Though Chris Denning’s father was in the military, and the family moved around a lot as a result, he’s always considered Stafford County home.
When it came time for his own military service, Denning told everyone he was from Stafford. He was a 1996 graduate of Stafford High School. The county is where he became an Eagle Scout.
He even has a Stafford flag hanging in his office.
“I love this place,” he told the county Planning Commission on Wednesday night. “I’m proud of it.”
So what, if anything, could make Denning consider moving from his house in the Austin Ridge neighborhood as some of his neighbors have?
One of America’s most famous gas station/convenience store chains: Buc-ee’s. The Texas-based operation wants to put a travel center not far from Austin Ridge.
But it’s unclear if Buc-ee’s whether get the county approval it needs to build. After hearing from more than 40 speakers at a public hearing Wednesday night — including Denning — the Planning Commission deferred discussion on the project until Jan. 14.
In separate motions, commissioners voted 6-1 to defer a decision on a required rezoning for the project and 6-1 to defer discussion of a permit Buc-ee’s needs. Commissioner Laura Sellers, who represents the Garrisonville District (where the business would be located), voted “no” twice, saying she wanted a shorter deferral and to discuss the matter again on Dec. 10.
Whenever the additional discussion takes place, the commission will make recommendations on the project to the Stafford Board of Supervisors, which has the final say.
The Stafford Buc-ee’s, which would be near the intersection of Interstate 95 and Courthouse Road, would be the business’s third Virginia location. One is open in Rockingham County, and another is planned for New Kent County.
Buc-ee’s travel centers are larger than most convenience stores, and the Stafford proposal calls for a 74,000-square-foot building with 120 gas pumps and 833 parking spaces — including 24 Tesla charging stations — on more than 36 acres.
The company’s stores are favorites of travelers, who praise its puffed-corn Beaver Nugget snacks and buy beaver-themed clothes featuring the business’s mascot. They also like to stop at the travel centers because they contain what are proclaimed as the nation’s cleanest bathrooms.
Buc-ee’s says its travel center in Stafford would generate significant tax revenue and create 200 jobs.
Stan Beard, director of real-estate development for Buc-ee’s, acknowledged that he and his team may not be able to sway those who’ve already made up their mind about the project.
But, he said, Buc-ee’s wants to be a good neighbor.
“We’re in a neighborhood,” Beard said. “We know that, and we want to be part of the neighborhood.”
Despite the project’s potential upsides and the largely positive national reputation of the company, only five speakers voiced support for the Stafford proposal at the public hearing.
A majority spoke out against the project, saying it will create too much traffic in the area and may create water, light and air pollution. Many in the crowd audibly grumbled at some points in the meeting, while some said they weren’t opposed to the Buc-ee’s brand so much as the location.
Jeff Eastland, who frequently speaks against data centers at Stafford meetings, turned his attention Wednesday to concerns about Buc-ee’s.
On the environmental side, Eastland went through laundry lists of: (a) what he said were the “volatile organic compounds” that would be emitted from gas pumps; and (b) the many undesirable things that could be in water runoff from the site when it rains.
Then there was the traffic.
“Bottom line is more cars equals more accidents, breakdowns, police, fire, rescue, tow trucks,” said Eastland, who lives in Stafford’s Rock Hill District. “Sounds like a blast. Can’t wait to try to get home.”
After him was Ignacio Esteban. He lives less than a mile from where the Buc-ee’s would be, and he’s been speaking against the project for more than a year.
He said Buc-ee’s is just not a good product and that anything would be better on the site, save for maybe a pawn shop. He also mentioned that more than 2,300 people have signed an online petition against the project.
“They do not want the awful beaver in our county,” Esteban said. “They want the beaver to go home, go somewhere else, find a different location, and leave us be, where we can find a business that caters to us, what we want and not to the motorists of 95, because we don’t want that here.”
Longtime Stafford community activist Alane Callander wasn’t impressed, either. She said county officials who support Buc-ee’s “must be thinking of dollar signs” or craving a barbecue sandwich from the convenience-store chain.
“Money isn’t everything,” rebutted Callander, “if it ruins the character of a community and makes traffic even worse. As for barbecue, we have a lot of excellent barbecue places. And we also have Walmarts and dollar stores where we can get cheap trinkets.”
David Roquet, however, said he looks at Buc-ee’s as an “opportunity” for Stafford.
“People are going to stop somewhere,” Roquet said. “If Buc-ee’s can, as they say, create a situation where people can get in and off the roads faster, if they come here, I mean, they’re going to buy gas somewhere. Might as well spend it here. That’s the way I look at it.”
Roquet and the few other Buc-ee’s supporters at the public hearing also could have said that you can’t claim Beard doesn’t believe in his industry, the convenience-store business.
Where was the Buc-ee’s executive spotted, a few minutes after Wednesday’s meeting ended?
At a Wawa near the Stafford Government Center.
