Buc-ee’s Could Pay Dearly to Build in a Small Colorado Town

(Palmer Lake, Colorado) - Buc-ee's is having no problem spreading its goodness across the United States. Thing is, some places are not very happy that Buc-ee's is wanting to come to their area. This has led to some contentious fights and several lawsuits.

One of those towns that has fought against Buc-ee's is Palmer Lake, Colorado. A town hall meeting got very angry. Building permits got revoked. Well now, details of an agreement between Buc-ee's and the small town have been released.

Terms of Buc-ee's Deal with 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.

History of This Battle

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.

Buc-ee's Loses a Battle

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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