The Palmer Lake Planning commission is recommending against a flag pole annexation that would effectively put a Buc-ee’s travel plaza a couple miles east of the town, near County Line Road and I-25.
The decision was followed by thunderous applause from the mostly anti-Buc-ee’s crowd. The meeting was closed to public comment.
The three commissioners who voted against the Buc-ee’s annexation did so for an array of reasons, including preserving the area's dark skies, traffic concerns, worries about a drain on available labor for local businesses, and questions whether zoning for that area actually allows for something like a Buc-ee’s.
But the main reason: Water.
Councilmen Michael Beeson said he’s concerned about Buc-ee’s potentially getting priority access during a water shortage, and that long term, the massive travel center could drain the aquifer the town relies on, which is already facing depletion.
“It's concerning to me that I don't know what happens down the road if there are water shortages,” Beeson said. “What’s owed to commercial (users)?”
Tied to that, some on the commission voiced a concern that the cost of building new wells and accessing new water sources would exceed the revenue the town will get from sales taxes from Buc-ee’s.
And Commissioner Bill Fisher worried how long those new supplies would last.
“So when those wells start to actually ramp down the production, you have other plans in place to plug in those holes and fill in the gaps for the total meter,” Fisher said. “We're going to need to either do the same thing all over again, another 10 million bucks.”
Buc-ee’s representatives argued that the town is going to face a water crisis down the line regardless, and investments the company has agreed to front the town, including covering the cost of a previously planned redundant well and a new well for itself and a water treatment plant, will help with that.
“Palmer Lake has water rights that they can't currently access. This is going to enable Palmer Lake to access more of its water — the water that it owns in the aquifers that sit below the town,” said Mark Waller, a consultant for Buc-ees. “It's water they already own. They just can't afford to go get it.”
As part of the plan, Buc-ees would re-coup its investment through a 20-year, 30 percent sales tax credit.
The planning commission's vote was 3-2, with commissioner Andre Bergeron abstaining. Bergeron recused himself at the beginning of the meeting, saying a threatening package had been sent to his home.
Their decision, though, is non-binding. Ultimately the town’s Board of Trustees can either take or reject the recommendation to deny the Buc-ee's annexation.
However, even the board may not be the final say. A special election next Tuesday could potentially require all annexation decisions, including this one, go to a vote of residents.
A heated evening
Over the course of the three-hour meeting, debate repeatedly flared into vitriol between commissioners, city officials, Buc-ee’s representatives, and the mostly anti-Buc-ee’s crowd.
At one point, planning commission chairman Charlie Ihlenfeld lashed out at the crowd for shouting out comments while board members and presenters were speaking.
“Why don't you just sit there and shut your mouths,” Inlenfeld said, only to be met with more outbursts.
“I've been a part of a lot of campaigns, a lot of land use issues. I sat on the board of county commissioners, and dealt with very contentious issues,” Waller, a former state lawmaker, said. “I have never seen anything as vitriolic as I'm seeing here today.”
There were multiple uniformed law enforcement officers on hand for the meeting. One told KRCC they have had to beef up security since the Buc-ee's annexation discourse started last winter.
