Title
Request a Part 1 Ad Valorem Tax Exemption for Renovation and an Addition (B)
Petition HP-16-63 & HP-16-64. Jay Reeves and Associates, Inc., agent for Mike and Michelle Jaffee. Certificate of Appropriateness & Ad Valorem Tax Exemption for the interior renovation, and a guest house addition to an existing garage. Located at 621 NE 5th Terrace. This building is contributing to the Northeast Residential Historic District.
Explanation
This is a request for an ad valorem tax exemption for a historic property located at 621 NE 5th Terrace. The contributing structure was built in 1934 according to the Alachua County Property Appraisers Office. The property is zoned RSF-3 and is approximately 0.35 acres in size. The request for an ad valorem tax exemption is a two part process: Part 1 is the pre-construction application detailing the work that will be done to qualify for the exemption; and Part 2 is the review of the work proposed in Part 1 and the approval of the exemption.
The existing single-family dwelling is a California Monterey style brick, two-story structure. The project has two phases. In phase 1, the applicant is proposing to construct a new master bathroom and closet to replace the existing and reduce the master bedroom size. In phase 2, a guest house addition to the existing garage would be constructed at the rear of the house. The size would be 400 square feet and would match the appearance of the existing garage. The single-family dwelling is a contributing structure in the Northeast Residential Historic District. The accessory garage structure is a non-contributing structure in the district.
The size of the addition is over 300 square feet, thus requiring a board approval. However, the existing garage is only visible from the driveway into the property. The proposed addition will not be readily visible when looking at the front of the house, which faces NE 5th Terrace. The addition will be at the rear of the historic building, more directly behind the mass of the building than the existing garage. The proposed HardiePlank shiplap siding will be compatible to the existing garage but will distinguish the addition from the historic principal structure. The new addition will minimize the impact on the visual character and materials of the historic structure and will be compatible in terms of mass and materials, but the character of the historic resource will be identifiable after the addition is constructed.
The addition will include a bedroom, a bathroom, and a living room /wet bar. The floor plan indicates a sink and a refrigerator in the wet bar area, which is allowed. It should be noted that the zoning for this property is RSF-3, which allows single-family dwellings by right, specifically the occupancy of a single-family dwelling by one family. A dwelling unit is a room(s) comprising the essential elements of a single housekeeping unit. Facilities for the preparation, storage and keeping of food for consumption within the premises shall cause a unit to be construed as a single dwelling unit. Each area with separate facilities for the preparation, storage and keeping of food for consumption within the premises shall be considered as a separate dwelling unit. The historic structure on the property is the one allowed dwelling unit on the site. The addition of a range, stove, or oven would categorize the addition as an area with separate facilities for the preparation, storage and keeping of food for consumption within the premises, and would then be determined to be a separate dwelling unit.
Recommendation
Staff to the Historic Preservation Board - Approve Petition HP-16-63 & HP-16-64. Staff recommends approval of Petition HP-16-63 with the conditions as stated below, and approval of HP-16-64 for a “Part 1” ad valorem tax exemption based on the following:
1. The property is an eligible property because it is a contributing structure and
2. The proposed improvements are eligible.
Staff’s recommendation of approval for the petition is based on the following conditions:
1. The addition cannot be used as an accessory dwelling unit, which is not an allowed use in the RSF-3 zoning district.
2. No range, stove, or oven shall be installed in the proposed addition.