Thursday’s Buc-ee’s Hearing: Time, Place, and How to Take Part

The Board of County Commissioners takes up Buc-ee’s appeal on Thursday morning at Centennial Hall. Doors opened at 8:30 a.m. It is the only land-use item on the agenda, and it decides one question: whether a 74,000-square-foot travel center with 120 fueling positions may be classified as a convenience store on land zoned C-1. Written comments closed at noon Wednesday. Here is everything the County has published about taking part.

What the Board is deciding

The Board of County Commissioners will decide, in the County’s own words, “one question: whether the proposed Buc-ee’s use qualifies as an allowed use in the C-1 zoning district under the Land Development Code.” The hearing “does not approve or deny construction of a Buc-ee’s,” and does not reach site design, grading, drainage, traffic improvements, utilities, signage, lighting or building permits. Any future development would still require separate County review.

The appeal was filed by Buc-ee’s EPCO, LLC on July 2 after the Planning and Community Development Director determined she was unable to find that the proposal met the Code’s definition of a “Convenience Store,” or that it was sufficiently similar to a use allowed in C-1.

This is a quasi-judicial hearing, which changes how testimony is weighed. The County’s participation page states that the Board “must base its findings on specific, factual evidence instead of public popularity,” and that “the number of people testifying for or against a project will not outweigh evidence that the project meets the legal criteria for approval.” The staff report states twice that the applicant bears the burden of demonstrating the criteria are satisfied.

Written comments closed at noon Wednesday

Written evidence goes to [email protected] and had to arrive by 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 26. Comments submitted before the deadline become part of the public record and are provided to the Board before or during the hearing.

One caution worth repeating, because it is the County’s own: the address was published incorrectly at first. The participation page now reads, “We noticed there was initially an error with the [email protected] email address. The issue has been corrected. If you submitted written evidence and received a bounce-back message or error message, please resubmit your written evidence.” Anyone who wrote in early and received an error was directed to resubmit before the deadline.

Speaking at the hearing

Speakers must register in advance and sign up by 9:00 a.m. on the day of the hearing. Registration closes when the hearing begins. Registered speakers must attend in person and speak when called by the Chair.

Asked whether everyone will get a turn, the County answers plainly: “Yes. Everyone who signs up before the hearing begins will have an opportunity to speak.”

• Time limit. “The Chair has discretion to limit speaker time to facilitate an orderly meeting. You may be limited to one minute to speak.”
• One turn each. Each speaker speaks once.
• No ceding. Speaking time cannot be given to another person.
• Order. Speakers are called in the order they register, beginning with those registered in support, followed by those in opposition.
• Handouts. Bring at least six printed copies for the Board. Electronic presentations are not permitted during public testimony, and time at the podium counts against your speaking time.
• Say your name before beginning. Comments become part of the public record.

The County asks speakers to keep comments on the item before the Board and to avoid repeating points already made. The list of speakers and the speaking order will be posted to the public hearing participation page on the day of the hearing.

The order of proceedings

The appeal is item 5 and the only land-use regular item on Thursday’s agenda. Ahead of it sit the invocation, the Pledge of Allegiance, staff emergency items, and any changes or postponements — all short. The item should be called early in the morning, though the County publishes no separate start time for it. Anyone planning to stay should expect the hearing to run a full day rather than a morning.

1. The Chair opens the hearing and outlines procedures.
2. County staff present the item; Commissioners may ask questions.
3. The applicant presents, carrying the burden of proof.
4. Public input — support first, then opposition.
5. The applicant rebuts.
6. The Board discusses and decides.

Rules for the room

Seating is first-come, first-served. Signs, banners, and other items that obstruct views or disrupt proceedings are not permitted inside the hearing room. Neither are food and beverages. Applause, shouting and chanting are barred, phones are to be silenced, and attendees are asked to keep a seat rather than gather at the back or in the lobby. If the room reaches capacity, staff may escort speakers in and out so everyone can participate. Speakers who are called and not present may lose their turn.

Documents handed up at the hearing are automatically accepted as exhibits unless the Board directs otherwise, and the County Clerk labels and keeps them as part of the record. Anyone submitting exhibits may request their return after 30 days; they are scanned before release.

Watching from home

The meeting streams on the County’s public meetings page and on the El Paso County Facebook page. Watching, however, is not participating: there was no remote testimony for this hearing, and written comment closed at noon Wednesday.

Getting there

The building opened at 8:30 a.m., half an hour before the hearing began. That is a tight window: speaker registration closes at 9:00, seating is first-come, first-served, and the time it takes to park and clear building entry comes out of the same thirty minutes. Centennial Hall is at 200 S. Cascade Ave. in downtown Colorado Springs. County parking structures are at 255 Sawatch Street (at Colorado Avenue) and 50 Costilla Street (at Tejon Street); both are paid, as is most downtown street parking. The County encourages carpooling and advises allowing extra time to park and clear building entry.

Anyone needing an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act should contact the County at least 48 hours before the meeting at (719) 520-6866 or [email protected].

What is already in the record

The Board’s hearing packet runs to 338 pages. It contains the Director’s July 1 determination, the applicant’s June 19 request with exhibits, and six staff-prepared exhibits — among them a countywide inventory of C-1 parcels, parking calculations under the Code’s own table, trip generation rates, a list of the County’s 26 approved convenience stores and fuel stations, and a survey of nine jurisdictions where a Buc-ee’s has been built or proposed.

Public correspondence has been posted in five separate bundles, split between letters of support and opposition. All of it, along with the staff report, is available on the APP261 project page in the County’s development review portal. As of Wednesday morning, the most recent posting was dated August 24.

Journalists are asked to contact El Paso County Communications in advance at (719) 992-0090 or [email protected].

Sources & further reading

County record: APP261 project page, EDARP · Agenda, Board of County Commissioners (Land Use), Aug. 27, 2026 · Agenda item APP-26-001

How to participate: Public Hearing Participation, El Paso County Clerk and Recorder · Speaker registration form · Watch live meetings

Reported by The Independent: The doors-open time was confirmed by telephone with the El Paso County Clerk to the Board on August 26, 2026, and revised the same day from 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. The County does not publish a doors-open time on its hearing pages.

Background: Buc-ee’s Update, El Paso County Planning and Community Development (last updated Aug. 10, 2026) · ADM264 administrative determination file