Brownstein lawyer letter to El Paso County Board of County Commissioners

Today, Brownstein submitted the attached letter and exhibits to the El Paso County Commissioners as a public record for their consideration.

Dear Commissioners:

This letter concerns the appeal of the administrative determination on use dated July 1, 2026 (the “Determination”) requested by Buc-ee’s, EPCO, LLC (“Buc-ee’s”) related to the proposed Buc-ee’s travel center (the “Project”) located at I-25 and County Line Road in El Paso County, Colorado (the “County”).

The Determination correctly concluded that the Planning Director could not find that the Project is sufficiently similar to a Convenience Store, as defined in the County’s Land Development Code (the “LDC), for the County to classify the Project as such and, thus, could not be permitted in the C-1 Zone District.

Buc-ee’s appeal of the Determination does not provide adequate justification to overturn the Planning Director’s conclusion and fails to provide adequate support for the claim that “Convenience Store” is a more appropriate designation than uses not permitted in the C-1 Zone District, such as a Gas Station, Truck Stop, or Big-Box Store.

As such, we respectfully request that the Board deny Buc-ee’s appeal and uphold the Determination. . .

Read their entire letter (pdf)