PALMER LAKE, Colo. (KOAA) — Palmer Lake residents will decide the fate of a proposed Buc-ee's travel center after trustees voted 4-3 Thursday night to send the annexation proposal to a special election rather than making a decision themselves.
The vote came during a heated special meeting that ended with angry residents turning their backs to the town board as the session adjourned.
"This wasn't how it was supposed to go. We're supposed to care about our neighbors, give them a voice," said John Marble, a Palmer Lake resident.
The proposed annexation involves land off Interstate 25 where the Texas-based travel center chain wants to build. Palmer Lake's Planning Commission voted against recommending the proposal last month.
Three days before Thursday's meeting, the town received a letter from Buc-ee's attorneys requesting trustees approve a special election instead of deciding on the annexation first themselves.
"Now Buc-ee's is saying, we want this annexation to go to a vote to the people, and that's what the board approved tonight (Thursday). Buc-ee's is saying: 'hey, we gotta make a case to the people in order to get this passed,'" said Mark Waller, a Buc-ee's team member.
Opposition groups called the move a delay tactic designed to give the company more time to win over Palmer Lake voters.
"What you saw tonight (Thursday) is a classic delay," said Shawn Sawyer, president of Tri Lakes Preservation. "They've made it clear they don't want to deal with us, they want to move it back as far as possible."
Sawyer noted that Palmer Lake's town code would have required a supermajority vote of 5-2 for trustees to approve the annexation directly, which he said was unlikely.
"I'm disappointed in the four board of trustees who seem to vote consistently the same," said Sawyer.
Trustees discussed multiple potential dates for the special election in February and March. Ballot language is expected to be drafted at the next trustee meeting.
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