Small Town in Colorado has Won Big Against Buc-ee’s and its New Store

(Palmer Lake, Colorado) - This is a story we've been covering for a while here. Buc-ee's has wanted to bring a new store to the small town of Palmer Lake, Colorado. Residents there don't want it and even sued their city because of it.

It seemed an agreement had been reach to annex some land, Buc-ee's would improve some infrastructure and a new store would be built. After a very contentious battle, it seems that small Colorado town has finally won their battle and got what they want, no new Buc-ee's store. Let's find out what happened.

Small Town in Colorado has Won Big Against Buc-ee's

It's been a battle that's been going on for just over a year (mysanantonio.com). Buc-ee's wanted to build in the small Colorado town of Palmer Lake, but the residents didn't want it. It seems that small town opposition can celebrate a victory. The group looking to annex some land, Monument Ridge West, L.L.C., have withdrawn their annexation plan.

This will be the second time that this annexation plan has been withdrawn. After this win, the governor of Colorado has called for Buc-ee's to find another town to build their store in. As much as we love Buc-ee's here in Texas, not everyone wants the behemoth gas station in their area.

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Fight Against Buc-ee's Building in Palmer Lake, Colorado

Buc-ee's has been fighting for a while to bring their pit stop to the area of Palmer Lake, Colorado (KKTV). Residents fought back saying that the traffic increase would be disruptive, natural resources would be drained and no one wanted the beaver to interrupt their small town life. It was a brutal fight.

In the terms, Buc-ee's is going to have to do a lot of extra stuff to be able to build:

• Build two water wells and water treatment facility with a cost just over $14 million
• Buc-ee's won't add a car wash to this location to save water
• Buc-ee's will pay for all road improvements to the area around their build site
• Buc-ee's will reimburse the city for land annexation costs
• Annual sales tax would increase 3%, 1% to Buc-ee's, with the remainder going to the town after 20 years

This agreement is not in stone just yet. A meeting will be held August 28 to talk about the plans and possibly vote on the agreement.

Palmer Lake's Fight Against Buc-ee's

The town of Palmer Lake, Colorado did not back down from Buc-ee's last year during a town meeting (gazette.com). The meeting even escalated to the point that the citizens of the town were yelling at the Buc-ee's representative. Normally, this would be a battle that Buc-ee's would win.

Not in this case, however. The town of Palmer Lake has a history of going up against big time businesses and winning. They fight hard to keep that small town feel. Residents there didn't want the light pollution of Buc-ee's, the increased traffic and the possibility of major traffic accidents during the winter months.

The Fight Against Buc-ee's in Small Town Colorado

Earlier this month (March of 2025), Buc-ee's pulled their land annexation application (kktv.com). This means that, at least for the time being, Buc-ee's will not receive the land needed to build in Palmer Lake. It is a victory for this hard fighting small town.

However, another Colorado town would have no problem at all of allowing Buc-ee's into their community, Fountain. The City of Fountain is open to meeting with Buc-ee's about adding a pit stop in their community. Fountain sits along Interstate 25 not far from Cheyenne Mountain.

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