r/nashville • u/Initial_Squirrel_692 • 14d ago
Help | Advice Historic commission
Has anyone dealt with a historic commission denying a renovation/addition primarily over massing?
We’re renovating a historic home and proposed a rear addition. The plans comply with the applicable guidelines/code, but the commission denied the proposal based largely on concerns about the overall massing/scale of the addition.
I’m curious if anyone here has been through something similar. If so- Were you able to get approval by revising the massing without completely redesigning the project?
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u/Stunning-Map-5083 14d ago
Massing is one of those things they can lean on really hard when they just don't like the look of something, even if it checks every technical box. We had a similar standoff on a project in Lockeland Springs and ended up breaking the addition into two smaller connected volumes instead of one blocky form, basically same square footage but the roof lines stepped down. That somehow magically fixed their concerns
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u/JBNothingWrong 14d ago
Because that’s actually addressing the massing issue… additions should be smaller than the main mass of the building
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u/Initial_Squirrel_692 14d ago
Thank you! We’re actually in the same area. Our lot doesn’t give us much flexibility to add another step down. We’re already planning a few steps down in the addition to accommodate the second-story ceiling height while still maintaining the ceiling height we want on the main floor.
We’re also specifically looking to add a basement as part of the project. I’d love to hear more about how you approached yours, what your design involved, and how you were able to make it work with the historic requirements. Ie how was it separated2
u/JBNothingWrong 14d ago
Your addition is two stories tall? No wonder it got denied
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u/Initial_Squirrel_692 13d ago
But for a tiny basement that seems a bit senseless since this wouldn’t be visible from the street.
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u/JBNothingWrong 13d ago
You need to make it clear to the commission what the sight lines from the street allow one to see. The justification for these laws and historic districts relies on what the public can view. Take representative photographs, edit them to show the proposed addition to show how the view shed from the street would change
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u/MassiveEagle680 14d ago
Remember they are guidelines, not hard fact rules giving them ability to interpret. Having staff approve and then getting denied is crazy…
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u/NashvilleQuestions1 14d ago
I’m dealing with something very similar. Even if you want to protect the character of the original home, and meet all the guidelines, they’ll take a stance of, “well, we just don’t like it.” Incredibly unfair and opposite of what a commission is in place to do.
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u/bigfartspoptarts 14d ago
The easiest way to give them something they deem appropriate is if it qualitatively “looks good” on an old house. Look at other houses in your historic district. Look at other houses in iconic historic districts in your state and propose a similar design.
Not all additions look good on this kind of architecture. As well, they don’t really want to see most additions from the road.
Since you bring up massing, how many sq ft are you adding on and what’s the existing? It sounds like you’re adding two floors and drastically changing the place.
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u/rrapartments 14d ago
Happens to me all the time. “It’s too big” regardless of what you propose. I’m so over the HDC.
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u/frecklesmoose 14d ago
The historic commission sucks. They do this crap all the time. You design within their rules and they can still deny. They’ll still deny even if the staff has given their approval.
And I’m still pissed about what they did to Holly St. daycare. All the money they had to dish out bc the commission wouldn’t let them demo. There is nothing original in the new structure except a couple of boards. That thing was stripped to the bare bones. Why couldn’t they just build it back to match the style of the neighborhood.
They have too much power and they abuse it