Norcross City Council Meeting - October 19, 2026

The Norcross City Council met at 6:30 p.m. on October 19, 2026, for a regular meeting covering public comments, a Tree Preservation Board update, special use permit discussions, the downtown parking expansion project, staffing proposals, and administrative items. The meeting closed with a motion to enter executive session for cybersecurity. No agenda or minutes were available; this summary is based solely on the transcript.

Public Comments & Testimony

• A resident identified only as Lynn raised concerns about the proposed downtown parking expansion adjacent to her yard, including privacy infringement, tree preservation, loss of existing screening between her house and Savage Pizza, and car lights and noise. She said an attorney's email suggested changes could be made through change orders, but she argued that change orders must stay within the original scope of the project under state law. She asked the council to table the parking project until her concerns could be investigated.
• Tiny Willis, 202 Wingo Street, supported Lynn and urged preservation of the crepe myrtle island behind 60 Wingo. She noted it has a picnic table and about six existing parking spaces, and she opposed destroying the area for only one or two additional parking spaces.

Tree Preservation Board Update

• Charlotte Osborne, Chair of the Tree Preservation Board, presented the board's update. She said the board has four members, one vacancy, and also serves as the board of directors for the Norcross Pinnacle Park Arboretum.
• Accomplishments included inclusion in the National Arboretum Research Partner Directory, Arbor Day celebrations, Tree Talk newsletter articles, recommended tree ordinance revisions, stewardship of three forest preserves, Trees Atlanta invasive plant removal at Pinnacle Park and Johnson Dean, completion of the new Johnson Dean front entrance, negotiations with the Episcopal Church to purchase three more acres for Johnson Dean, planning for Swinson Brown Forest Preserve improvements, and a new online tree removal permit notification system.
• Osborne reported that Bruce calculated Norcross has lost 51 acres of tree canopy since 2017, with an estimated additional 10-acre loss from proposed developments in 2026 and 2027. The board asked for an updated canopy assessment, tree bank funding, a new development fee structure for removed trees, specimen tree fees credited to the tree bank, a separate tree maintenance and replanting budget line item, and a joint working group with Gwinnett County and Gateway 85 CID.
• Councilmember Myers asked about programs outside Historic Norcross. Osborne said the board wants to examine canopy by character area, noted the current canopy figure of 26%, and mentioned possible front-yard tree planting programs. Myers stressed that the city should consider the entire city, not only the historic downtown.
• Councilmember Gaynor asked about specimen tree fees not being credited to the tree bank. The city manager said she would look into it.

Discussion Items

Special Use Permit: 5386 Buford Highway

• Staff presented an application for a special use permit to replace an existing roughly 1,798-square-foot auto repair property with an approximately 8,800-square-foot auto glass facility. The property is the Bolton Service Station site, a legal non-conforming auto repair use in the BH zoning district, and the applicant has been at its current location for 28 years.
• Staff recommended denial because the proposal was inconsistent with the Summerour character area, incompatible with neighboring uses such as the Clara Apartments and the Boys and Girls Club, would expand a non-conforming use, did not meet the two-acre minimum for motor-vehicle uses, and had no plan to connect to public sewer. The Planning and Zoning Board also recommended denial.
• Council members commented that the city should stick with the BH district's non-automotive vision. Councilmember Mars asked staff to compare the proposal to the Buford Highway Master Plan before the next voting meeting.

Special Use Permit: 145 Autry Street

• Staff presented an application from the City of Hope Community Development Corporation for the Christianomics mall on property owned by Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church. The site is under four acres, contains four buildings, and is zoned M1 Light Industrial, a historical remnant from when the site was a junkyard.
• Code enforcement found that Phil's Beauty Salon and Phil's Barber Shop had operated without business licenses for more than 10 years. Because personal care uses are not permitted in M1, the city could not reissue licenses. Staff recommended approving an SUP with seven conditions rather than rezoning, partly because the C1 district would not allow Tucker's Catering, a longtime anchor tenant.
• The mayor recused himself because he is a member of Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church. Mayor Pro Tem Gainer presided, and the city attorney advised that no vote could occur without a quorum. Council discussion favored pursuing a C1 rezoning rather than relying only on an SUP, with some members suggesting a temporary SUP while the rezoning moved forward.
• Staff noted a temporary certificate of occupancy expires in December and the two businesses have not yet paid back taxes. A related appeal to the Board of Zoning Appeals was tabled to December. Consensus was to continue discussion, likely table the SUP, and work toward a rezoning.

Georgia Main Street Program

• Downtown Manager Stephanie Newton asked council to approve a resolution for the city to become a Georgia Main Street community and to approve a startup budget amendment. The request included a $295 National Main Street membership fee and approximately $3,000 in startup costs; the draft budget amendment was $3,300, and staff said the amounts would be reconciled before the November vote.
• Newton explained the program is administered by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, includes more than 100 Georgia communities, and reported over $1.01 billion in related investment in 2025. The city has already completed the program interest form and received approval to move forward.
• Council members called the designation long overdue, supported creation of a downtown business board, and encouraged using Georgia Main Street recommendations for board structure and downtown coordination.

Municipal Court Solicitor and Indigent Defense Amendments

• Staff presented ordinance amendments to update the appointment process for the city solicitor and to separate the designation of indigent defense attorneys from Gwinnett County's list, leaving appointment with the clerk and municipal judge. No questions were raised, and the item was moved forward for a vote.

Expanded Downtown Parking Project

• Staff presented the expanded downtown parking project, described as adding approximately 75 new and redistributed parking spaces with plaza landscaping, lighting, stormwater improvements, and three phases. The project was expected to take 9 to 12 months, with construction starting in January if approved.
• The lowest responsive and responsible bidder was Om Shiv Construction at $2,679,670.70. Additional contracts included Columbia NV5 for construction management at $65,000, NOVA for construction materials testing, and United Consulting for geotechnical work at $19,000. Staff recommended approving four contracts and a budget appropriation of $3,061,637. Council had previously set a construction budget of a little over $2.8 million.
• Councilmember Gaynor asked that all bid amounts be included in the packet for the record, and staff agreed. Councilmember Myers requested a communication plan for events and parking impacts and asked staff to track coordination details internally. Councilmember Bear raised the possibility of using SPLOST funds; the finance director said the current budget amendment would use general fund capital funds and that SPLOST funds were currently earmarked for the Greenway project. Council agreed to discuss funding sources separately.
• When asked about net new parking spaces, staff said the project includes 75 new and redistributed spaces and estimated a net gain of roughly 55 spaces, subject to final site survey.

Banking Services RFP

• Staff recommended rejecting all proposals from the banking services RFP and reassessing the city's banking requirements before issuing a new solicitation. The item was moved forward without council questions.

New City Staff Positions

• The city manager proposed four new positions: Director of Organizational Development, Assistant Director of Public Works, additional public information support for the Public Information Officer, and a Procurement Specialist. She withdrew the proposed Executive Assistant position because the city clerk volunteered to assist.
• The city manager said she would return with job descriptions, compensation classifications, funding availability, and any needed budget amendment. Council members asked for more time to review, with suggestions to discuss details at the November policy work session and consider a final vote in December. Concerns were raised about the cost impact on the millage rate and whether existing contracts, such as marketing, could be adjusted.

Demolition Moratorium Extension

• Staff proposed extending the August 10 demolition moratorium through the February voting meeting and limiting it to residential buildings. The item was introduced as affecting homes constructed after 1950, while staff referred to houses constructed before 1950; the transcript contains both descriptions.
• Councilmember Bear requested removing the exemption for city and DDA properties so the moratorium applies to all residential properties. Councilmember Myers asked about the timeline for the underlying historic preservation ordinance. Staff said the ordinance would go to boards in November, be considered by council in December or January, and the extra time allowed for holiday scheduling. Council directed staff to prepare the extension accordingly.

Citywide 25 mph Speed Limit

• The city manager requested deferral of this item because the final consultant proposal had arrived late that evening and had not yet been reviewed. Council deferred discussion to the November policy work session, noting that earlier discussion had concluded two or three roads did not make sense for the change and one did.

Key Outcomes

• No formal votes were taken on the special use permits, parking project, staffing proposal, or Georgia Main Street resolution during this discussion-oriented meeting; several items were moved forward for future action.
• Council directed staff to prepare a demolition moratorium extension to February, limited to residential buildings and without the city/DDA exemption.
• For the 145 Autry Street SUP, council consensus was to pursue a C1 rezoning and likely table or withdraw the SUP. The next voting meeting is November 2, 2026, where the item could be added from the floor.
• For the 5386 Buford Highway SUP, staff was asked to provide a Buford Highway Master Plan comparison before the next voting meeting.
• Council agreed to revisit parking requirements in the historic downtown at the next work session, including whether certain business categories have appropriate parking ratios.
• The city manager announced the State of the City address on October 27, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. at the Public Safety Building community room.
• The council unanimously approved a motion to enter executive session for cybersecurity, and the meeting adjourned to that session.