DRC: carriage‑house concept at 1051 West Main needs less stone, reduced cupola and broken up massing

The DRC reviewed a proposed carriage‑house accessory structure for 1051 West Main and provided extensive advisory comments on scale, materiality and detailing.

Michelle Lanham and the project team described a rear‑yard carriage house tied to a large Victorian‑Italianate principal building. The accessory structure as shown uses stone at the base, a metal roof, a breezeway connection and a cupola; the applicant said the design was intended to provide a decorative backdrop for the pool/landscape while remaining subordinate to the main house. Staff encouraged the design team to break the long massing into smaller components, consider subordinate materials (lap siding rather than stone as the primary field), and reduce the prominence of the cupola so the accessory reads as secondary. Commissioners generally supported the breezeway but urged the applicant to study a siding option, test lowering ridgelines, and refine window proportions and fascia details (corner boards, fascia, gutters) so the new building reads as clearly subordinate to the main house and respectful of nearby shorter‑lot neighbors.

The applicants agreed to return with siding alternatives, a no‑cupola option, and refined elevations showing how the carriage house would appear from neighboring properties.