Design Panel Backs Paving New Belgium's Gravel Lot, Adding Greenway Link

Asheville's Design Review Committee on Sept. 17, 2026, recommended approval of New Belgium Brewery's plan to pave the gravel employee lot at its 91 Craven Street riverfront site and add an accessible connection to the existing greenway. The recommendation passed by voice vote "as presented," with no amendments, even though city staff said the design only partially meets River District guidelines. One member recused himself, no member of the public weighed in, and the meeting wrapped in about 14 minutes.

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• New Belgium's gravel employee lot gets a recommendation for paving, landscaping and an ADA-accessible greenway connector
• Staff: the project only partially meets River District design guidelines, with no brick pavers or granite curbing
• Updated parking count lands "just barely within" the city's parking maximums
• Applicant team says new landscape islands produce a net reduction in impervious surface

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New Belgium Lot Clears Design Review, Guidelines Aside

1 big thing: The committee recommended approval of a Level I project that turns New Belgium's informal gravel employee lot into a paved, landscaped parking area. The project also adds an accessible link to the greenway at the site's northeast corner.

The basics: The 16.28-acre site is zoned River Arts District industrial. It sits inside the design overlay but outside the core district. The committee's role is advisory. "This is a mandatory review, voluntary compliance process, with one exception for hotels," said Chair Brian Moffett.

Why it matters: The action formalizes a lot that New Belgium employees have long used, and it improves accessibility to the riverfront greenway. It also shows the committee accepting a design that falls short of its own guidelines.

Where things stand: Urban Planner III Tyler Kelley presented the plan. It includes:

• Heavy-duty concrete and heavy-duty asphalt paving
• Parking lot landscaping and river rock channels to direct stormwater
• Wheel stops, a stairway and curb transitions
• An enhanced, accessible ADA connection to the existing greenway, which the agenda identifies as the French Broad River Greenway

Sidewalks will use concrete with simple score patterns that match existing New Belgium paving.

Kelley explained why a parking lot came before the panel. "Per the UDO, any project that qualifies as a Level 1 within the downtown design overlay or river design overlay must appear before this committee," he said. The UDO is the city's Unified Development Ordinance, its zoning and development code.

Staff applied core district guidelines by analogy. Kelley found the project aligned on sidewalk materials and accessibility, and said it improves erosion control and stormwater mitigation.

The other side: Kelley flagged the gaps. Guideline-recommended materials such as patterned paving bricks and original granite curbing are not part of the plan. "The full list of the recommended materials is not currently proposed," he said.

Staff also asked the applicant to confirm plans for underground utilities. That question drew no answer during the meeting.

Staff still backed the project as an improvement over existing conditions. Kelley invited the team to discuss amendments that would bring the plan closer to River District guidelines, but the applicant offered none.

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: A committee member moved to recommend approval "as presented based on the site plans and materials submitted and the discussions heard during this review." The motion was seconded and declared carried by voice vote. No tally was stated and no opposition was heard. Two members, Eddie and Jeremy, were absent, and Committee Member Gabriel Delarmi was recused.

The gains and losses break down this way:

• New Belgium leaves with a clean recommendation and no required design changes.
• Employees and greenway users get a paved lot and an accessible connection.
• Advocates of the River District's design character see brick pavers and granite curbs go unrequired, because compliance is voluntary.

What's next: Because the recommendation is advisory, the open question is whether New Belgium voluntarily adopts any guideline materials. The utility question also remains unresolved on the record.

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Parking Maximums: How a Growing Employer Fits

Why it matters: Asheville no longer enforces parking minimums, but it does enforce maximums. This case shows how that cap works on large riverfront industrial sites.

Where things stand: A committee member pressed staff on the rules. "I know our parking minimums no longer apply, but parking maximums are still in use, correct?" the member asked.

Kelley said yes and walked through the site's history. New Belgium was originally approved under a conditional use permit, now called a special use permit. That approval included no parking conditions. "There was no terms or conditions within the original approval that controlled for parking," he said.

Staff then had New Belgium submit a new parking table for the entire site. The result was close. "They're just barely within the parking maximums for the current zoning," Kelley said.

That margin reflects how the cap is calculated. "There's a lot of flexibility because that allows for parking per employee at highest shift," Kelley said. He noted that New Belgium has hired more people since its original approval.

The informal lot: Members described the project as formalizing a lot that is already in use. Kelley added that the city never issued New Belgium a notice of violation for using the gravel lot. That prompted a "de jure, de facto" quip from one member.

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: Tying the parking cap to employees per shift gives expanding employers room to add parking without new approvals. The trade-off is more formalized parking on riverfront land. In this case, rising headcount made room for the lot under the cap.

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Stormwater: Rock, Soil and a Net Reduction

Where things stand: Kelley noted that gravel already counts as impervious under state statute. He also said the site's earlier development included major stormwater conveyance, storage, mitigation and buffers.

A committee member asked whether that meant no additional stormwater quality or quantity controls were required. Sean Sains of Seaman Whiteside, filling in for project engineer Austin Greenhalgh, answered that the added landscape islands make the overall result a net reduction in impervious surface. Another member said that point was "a great one to have on the record."

A second member asked about the soil in the parking islands. Heather Brown, landscape architect with SiteWorks Studios, said it is regular planting soil. "The city actually asked us to remove the river rock from the planting islands," she said.

River rock remains around the peripheral planting beds. There, flush curbs let rainwater run over the rock and cool slightly before it reaches catch basins.

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: Members praised the landscaping, and one said simply, "It looks nice to me." Staff also praised the plant species selection but invited a closer look at the plant schedule. For the river, the key claim is that paving plus new islands will not increase impervious surface.

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Minor Items

• Recusal: Delarmi recused himself because his firm worked on the New Belgium project and he did hands-on design work. The committee allowed the recusal by voice vote.
• Minutes: The June 18, 2026, minutes were approved by voice vote without revisions.
• Public comment slip: Public comment was called only after the vote. Moffett acknowledged, "I was supposed to take public comment, but I don't think we had any." No one attended and nothing was submitted in advance.
• Roster: Quorum was declared with new member Justin present. Joe Balkan was expected online but was not connected.

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Looking ahead: The agenda lists the committee's next meeting as Oct. 15, 2026, at 12:30 p.m. in the City Hall 1st Floor North Conference Room.