Gov. Jared Polis and Colorado’s U.S. Senators are urging Buc-ee’s, the Texas company known for its giant travel plazas, to reconsider its pursuit of a new location near the top of Monument Hill in El Paso County.
Buc-ee's has been pursuing a second location in Colorado since shortly after opening its first outpost near Johnstown last year. It’s been trying to get the small town of Palmer Lake to annex a site along the southwest pocket of Interstate 25 and County Line Road, in order to allow the plaza to tap into the town's water supply.
In a letter to company president and CEO Arch H. “Beaver” Aplin III, dated Sept. 12, the three Colorado leaders express concern over the project’s potential impacts to nearby open space in Douglas County, the Greenland valley, which is protected by conservation easements and sits on the other side of County Line Road from the proposed site of the 74,000-square-foot convenience store and its 100-plus gas pumps.
"We are concerned that a Buc-ee's development at this site would fundamentally change how the public and wildlife experience this unique landscape," the officials write. "The proposed site is within one of the most consequential conservation corridors in the United States, a landscape that Coloradans from across the political spectrum have worked to conserve at substantial public and private expense."
They note the state is currently constructing a wildlife overpass over I-25 just north of the Buc-ee’s site.
"The Overpass will restore the seasonal movement for elk, mule deer, and pronghorn between Colorado's eastern plains and the Pike National Forest.”
The letter was first publicized by Integrity Matters, a group fighting the annexation proposal. KRCC confirmed its authenticity with the governor’s office
The letter asks Aplin to remember his own role in landscape conservation in Texas, where he chaired the Parks & Wildlife Commission, and to apply those same principles to the Centennial State.
“To be clear, we are not asking Buc-ee’s to bypass Colorado. We welcome your investment, and are simply asking you to choose a site outside of the Greenland open-space landscape,” the letter concludes.
Last week, in a special election, voters in Palmer Lake recalled two of the town's trustees and agreed to put approval of annexations into the hands of the voting public, something the letter notes.
Sen. Michael Bennet, who is also running for governor, issued a statement at the end of August declaring his opposition to the proposed Buc-ee's location.
Last week, the town's planning commission voted not to recommend approval of the proposal. The board of trustees has not set a date to vote on the project.
