Buc-ee’s critics not swayed after specific proposal details released
Michael Logerwell
TRI LAKES AREA, Colo. (KRDO) – This weekend, we got our first look at the official plan for the proposed Palmer Lake Buc-ee’s. Days after the town released the proposal, the ‘Stop Buc-ees’ group held a meeting in Monument.
KRDO13 attended the meeting and found that many still have concerns over the proposed development
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On Friday, Palmer Lake Mayor Pro Tem Amy Hutson sat down with KRDO 13 to discuss the proposal.
“It’s not set in stone. We still have to vote on it. It has to go before the planning commission, but it’s a really strong deal for Palmer Lake,” Hutson told our station on Friday.
Hutson said Buc-ees made concessions to limit light pollution off their property, as well as paying for the building of two new wells and road upgrades in the area.
Plus, Palmer Lake is set to pull in $1 million annually.
Despite those factors, attendees at Sunday’s Buc-ee’s resistance meeting said that those details didn’t address their biggest concerns.
“The water issue, the traffic, the effect on the environment. Those are the main issues that we are concerned about,” Mike Kopyzinski said. “Yes, lighting is part of that overall package of issues that we have, and yes, there were concessions, concessions made on paper.”
“Water is a finite resource in this area, and we have to make smart development,” Shawn Sawyer said
Many that KRDO13 spoke to on Sunday lived in unincorporated El Paso County, not Palmer Lake, but near the site of the proposed Buc-ees and are mainly concerned about the size of the build and the water it will require, despite Buc-ees’ plans to build new wells in Palmer Lake.
The Palmer Lake Board of Trustees is scheduled to vote on the Buc-ees in late August.