EL PASO COUNTY — Some residents living near the proposed site of a new Buc-ee's convenience store along I-25 and County Line Road are pushing back against the company's plans.
Developers for the Texas-based travel center chain are looking to build Colorado's second Buc-ee's on the plot of land north of Monument. The company has submitted an annexation request that would bring the piece of county land into the Town of Palmer Lake.
Buc-ee's developers hosted a community meeting Tuesday night at Palmer Lake Elementary School to hear from nearby residents and share more information about the project.
News5 spoke with several community members ahead of the meeting on Tuesday. Linda Kadnuck, a Monument resident, said she's against the proposed Buc-ee's because of concerns about increased traffic, impacts to wildlife, and severe winter weather that often hits the Monument Hill area.
"We don't want to live here if there's going to be a Buc-ee's there. That's for sure," said Kadnuck.
Her back deck faces I-25 and the plot of land where the convenience store could be built. She said she's also worried about bright lights coming from the gas station. The Buc-ee's website says all locations are open 24 hours a day and 365 days a year.
"It's going to be sad to have that here in our area, you know. The highway is bad enough, but to see all the lights and, you know, the traffic... and probably litter... just everything," said Kadnuck.
Landon Reiley recently moved from Texas to Monument and said he's seen the so-called "Buc-ee's effect" on local communities.
“That’s one of the reasons we actually moved was to get away from the overcrowded, overpopulated small town that exploded without the infrastructure to support it," said Reiley. "Buc-ee's came in and a lot of other retailers built around Buc-ee's and it became just like a metroplex of retail shops and lights and nonstop traffic. It was just an absolute mess."
One viewer contacted News5 in support of the proposed gas station, saying it would bring economic prosperity to the town that has a small tax base of a handful of restaurants and "very small retail entities."
The Palmer Lake Board of Trustees will have a hearing on Dec. 12 to determine whether the proposed site is eligible for annexation under state law.
Colorado's first Buc-ee's location opened in Johnstown back in March. That travel center is 74,000 square feet with 116 fuel pumps and 275 staff members.
