If the matter could have been resolved with a voice vote of the audience, the outcome probably would have been a lot different.
That’s because the majority of 46 speakers at a Stafford public hearing Wednesday night wasn’t pleased with the proposal: to put a Buc-ee’s travel center in the middle of the county.
The convenience store/gas station giant is popular nationwide. Buc-ee’s fans chomp the company’s brisket and wear T-shirts bearing its beaver mascot. But to a host of people in Stafford’s Austin Ridge and Embrey Mill neighborhoods, it’s a monstrosity they don’t want next door.
And they haven’t been quiet about it over the past two years.
Nonetheless, the Stafford Planning Commission voted 4-3 after Wednesday’s hearing to recommend the Board of Supervisors approve a rezoning for the business and a conditional-use permit necessary for it to operate. The board has the final say.
Commissioner Gregory Goldstein, who represents the Garrisonville District where the Buc-ee’s would be located, first pushed for deferral of discussion of the matter, saying he wanted more information.
But Commission Vice Chairwoman Kelsey Caudill then made a substitute motion for approval.
She said she had concerns about the project but that it was time for the supervisors to take over discussion.
“I just think the board is ready to look at this project,” Caudill said.
Griffis-Widewater District Commissioner Carlos Bratton voted with her, as did Falmouth District Commissioner Marcus Oats and Hartwood District Commissioner Willie Shelton Jr. Goldstein, Commission Chairwoman Karen Barnes and Aquia District Commissioner Maureen L. Siegmund cast the dissenting votes.
The commission had previously deferred the project in October. 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 county’s planning staff recommended denial of the proposal, saying there were outstanding issues with the amount of traffic and light it would generate.
Buc-ee’s development team, though, pushed back, saying they would take care of these issues.
“We do this for a living,” said Stan Beard, director of real-estate development for Buc-ee’s. “The worst thing we could ever do is build a store with a traffic problem.”
On a more positive side, the Stafford operation is expected to also generate $1.9 million annually in general fund revenue as well as additional gas tax revenue.
That wasn’t enough to sway Jeff Eastland, though.
Eastland, who lives in the Rock Hill District, is known for speaking at Stafford meetings about environmental concerns. He said at the public hearing that he’s worried about several factors, including air pollution that could come with the use of 120 gas pumps, and the impact the Buc-ee’s would have on the watershed.
“The only beavers that belong in Stafford are the ones that swim in the Potomac Run wetland,” Eastland said.
Darla Stencavage, who said she was wearing black to represent the dire circumstances, also alluded to real-life beavers.
“When beavers enter an area, they rarely bring benefits,” she said. “Instead, they leave a long list of detrimental effects. They cut down priceless trees, cause extensive property damage and create issues with water and infrastructure. Their dams lower oxygen levels and waterways, and spread the parasite that causes beaver fever.
“A close look at this application reveals that allowing this beaver to build in Stafford would inflict similar damaging effects on our entire community.”
Judith May, however, was one of the few Buc-ee’s backers at the meeting. But she made an immediate impression at the hearing as she plopped a stuffed Buc-ee’s beaver on top of the lectern for public speakers.
May, who runs J&J Upholstery and Drapery Fabric Inc., said she’s been to Buc-ee’s in Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida, and she had no issues with traffic at any of those locations.
She said she’s lived in Stafford for 46 years and that the county needs businesses to help ease the tax burden on homeowners.
“I think it’s time for Stafford County to open up and let something other than Stafford County residents pay all the taxes in the county,” May said.
