Buc-ee’s development or road construction?KRDO13 gets answers on what’s happening on Monument Hill

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) - In northern El Paso County, a boundary line adjustment (BLA) has been approved. Many community members in the Tri-Lakes area have raised concerns that this adjustment lays the groundwork for Buc-ee's to take another stab at developing in El Paso County.

On Wednesday, machinery and what appeared to be construction material were spotted in the BLA area, just off of I-25 near County Line Road and Beacon Lite Road. KRDO13 spoke with residents who stopped to get a better look at what was going on.

"Complete and total dread, and shock because we thought maybe the fight was over. And then we kept seeing all this equipment, and we had to stop and just see what was going on. And, apparently, our voices don't matter. And, it's just really sad. The residents here, we do not want Buc-ee's in our backyard. It's too huge. It's going to bring way too many people. Way too much traffic. It's going to change the whole landscape, the whole feel. If you look at the trees, all that beautiful property," said Deana Claton, a Monument Resident.

KRDO13 also spoke with the Mayor of Monument about the town's concerns. The Monument Council submitted this letter of opposition to the county, sharing their beliefs that this project circumvents the spirit of the El Paso County Land Development Code and ignores the significant regional impacts on the community.

Citizens of Monument and the greater Tri-Lake area showed up in force at a town hall meeting Tuesday night. Here's what Mayor Mitch LaKind told us about it:  

"This gave the, the crowd, which I'm gonna guess was between 30 and 40 people, uh, which is atypical for a regular town hall meeting for us. The opportunity to speak about what they wanted to. I mean, some of it was very passionate, some of it was very emotional," explained Monument Mayor Mitch LaKind.

We reached out to the county and Buc-ee's for comment. El Paso County responded on Thursday night. This is what the County had to say:

Boundary Line Adjustment
The boundary line adjustment in northern El Paso County was approved on Tuesday, March 10. This concludes the review process for that application. It is important to note that this action does not allow construction or commercial activity, nor does it grant any zoning change or permit any land use beyond the existing regulations. 

CON2611 Grading Permit

The county has not received a land use application for this land.  A grading permit is only required when a property owner disturbs more than one acre of land. The property owner has applied for a grading permit and that permit is currently under review at this time.   Grading permits are evaluated by El Paso County Department of Public Works to ensure that appropriate erosion control measures, drainage protections, and safeguards for adjacent public infrastructure are in place.  The county does issue stop work orders routinely when it is determined more than an acre is disturbed. Work was paused until the permit is approved.  At this time the property owner is working with the county to mitigate any and all impacts and comply with all requirements.

In regards to the relationship to the Beacon Light Road project, El Paso County hired a contractor to make improvements to Beacon Light Road; contractors have flexibility in how they perform their contracted services.

The contractor chose to approach a property owner to enter into an agreement to allow the contractor to dispose of excess materials from the road construction project. Any other questions about the land owners intentions should be directed to the land owner.

Buc-ee's

First, Buc-ee's has not submitted an application to El Paso County for development, nor has any development application been submitted for the referenced property. We cannot speak to any intentions of Buc-ee's, or the property owner. Property owners are not required to disclose their future plans for a property when requesting a boundary line adjustment or grading permit. Please direct any and all questions related to intentions to those parties.

Property owners have the right to make decisions about their property as long as they are following the law. The county follows processes to allow property owners to make changes to their property in compliance with the law. The county takes seriously its legal obligations and the rights of all interested parties, including respecting the constitutional private property rights of citizens. Under the law, property owners are entitled to a fair process where the Board of County Commissioners remains neutral (including no ex-parte communication) prior to conducting a formal hearing where they review evidence and make a decision based on criteria previously established in the Land Development Code.

The Town of Monument leaders you refer to should be well aware of these legal requirements for neutrality and the rights of all interested parties, including property owners.  There is no special privilege for politicians, including Monument leaders, to bypass the legal hearing process.

- A Spokesperson for El Paso County

Buc-ee's developers said they had no comment at this time and referred us to Vertex Consulting Services, LLC, the group behind the BLA. KRDO13 contacted a Vertex Consulting Services representative who declined to comment.

A representative for the property owner tells KRDO13 the trucks on Monument Hill are for a county road improvement project on Beacon Lite Road. The representative said the work being done on the road has nothing to do with the property; they said they had agreed that the workers could house material on their property for a temporary basis.

The representative told KRDO13 this is not construction for a Buc-ee's. They also noted that the road improvement project has been on the books for years and that it has nothing to do with the parcel of land nearby. The representative confirmed to KRDO13 that there was a stop-work order from the county. However, they continued to say there would be another meeting to get everything squared away by the end of the week.

The El Paso County Planning and Community Development Department has also created this website for information from the county regarding Buc-ee's.

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