Wingo Street Homeowners Fear Norcross Will Trade Away Tree Canopy for a $3.08 Million City Hall Parking Lot the Council Votes On Nov. 2

Norcross, Georgia, likes to point out that 38% of the city sits under tree canopy, well above the roughly 27% average for major U.S. cities. Its own Tree Preservation Board, though, says that canopy shrank 12% between 2018 and 2024, and on Nov. 2 the City Council is set to vote on a $3.08 million parking expansion that would cut into the trees between City Hall and the cottages on Wingo Street.

Homeowners on that street have asked the council to deal with the trees, the buffer and the construction before any contract is signed.

Four Contracts and Up to 68 New Spaces

The council is scheduled to vote on Nov. 2 on four contracts tied to the City Hall parking project, Hoodline reported. Together the contracts total $3.08 million. The project would add about 55 spaces, and city officials have said the count could reach 68 as the design changed. The plan also includes landscaping and a new brick plaza at the main entrance.

The council approved an initial $2.8 million construction budget in April. The main construction contract, about $2.9 million including contingencies, is set to go to Ohmshiv Construction, which Public Works Director Len Housley described as the lowest responsive and responsible bidder among seven companies, according to Rough Draft Atlanta’s coverage of the Oct. 19 work session. The other contracts cover construction management, materials testing and geotechnical consulting.

Officials are still deciding whether to cover the remaining balance from city reserves or from the city’s share of Gwinnett County SPLOST sales-tax money.

Crape Myrtles and a Buffer on Wingo Street

Wingo Street resident Lynn Ward told the council she was worried about the buffer between her home and the future lot, Rough Draft Atlanta reported. She asked the city to address how the nearby construction would affect her house before approving the contract, and said she hoped council members would take up her concerns.

Ward and another Wingo Street cottage owner are concerned about losing crape myrtles and other canopy trees that now stand between the Jones Street businesses and the homes next to the expanded lot. By the city’s own description, the project would reduce some of the tree canopy between City Hall and Wingo Street.

The work would also reach past the property line. Housley told the council that the project needs close coordination with neighboring businesses and homeowners, describing many small details that have to line up during construction. Savage Pizza’s dumpsters would need to be moved, and nearby residents would need temporary parking while the lot is torn up.

A Tree City With a Shrinking Canopy

Norcross earned its 22nd consecutive Tree City USA designation from the Arbor Day Foundation in February 2026, according to Rough Draft Atlanta’s report on the award. That report put the city’s canopy at 38%, compared with about 27% nationally in major cities, and noted that the city follows a “no net loss of trees” policy that requires developers to keep canopy coverage or pay the city to plant elsewhere. Mayor Craig Newton said the award reflected the city’s long-standing commitment to protecting and growing its canopy.

The Tree Preservation Board’s own numbers are less flattering. Rough Draft Atlanta’s coverage of the parking plan also cited the board’s finding of a 12% citywide canopy drop from 2018 to 2024, along with board priorities to update tree preservation ordinances and collect new data on canopy loss. Board Chair Charlotte Osborn called the urban forest one of the city’s most valuable long-term assets and asked that all developer payments for removing specimen trees go directly into the city’s tree bank fund for replanting.

That fund held $51,896.13 as of October 2025 but received no deposits during 2024 and 2025, according to Hoodline. Council Member Bruce Gaynor said he was surprised the money was not going where it was meant to go and asked City Manager Cheri Hobson-Matthews to find a fix.

What Happens After the Nov. 2 Vote

If the council awards the contracts, permitting would begin first, with groundbreaking expected shortly after New Year’s. Construction would take nine to 12 months in three phases, with completion expected before the end of 2027. Phase one covers demolition, stormwater pipe installation, clearing of nearby properties and grading, and the affected part of the lot would close while part of the downtown public lot stays open.

The expansion follows other downtown building. The city held a ribbon cutting for its new Public Safety Building on Sept. 1 at Buford Highway and Stevens Road, on the former library property, according to the City of Norcross. Norcross, chartered in 1870, is a Gwinnett County city of about 19,086 residents roughly 20 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta, according to its Wikipedia entry.

Tree losses tied to construction have drawn neighbors out in other cities, too, from a 500-foot stretch of trees cleared near Charlotte’s Plaza Midwood to a retired copyeditor standing beside a West Philadelphia willow oak to stop a crew with no permit. On Wingo Street, the decision rests with the Norcross council on Nov. 2, and Ward has asked the city for answers on her home and the trees beside it before that vote.

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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.

Image: Thomson200, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons