or enclosed porch across the front. Most porches have either hip or gabled roofs or are covered by
<br />the main roof of the house.
<br />Required
<br />When deteriorated beyond repair, existing or original porches, stoops, patios and steps, including handrails, balusters, columns, brackets, tiles and
<br />roof decorations, shall be retained or replaced by replicas of the same design or by a design more in keeping with the historic period of the
<br />structure. Porches and additions reflecting later architectural styles and which are important to the building's historical integrity shall be retained.
<br />Recommended
<br />When enclosing porches for heat conservation or for other reasons, it should be done in a manner that does not alter the architectural or historical
<br />character of the building.
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