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Preparing Photos and Drawings for a Design Review Application

By georgetown metal gates files

A design review application for a gate near Georgetown's courthouse square is easier to approve when it arrives complete: photographs of the house and the street, a site plan showing where the gate stands, a scaled drawing with dimensions, and a short note on materials and finish. Reviewers read many applications, and the ones that show exactly what will be built, and how it will look beside the house, tend to move through with fewer questions. The items below are what a good packet usually holds. The city's current checklist governs, and staff can confirm it.

Photographs of the property

Take clear, daylight photographs from the street. Include the full front of the house, the spot where the gate will stand, and the houses on each side. Take a few photos from different distances, one wide shot that shows the block and a closer shot of the gate location. Avoid shadows across the face of the house and keep cars out of the frame when possible.

• The front of the house, straight on.
• The gate location from the sidewalk and from across the street.
• The neighbors' fences and gates, which show the character of the street.
• Any existing fence, gate or wall on the lot.
• Details of the house's materials, such as trim, porch rails and railings.

Print them or attach them in the format the city asks for, and label each one with a short caption.

A site plan

A site plan is a bird's eye drawing of the lot. It shows the property lines, the house, the street and the sidewalk, and it marks the gate and any fence that joins it. A copy of the survey, marked up by hand, often serves. Add the distance from the gate to the street edge and to each property line. Show the direction of swing, or the line of a sliding gate. Mark any trees, utility boxes or easements near the gate.

A scaled elevation drawing

An elevation is a flat drawing of the gate as seen from the street. It should be to a stated scale, with the overall height and width, the size of the posts, the spacing of the pickets and any decorative features. Show the gate in its place beside the house, or beside the adjoining fence. Reviewers like to see the height compared with a nearby feature such as the porch rail. A fabricator can usually supply this drawing, and many include it in the quote.

Add the open percentage if the front yard rule applies, with a note on how it was calculated.

Materials and finish notes

A short list is enough. Name the material, such as steel tube or flat bar. Give the finish, such as black powder coat, and say whether it is gloss or matte. Describe the hardware, such as hinges, latches and any operator housing. If an automatic opener is planned, note where the control box and keypad will stand. A sample of the finish or a color chip, if the city accepts one, helps.

A short description of the project

Write two or three plain sentences. Say what is being built, where, how big it is and why. For example, the application might say that a four foot tall, three foot wide steel walk gate with vertical pickets will replace an old wooden gate in the same location, and that it will be finished in black. Avoid sales language and avoid complaints about the rules. A clear description helps staff and the commission understand what they are looking at.

Showing how it fits the guidelines

The district's design guidelines describe what the city wants to see. Read them and refer to them in the description. If the guidelines favor open metal gates with vertical lines on older homes, say that the design follows that pattern. If the gate is plain on purpose to avoid competing with the house, say so. A reviewer who sees the applicant has read the guidelines is more likely to approve quickly.

Neighbor context

If gates or fences of a similar type stand nearby, include photos and say where they are. A pattern already established on the street is a strong argument. If the application asks for something unusual, explain why the lot calls for it.

Forms and signatures

Fill in the application form fully. Leave no blank fields without a note. If the property owner is not the applicant, the owner's signature or a letter of consent is usually needed. If the lot is held by an association or a trust, ask staff what documents are needed.

Check before submitting

Lay the packet out and read it as a stranger would. Does it show the house, the gate, the dimensions, the materials and the finish? Is every page labeled with the address? Is the scale on the drawing correct? Ask a friend to look over it. Submit it before the deadline for the meeting, not on the last day.

A neat, complete packet tells the reviewers that the owner has taken the district seriously, and in Georgetown's historic core that goodwill goes a long way.

Common reasons packets are returned

Staff most often send an application back for missing information. The usual gaps are a drawing with no dimensions, photos taken at night or from too far away, no note on the finish, a site plan that does not show the property lines and a missing owner signature. Each is easy to avoid with a checklist, and a returned packet usually means waiting for the next meeting cycle.

File formats and printing

Ask the city whether it takes the packet by email, through an online portal or on paper. Digital files should be clear and in a common format, with a file name that includes the address. Large drawings may need to be reduced to letter or tabloid size, and the scale should be shown as a bar so it stays correct after resizing.

Attending the meeting

If the application goes to a commission meeting, the applicant or the fabricator should attend, since a reviewer may have a quick question that can be answered on the spot. Bring a spare copy of the drawing and a sample of the finish. Keep remarks short and stick to what the drawings show.