El Paso commissioners green-light Buc-ee's next move
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The Buc-ee's gas station and convenience store logo. Photo: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images
For hours Thursday, inside an at-capacity auditorium, more than 150 residents pleaded with El Paso County commissioners not to fast-track permits for a new Buc-ee's travel center.
What they're saying: It's a gas station with 120 pumps, not a convenience store, one resident said.
- It's a traffic magnet that will lead to congested roads, said another.
- It's out of character for the rural community, a third added.
Driving the news: The opponents left disappointed.
By a 4-to-1 margin, the board voted in favor of Buc-ee's, saying the travel center is allowed at the site in the Tri Lakes area because it qualifies as a convenience store under C-1 of the county's zoning law.
- The commissioners who voted in favor cited private property rights, as well as a broad interpretation of the zoning designation.
- "None of us wants government just putting us in a box," Commissioner Lauren Nelson said near the end of the nearly nine-hour hearing.
The other side: The opponents — including former Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers — told commissioners that Buc-ee's didn't qualify as a convenience store and must go through the full zoning process.
- Suthers expressed concern about light pollution and its proximity to the Greenland Open Space.
- "Common sense tells us this is not a convenience store," he said. "I know it, and you know it. The rule of law requires that the proposed project undergo the rezoning process."
Why it matters: The vote caps two years of debate about Buc-ee's plans to build one of its massive travel centers on a 30-acre parcel next to I-25 near County Line Road.
- Buc-ee's initial proposal to build in Palmer Lake led to a special recall election, months of neighborhood upheaval and input from Gov. Jared Polis and U.S. Sens. John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet, who called on Buc-ee's to reconsider the location.
Zoom in: Buc-ee's didn't appear at Thursday's hearing. Nina Dossey with Vertex Consulting, a development firm representing the company, argued it's a matter of private property rights, given the property was zoned C-1 for 68 years.
- She added that Buc-ee's fits the definition of a convenience store because that's how it earns most of its revenue.
- She also suggested traffic at the travel center is similar to or less than other uses, such as a supercenter or general retail.
What's next: Buc-ee's is now moving into site planning and needs additional county approvals.
Editor's note: The story and headline have been updated to clarify that the meeting was focused on land-use classification and to add further context on what's next.