Several El Paso County nonprofit organizations and Tri-Lakes area residents are challenging the town of Palmer Lake in court, hoping to halt plans in motion to annex land and build a Buc-ee’s travel center along Interstate 25.

A 21-page lawsuit filed in El Paso County District Court on Jan. 10 seeks to overturn the town Board of Trustees’ Dec. 12 decision that the 30-acre property where the travel center is proposed to be built is eligible to be annexed into Palmer Lake boundaries.

Plaintiffs Integrity Matters, Westside Watch, TriLakes Preservation Inc. and United Congregational Church, all nonprofits, joined nine individuals in filing the lawsuit against the town.

The complaint alleges town officials violated several statutes and people’s constitutional rights during the public process to determine annexation eligibility. These include failure to comply with the Colorado Municipal Annexation Act of 1965, the Colorado Open Meetings Law and the public’s right to free speech, court documents state.

“This lawsuit seeks to ensure government accountability compliance with the Rule of Law to protect the rights of local residents and property owners,” Katherine Gayle, attorney for the plaintiffs, said in a Monday news release announcing the lawsuit. “The actions taken by the town of Palmer Lake in this annexation eligibility process were arbitrary, lacked transparency, and ignored critical statutory and constitutional safeguards.”

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The town has not yet formally responded to the lawsuit, court records show.

Town Administrator Dawn Collins said late Monday afternoon the town is aware the complaint has been filed but had not yet been served a copy. The town had no comment, she said, citing the pending litigation.

Planning documents show the Buc-ee’s is proposed to be built on land at the southwest corner of I-25 and County Line Road, and east of Beacon Lite Road. It would be a “flagpole” annexation via a sliver of land along County Line Road, connecting the property to the rest of Palmer Lake 1.4 miles away.

The town has not decided if the land will be annexed and has not yet publicly discussed development plans for the super-sized Texas-based chain location.

The lawsuit alleges the “flagpole annexation” will not technically be connected to the town because a bordering parcel owned by United Congregational Church was recently de-annexed.

Additionally, the “annexation maps failed to annex the entire roadway width as required by (Colorado statute) and also the town’s Three-Mile Plan. The purpose of the statute is to ensure clarity of road maintenance responsibilities,” plaintiffs said in court documents.

Project consultant Nina Ruiz said during the Dec. 12 meeting the road’s right-of-way continued to connect Palmer Lake with the proposed annexation area.

She also said the project would annex all the platted, or officially planned, sections of the roadway in El Paso County. At a later stage, project developers will likely reach out to Douglas County to discuss the rest, she said.

Plaintiffs claim the town violated open meetings law by allowing outgoing town trustees to vote on the project’s annexation eligibility.

Because the town prioritized seating and public comments on Dec. 12 for Palmer Lake residents and business owners, it “(excluded) many interested parties from meaningful participation. Inadequate audio and visual arrangements for overflow attendees prevented effective public engagement, violating procedural fairness,” the lawsuit states.

On Jan. 10, Mayor Glant Havenar and the Board of Trustees issued a written response to community concerns about the public process, stating the town complied with open meeting laws.

“The Board listened to every individual who attended the hearing and indicated their desire to speak. No one was prevented from speaking on the issue of eligibility,” they wrote of the Dec. 12 meeting.

“As a result of the process followed in considering whether the property is eligible to be annexed, the town believes it provided a full and fair hearing and is not aware of any violations of open meeting or other laws or regulations,” the statement read in part.

Among several claims for relief, plaintiffs are asking the El Paso County District Court to “invalidate the annexation,” and “request a declaration that the eligibility for annexation is void and that all future annexation decisions must comply with updated Three-Mile Plan and statutory requirements.”

Plaintiffs also seek award of court costs.

If approved, the Buc-ee’s would be the second built in Colorado, following a Johnstown location north of Denver that opened in 2024. The Palmer Lake location is proposed to be a similar size, about 74,000 square feet.

Though recent public meetings were held only to determine the project’s annexation eligibility, preliminary plans for the travel center have received mixed public support.

Major points of concern include water availability and traffic mitigation, but these have not yet been discussed at public town meetings.

The Gazette, through its searches, has not identified similar lawsuits involving Buc-ee’s in the U.S.

In early December, the Dayton Daily News in Ohio reported that Clark County, Ohio, and the city of Huber Heights, a Dayton suburb, reached an agreement over who would provide water and sewer services around the area near Interstate 70 and the Ohio 235 interchange in Huber Heights, where a Buc-ee’s is being constructed, the first in that state.

Clark County and Huber Heights battled in court for more than a year before the lawsuit was resolved, the Dayton Daily News reported.