CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. — Beaver nuggets and Buc-ee the Beaver could be making its debut in Southwest Florida as Charlotte County commissioners approved the rezoning of the area.
The rezoning was officially approved on Tuesday, marking the first step toward bringing the popular gas and convenience store chain to Port Charlotte near Harborview Road and I-75.
Watch to see what Charlotte County neighbors have to say about the development:
Some people welcome the potential development, highlighting economic benefits for the community.
"I think it'll be a good move, of course it'll bring jobs, Buc-ee's usually have massive sizes of everything, gas station, pumps, everything you need. I'm applauding the fact that it's going to bring potential jobs," said Sean Grayes.
Rachel Struebing supports the location choice near the interstate.
"Here's the main factor, in my opinion, location. Its going to be near 1-75, a-ok fine with me, just don't bring it in to the actual community with the people. If it's out there by 1-75, I have no problem with it, bring it on," Struebing said.
However, other community members have expressed concerns about increased traffic in an area they feel is already struggling to keep up with growth.
"Considering the new Buc-ee's to be built here, which most of them have over 100 gas pumps per location, and the location that they're putting that is a 2-lane road, and there's no way the exit or the people or the area can actually handle that amount of traffic," said John Soltis.
The project isn't finalized yet.
County officials said the developer must submit the project to the county for final detail site plan review. If approved by staff, it will go to commissioners for another vote.
This story was reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
