A group of Oak Creek residents are suing the city in hopes of blocking the planned Buc-ee’s store from moving toward construction.
Buc-ee’s, a mega-popular travel center concept from Texas, proposed in January a 73,370-square-foot store with 120 gas pumps along South 27th Street near West Elm Road in Oak Creek with hopes of opening in 2027.
In March, the Oak Creek Common Council amended the city’s 2020 Comprehensive Plan Land Use plan for three parcels and rezoned those properties to allow Buc-ee’s to proceed, despite opposition from numerous nearby residents.
Now, a group called Oak Creek Neighbors United is suing the city for those actions. Buc-ee’s is not listed as a defendant in the case.
Oak Creek Neighbors United, represented by attorney Joe Cincotta, alleges in its complaint that the rezoning is inconsistent with the comprehensive plan and prohibited by state law and that the city’s approvals are “illegal spot zoning”; that the changes to the comprehensive plan will have an adverse impact on nearby neighborhoods, specifically the St. John’s Estates subdivision, directly north of the proposed Buc-ee’s; and that the city and Buc-ee’s are minimizing the likely traffic and environmental impacts.
“The subject property was rezoned and the Comprehensive Plan amended to benefit the owner, and only the owner, of the subject property,” the complaint says. “This was done and approved by the Oak Creek Common Council over the objection of several hundred citizens and the alderman of the district…”
According to documents Buc-ee’s submitted to the city, the travel center is estimated to bring between 4,000 and 8,000 vehicles per day for a total of about potentially 100,000 per week. However, the complaint alleges that city officials were internally estimating the development could bring between 9,000 and 12,000 vehicles per day.
In addition to traffic concerns, the complaint mentions noise and light pollution, negative impact on property values and the city prematurely presenting the Buc-ee’s proposal as a “done deal” to dissuade residents from voicing opposition at public meetings.
Buc-ee’s representatives are scheduled to return to Oak Creek on April 22 for a Plan Commission review of a certified survey map and conditional use permit for the project. The city also could reveal results of a Wisconsin Department of Transportation traffic analysis studying the anticipated impact of Buc-ee’s.
A public hearing before the Common Council on the certified survey map and conditional use permit is expected on May 20. On June 10, the Plan Commission is scheduled to review site, landscaping and architectural plans for the project, according to a timeline the city released in February.
“The City of Oak Creek is aware that a notice of circumstances and claim has been filed regarding the proposed Buc-ee’s development” the city said in a statement. “We are reviewing this matter with the city’s legal team. In parallel, the city remains committed to upcoming public meetings to review conditions, architecture, and detailed site plans for the development. As for any pending legal matter, the city will not be making further comments at this time.”
More articles about the Buc-ee’s store planned in Oak Creek:
- Buc-ee’s travel center planned in Oak Creek
- At the southwest corner of Oak Creek, will Buc-ee’s bring a surge in development?
- BizTimes editor Andrew Weiland talks about Microsoft, Kohl’s and Buc-ee’s on Channel 12
