Item 8: Ordinance Establishing Chambers Special Area Zone

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SECTION 2: INFILL ISSUES & BARRIERS TO INFILL Double-hung windows are common; many older houses have divided lights in the upper sash. o Secondary stmctures (e.g., garages and cottages) . · Height: One story or less (less than 15'). · Shed or gabled roofs. Shed roofs are most commonly found on older one-car garages under 10' high. o Narrow driveways running on the side of the lot, and small to medium sized garages with a front plane that's behind the main front plane of the house. · Most houses and lots reflect the following interrelationships: o Many houses are close beside one another, otten separated only by a narrow driveway or less. House designs (e.g., facing gabled roofs) and living pattems acknowledge this compact pattem and respect the importance of adjacent neighbors' privacy along this interface. o Small front yards are semi-public spaces where residents of a house may observe or interact with pedestrians or adjacent neighbors. These areas provide a graceful transition between street life and life inside the house. o Most rectangular lots have private backyards with lawns, gardens, or landscaping. In this area, a house's residents have a general sense of spatial openness, relative insulation from immediate street noise, and a fair degree of privacy from other neighbors viewing backyard activities. . Gardens, vegetation, and wildlife Although the area doesn't have any single, large open space, cumulatively there's an extensive amount of natural vegetation and wildlife. Living in most areas of the ETN gives a sense of being in touch with Nature. o Many of the lots have vegetable and flower gardens and/or extensive landscaping (generally fairly informal). o There are nunlerous very large "heritage" trees throughout the neighborhood, as well as many medium-sized trees along the streets and sidewalks and in yards. o There is extensive wild birdlife, including many songbirds and occasional raptors (including hawks and owls). Herons from the Amazon slough area periodically appear roosting or feeding in the upper branches of heritage trees. There are both year-round residents (such as purple finches and chickadees) and migratory birds (such as cedar waxwings and grosbeaks) o Squin-els and raccoons are a common sight in neighbors' yards. The elements listed above interrelate in important, sometimes subtle, ways to create the ETN's special character. The people, the spatial elements of the neighborhood, the implicit interrelationships anlong adjacent properties, and the natural elements are the most important determinants of this character. 3 Page 2.8