Explanation
The existing house is a one-story wood frame, drop siding covered bungalow with a gable roof, a brick piers foundation, a brick chimney and a porch with brick columns. It has approximately 1,824 square feet of total floor area, 1,152 square feet of heated area, on a 0.17 acre lot. According to the Florida Master Site File, the house is a building that represents a typical Gainesville house of the 1920’s. The house appears on the 1928 Sanborn map.
The applicant is proposing to replace an existing four foot tall front yard white picket fence with a new four foot tall front yard metal fence, which would be white and installed in the same location as the existing fence. The fence would run the width of the lot frontage. The existing fence has two gates, one for the walkway to the front door and the other for the driveway. The new fence will also have gates at the same locations. The fence will be aluminum and installed by Andrews Fence.
The existing wooden fence has gates that are currently sagging, making them hard to use. They do not open and close easily and sometimes they do not stay locked. With a picket fence, if the gates are the same wood as the existing gates, the material would be too heavy, making them sag and hard to open for the elderly homeowner. The proposed new fence in the front yard of the property is largely in compliance with the City of Gainesville’s Historic Preservation Rehabilitation and Design Guidelines for fencing because it will be no greater than 48 inches tall as it is mostly open and will be metal. The aluminum will be lighter which should solve the issue of the sagging gates and help the ease of use.
Recommendation
Staff recommends approval of the application.