Design review committee conditions Berry Global parking expansions on perimeter trees and landscape islands

The Evansville City Design Review Committee on April 22 weighed and conditioned a proposal by Berry Global to renovate and expand two parking areas that serve its Jacobsville plant.

Adrian Shemeid, injection molding engineering manager at Berry, and Kevin Lascher of Morley and Associates presented plans to update parking east and north of the plant, improve entrance control and perimeter fencing, and add landscaping along perimeter streets. Lascher described the work as a renovation and an expansion that would add parking in previously green-space or vacated-street areas.

Lascher and Berry representatives said their current proposal would increase the north lots from about 370 existing spaces to about 483 (an increase of roughly 113 spaces) and the east lots from about 432 to about 535 (about 103 additional spaces). The project team said they intend to seek variances for interior landscape islands required by the Jacobsville redevelopment guidelines to preserve as many parking spaces as possible for operations and occasional large events.

Several committee members and city speakers pressed Berry on tree planting, interior islands and stormwater. One committee member said the city has prioritized interior parking lot trees over the past decade and was surprised no interior trees were shown. Another member urged Berry to consider stormwater retention features such as bioswales and noted prolonged, heavier downpours are increasingly common. Kevin Lascher said the project team is working with city engineering and site review and is preparing responses that in many cases rely on matching 2010 impervious-area conditions because much of the area previously had pavement or roofs.

City speakers also noted that some existing lots in the area were installed without permits and without required landscape islands or trees. Berry said it is coordinating with the city engineer, the tree advisory board and the board of zoning appeals as part of site review.

A committee member moved to require that any newly paved parking areas include the city-required landscape islands and trees and that Berry plant trees along the exterior perimeter of the expanded areas; the motion excluded retrofitting existing paved areas. Colby (committee member) seconded. The committee voted to adopt that condition; the chair noted one dissenting vote. Committee members said Berry will continue site review and return materials showing the proposed pavement extent.

Speakers suggested alternatives for future expansion—parking garages or workforce housing paired with structured parking—but Berry said no garage option has been pursued in the current plan. Berry representatives said added parking also supports operational needs such as accommodating school buses during plant tours and helps schedule maintenance with less impact to operations.

Next steps listed by the presenter and staff include continued site review, coordination with the city engineer for stormwater approval, and reviews by the tree advisory board and board of zoning appeals where variances are sought.