Stafford Planning Commission Defers Recommendation on Buc-ee's
Traffic generated by the project is still a concern for residents and commissioners.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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Two years after Buc-ee’s submitted an application to build a travel center in Stafford, the county Planning Commission heard the first formal presentation on the project—and voted to defer making a recommendation until January 14.
The “sticky wicket” for Commissioners, according to Chair Steven Apicella, is the fact that a required Operation Safety Analysis Report on the proposed changes to Exit 140 off Interstate 95 from the Federal Highway Administration and the Virginia Department of Transportation is at least a year away.
VDOT review of the fourth and latest version of the traffic impact analysis conducted by Buc-ee’s was also not ready for Wednesday’s public hearing.
“[The latest VDOT report] is 28 pages long and there are 86 comments,” Apicella said. “In my 14 years on the Commission, I have never seen so many comments and as of three weeks ago, 30 of the comments have not yet been fully addressed… With so many transportation issues still not yet resolved, why is this application in front of the Commission now?”
The Texas-based company is asking the county to rezone 38 acres at the intersection of Courthouse Road and Austin Ridge Drive from urban commercial (B2) to convenience commercial (B1) and for a conditional use permit to allow for vehicle fuel sales and “high intensity commercial retail” on the site, which is located in the Garrisonville district.
Mike Zuraf, the county’s planning and zoning director, explained that the proposal is for a 74,000 square foot single-story store and 120 fuel pumps covered by “larger than usual” fuel canopies.
There are five proposed access points—one direct access ramp off I-95 southbound, two access points off Austin Ridge Drive, and two more off Israel Rodriguez Drive, a new public road to be constructed.
The site is surrounded by commercially-zoned parcels to the south and east and by commercial and residential parcels to the north and west. Some of the residential land is undeveloped.
Zuraf said the nearest existing and planned residential development is 420 feet away to the north and 200 feet to the northwest, where Embrey Mill senior townhomes are proposed.
In 2017, the county approved a plan for an 87,500 square foot commercial development on the site, which has not materialized, Zuraf said. Karen Cohen, the land use attorney representing the Buc-ee’s, said her client’s proposed use is less intensive than what has been approved for the site.
“To have a family travel center adjacent to I-95 in an area that’s planned for intensive commercial use—that is an appropriate use of this land,” Cohen said.
Zuraf said staff agree that the proposed vehicle fuel sales and high intensity commercial use is consistent with county’s Comprehensive Plan and with the commercial development pattern in the area. Other positives identified by staff include the proffered pedestrian improvements (sidewalks and a shared-use path) and the proffered double-row evergreen buffer.
However, staff recommended deferral of the application “to allow for additional time to address the negative features identified in this staff report.” The negative features identified by staff include traffic impacts, potential light pollution, and unanswered questions about whether the project “maintain[s] or improve[s] the quality of life for all residents and minimizes land use conflicts.”
Traffic in the Courthouse Road area related to the Buc-ee’s project has been a concern of VDOT and of Kimley-Horne, the consulting firm hired by Buc-ee’s to do the traffic impact analysis, since 2023.
The report prepared by planning staff for Wednesday’s meeting points out three intersections that would experience significant delays if the project were built—Courthouse Road and Austin Ridge Drive, and Courthouse Road at I-95 both northbound and southbound.
The project is projected to generate 20,940 total trips per day—1,000 at the morning peak; 1,448 at the evening peak; and 2,174 at the weekend peak. Currently, Courthouse Road generates 18,000 vehicle trips per day and Austin Ridge 7,000, Zuraf said.
Stan Beard, Buc-ee’s director of development and real estate, said the company is invested in ensuring that traffic moves smoothly, because if customers have a bad experience at one of the company’s stores, they won’t come back.
Bart Randall, a Garrisonville district resident and candidate for Board of Supervisors—and one of many citizens who spoke during a public hearing that lasted more than two hours—said the Planning Commission should have a different priority.
“Their concern is getting people in and out of their business, but your concern should be getting residents in and out of their neighborhoods,” he said.
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