With as much as 39% of downtown real estate devoted to surface spaces for cars, advocates say it’s time to junk Asheville’s minimum parking requirements

June 14, 2026 - 13:13

The dense, diverse and affordable future Marty Benson imagines for his neighborhood, he said, can only be unlocked if the city of Asheville eliminates minimum parking requirements. Benson, a land-use lawyer and affordable housing advocate, stood outside his West Asheville home last week and pointed to the adjacent and mostly empty Michigan Street, where he sees potential for new homes and businesses instead of empty asphalt.

A recent analysis found that up to 39% of downtown Asheville's real estate is devoted to surface parking lots. For advocates like Benson, that number is a clear sign that the city's current parking rules are wasting valuable land that could be used for housing, shops, and green space. They argue that minimum parking mandates force developers to build more spaces than people actually need, driving up construction costs and making it harder to build affordable units.

Benson and other supporters of the change say eliminating the mandates would let the market decide how much parking is necessary. They point to cities like Buffalo, New York, and Portland, Oregon, which have already removed similar requirements and seen more walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods emerge. The push comes as Asheville grapples with a severe housing shortage and rising rents, making every piece of developable land critical.

Opponents worry that removing parking minimums could lead to overflow street parking and inconvenience for drivers. But advocates counter that the current system subsidizes car storage at the expense of people. They want the city council to take up the issue in the coming months, arguing that the status quo is not just inefficient but actively harmful to Asheville's long-term goals for density and affordability.