Developers proposing to build the second Buc-ee’s travel center in Colorado in Palmer Lake have withdrawn their application, the northern El Paso County town said in a statement Wednesday.
Monument Ridge West LLC pulled its annexation request at the corner of Interstate 25 and County Line Road between Denver and Colorado Springs, Palmer Lake town officials said in an email offering few details.
“The Town followed the established state annexation process, including public notice and opportunities for community input,” officials said.
Monument Ridge West submitted its initial proposal in December 2024. Ever since, the proposed 120-pump gas station and convenience store threw Palmer Lake, its neighbors and town officials into a bitter battle over land use and conservation, transparency and the future of the small town north of Colorado Springs.
As of Wednesday afternoon, it remained unclear whether the developers were still planning to pursue a new store in the area. A Buc-ee’s consultant did not return a voicemail from The Colorado Sun.
The withdrawal comes just weeks after neighbors and open space advocates claimed victory in the withdrawal of a proposed Golden Gate convenience and fuel center at the empty Bakerville exit off of Interstate 70, east of the Eisenhower Tunnel.
Pushback against the Buc-ee’s proposal sparked a lawsuit, a recall election to remove two former Board of Trustees members, the former mayor’s resignation and other clashes between residents on opposing sides of the issue. Town meetings with the travel center on the agenda were often volatile, with residents overflowing into a standing-room-only area, while others protested outside town hall carrying anti-Buc-ee’s signs.
Last month, the town’s Board of Trustees voted to oust the town attorney, Scott Krob. Mayor Dennis Sturm called the move “ill-advised” and warned that it would place the town at “significant and unnecessary legal risk.”
Trustees had planned to discuss the developers’ proposal again Feb. 19, but will likely cancel those hearings during the board’s regularly scheduled meeting on Feb. 12, trustee Roger Moseley told The Colorado Sun.
Moseley, who was elected to the board following the recall, said he learned of Buc-ee’s withdrawal Wednesday morning from the town clerk, but was unsure whether the developers can legally resubmit their application or under what timeframe.
“And then the next question is, do they even want to reapply?” Moseley said.
In October, the Pueblo City Council passed a resolution showing its support to bring Buc-ee’s to the city. The mayor of Lamar also threw in his bid to invite the Texas-chain to the Eastern Plains.
Erica Romero, Palmer Lake town clerk, declined to comment further on the withdrawal, citing the town’s lack of legal representation.
Asked if Wednesday’s withdrawal marks the end of a chapter for Palmer Lake, Moseley said he didn’t know. Either way, the controversy drained a lot of resources from the towns’ employees.
“This has been a huge time sink for everybody on either side, trying to prepare the public comments, trying to anticipate the moves of the other side and be ready for them. Just being concerned that, since most of us aren’t lawyers, whether we had a wide enough view of the law and the rules that we could protect ourselves either way,” he said.
“Everybody has just been wringing their hands over this and now it’s maybe over — maybe — because I don’t know what the restrictions are for them coming back,” he added.
Some supporters of the project felt the travel center would bring business to the small town. An independent study commissioned by the town reported that the new Buc-ee’s would boost significant annual sales tax revenues for the town and bring $10.5 million in investments by Buc-ee’s into transportation improvements as part of the site development.
Conservationists, on the other hand, feared that the Buc-ee’s would undermine Colorado’s commitment to open lands. Developers were requesting to annex land adjacent to one of the Front Range’s largest protected open spaces, which was formed through a massive land deal to keep fast-growing Colorado Springs and Denver from merging into a giant megapolis.
Some also argued that the travel center would place unsustainable demands on the area’s water supply, increase traffic and disregard Palmer Lake’s dark sky ordinance.
“There was a lot of emotion involved in it and I think the fear about water was driving a lot of people,” Moseley said.
The proposal also drew attention from John Malone, who was at one time the largest private landowner in the country, Colorado U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet and Gov. Jared Polis — all three urging the town to reject Buc-ee’s request.
Colorado’s first Buc-ee’s location opened in March 2024 in Johnstown.
Type of Story: News
Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.