Monument residents tell El Paso County commissioners Buc-ee's would overwhelm Beacon Light Road, cite safety and zoning concerns

Lede: At the July 7 meeting of the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners, several Monument residents and commenters urged the board to subject a proposed Buc-ee's travel center to stricter review, saying Beacon Light Road and nearby infrastructure were not built to handle the projected traffic and heavy commercial use.

Nut graf: Speakers Lynette Perseta, Deborah Hall and Steven Fisher told commissioners that the Buc-ee's project would be incompatible with the character and engineering limits of the area. Perseta cited engineering reports and Colorado statute CRS 43-1-1103 to argue that new development must be compatible with existing transportation systems; Fisher said the project has been misclassified as a community convenience business and described fuel sales and pump counts that, he said, indicate a travel center rather than a neighborhood store.

Body: "Beacon Light Road was designed for 200 to 400 autos per day," Lynette Perseta told the commissioners, referring to a 2022 Shannon & Wilson report and arguing that the road's 10-year horizon is roughly 1,000 average daily trips. Perseta said the proposed Buc-ee's would generate far greater traffic and heavy-truck use that the road was not engineered to carry, adding that when Interstate 25 closes, Beacon Light can become the only west-side route for residents, tourists and emergency vehicles. Perseta asked the board to "please honor CRS 43-1-1103," and requested a comprehensive 20-year pavement life-cycle cost analysis that would account for heavy freight loading, commercial traffic projections and expansive soil mitigation.

Deborah Hall, a Monument resident of more than 25 years, told commissioners she supported managed growth but urged them to "look beyond the size of the building and carefully consider its location," noting proximity to neighborhoods, Greenland Open Space and wildlife habitat. "This isn't about opposing growth," Hall said. "It's about putting the right project in the right place."

Steven Fisher questioned classifying Buc-ee's as a "community convenience business," saying the company's operations resemble a regional travel center. "Buc-ee's'fuel sales are not incidental," Fisher said, citing concerns about nighttime illumination (a three-story illuminated beaver sign), excessive water consumption tied to shallow personal wells, and the potential for infrastructure upgrade costs to fall on taxpayers. He said the two on-site wells would supply only about two-thirds of the travel center's needs.

The public-comment period at the July 7 meeting allowed residents to make statements but did not include dialogue with commissioners; no formal land-use decision was made at the meeting. Commissioners did not vote on the Buc-ee's matter at this session. The chair reminded commenters that written comments and testimony for future land-use hearings can be submitted to plnweb@elpaso.co[dot]com.

Ending: The commission did not act on the development during the July 7 meeting; any formal zoning or land-use changes would occur in later hearings with notice and opportunity for additional public comment.