Council Moves Forward with CarMax Annexation

After some back and forth, the Council moved to approve CarMax’s petition to enter the City of Norcross on Monday night.

At issue was CarMax’s “pivotal” request for a sign that could be seen from I-85, one that their representative said would be roughly the same height and size as the sign propped up at neighboring Lowe’s.

Jason Pruitt, representative of the auto sales behemoth, which has a 31-plus acre store at 1975 Beaver Ruin Rd, said that without the requested signage, they could not let the annexation fly. “This is really the selling point for my boss—and the people at CarMax,” he said.

But the Gwinnett County Planning and Zoning Board recommended that the City not move forward with the sign, since it goes against the 2030 Unified Plan. 

Chris McCrary, Community Development Director for the city, said that despite the statement from the county, he notes several exceptions along I-85. He said he didn’t believe that any legal action could be taken, as the county’s position was a “recommendation” only.  

Ultimately, the Council voted 4-to-1 to bring CarMax into the city, with Councilmember Ross Kaul opposing the annexation.

One stipulation was pinned to the petition: The Architecture Review Board would be able to eye the sign plans and approve or disapprove before the annexation got final approval—though the council could still override the decision.

Pruitt said that a study conducted by CarMax showed that the 130-foot tall, 300-square foot pylon sign the company requests has a similar clearance from the trees as Lowe’s sign, though it actually wouldn’t be as tall as their neighbor’s signage. “Our goal is to make it blend in but have visibility from 85,” he said.

Rusty Warner, the city's Economic Development Manager who has worked for several years to bring CarMax into the city, stressed that the company had the “perfect” profile of businesses the city wishes to bring into the fold.