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<br />STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES: WEST NORTH SHORE DRIVE <br />I. THE ENVIRONMENT <br />The West North Shore Drive residential neighborhood from Michigan Avenue to Iroquois Avenue has a distinctive and valuable character. <br />The external appearance of the river and street, homes, and yards communicates and reflects the fact that for over half a century it has been <br />and still is a comfortable residential neighborhood. All of the architectural and charming character of West North Shore Drive has been <br />preserved. The homes are generally architecturally and historically distinctive, large and located on ample lots. <br />[…] <br />C. LAWNS <br />The Current or historic landscaping character of lawns should be preserved. Paving and blacktopping of existing lawns so as to transform <br />them essentially into parking lots or spaces rather than residential lawns must be prohibited. Front yard areas, trees, and lawns must remain <br />open. Fencing in front yards is prohibited. A fence on the Michigan Street side of lots 12 and 13 may be permitted if done in a distinctive <br />way and is compatible with the character of the structures on these lots, with considerations being made for the high density and speed of the <br />traffic on Michigan Street. <br /> <br />Trees contribute greatly to the beauty and charm and indeed the historic character of the North Shore Drive neighborhood. Street widening <br />or other public developments calling for widespread destruction of large, healthy trees must be prohibited. Replacement of trees must be <br />compatible in variety with those presently growing. The vacant lots must be kept as landscaped or appropriated recreational, or other <br />similar residential development. This is not intended to prohibit the sale of such lots, nor new construction on these lots. <br /> <br />[…] <br /> <br />III. NEW CONSTRUCTION OR ADDITIONS TO EXISTING STRUCTURES <br />Preferred: Consider the size, scale, roof lines, etc., in the design of a new structure, so that it will be compatible with its adjacent <br />buildings in particular and will blend with the neighborhood in general. New additions to existing structures must be compatible in <br />scale, building materials and textures to the building to which the addition is made. Retain as much of the original structure as <br />possible, so that the addition could be removed without damage to the basic structure and appearance of the building. <br />Prohibited: Do not use asbestos or asphalt siding. Do not use artificial brick or cast stone siding. Do not use glass brick. Structural <br />concrete block may be used only on foundations for new construction or additions. <br /> <br />ILLUSTRATION TEXT: <br />Height—this is a mandatory criteria that new building be constructed to a height within 10% of the average height of existing <br />adjacent buildings. <br />Proportions of buildings’ front facades – the relationship between the width and height of the front elevation of the building. <br />Proportion of openings within the façade—the relationship of width to height of windows and doors. <br />Rhythm of solids to voids in front façade – rhythm being an ordered recurrent alternation of strong and weak elements. Moving by <br />an individual building, one experiences a rhythm of masses to openings. <br /> <br /> SITE VISIT REPORT: <br />N/A <br /> <br />STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval. Staff recommends that further <br />modifications/proposals related to product selection for windows, doors, and ornamentation be remanded to staff. <br /> <br />Prepared by <br />Adam Toering, Historic Preservation Administrator