Buc-ee’s
Buc-ee’s, a Texas-based chain known for its massive highway travel centers, plans to build a store in Tallahassee on approximately 30 acres within the larger 302-acre Park Place Planned Unit Development (PUD) near I-10 and Capital Circle. Its development application, currently under review by Leon County, includes a 74,000-square-foot store, 120 fueling stations and nearly 800 parking spaces.
A Sign Nearly Three Times the Size Normally Allowed
The Park Place PUD was designed to incorporate dark-sky lighting principles. Yet Buc-ee’s has requested—and thus far received staff approval for—a 100-foot-tall, internally illuminated interstate sign with approximately 415 square feet of sign area.
Leon County code ordinarily allows an interstate sign with an area of 150 square feet.
Just how big is that?
The proposed Buc-ee’s logo would be approximately 23 feet across, with a sign area nearly three times the standard maximum.
Its development application, currently under review by Leon County, includes a 74,000-square-foot store, 120 fueling stations and over 800 parking spaces.
The photo above represents the Buc-ee’s built in Calhoun, GA. However, the store at this location is only 53,000-square-feet. The store is smaller that the 74,000-square-foot store planed for Tallahassee.
Why Should You Care?
Artificial light at night doesn’t necessarily stop at a property line. Excessive nighttime lighting can affect surrounding residents, wildlife and the night sky well beyond the development itself. That is particularly important here because Buc-ee’s will not be isolated from residential development. The larger Park Place PUD is planned to include approximately 680 residential units and a 130-room hotel, in addition to existing nearby residents.
Light Pollution Harms Human Health
Exposure to excessive artificial light at night can disrupt circadian rhythms and suppress melatonin. Research has associated nighttime light exposure with chronic health problems—including obesity, diabetes, depression and increased risks of cancer.
Light Pollution Harms Wildlife
Darkness is part of the natural environment. Artificial light at night can disorient migrating birds, disrupt feeding and reproduction, and alter the behavior of insects, fish and other wildlife. Research increasingly recognizes nighttime light as an important ecological disturbance.
Excessive Light Can Affect Nearby Properties
Light trespass, glare and nighttime illumination can affect the use and enjoyment of nearby homes—one reason the potential impact on surrounding properties should be considered before approving unusually large illuminated signage.
An Economic Benefit—or an Economic Trade-Off?
Buc-ee’s is being welcomed in part for the jobs, visitors and tax revenue it is expected to bring. But an oversized illuminated sign could harm one of the natural assets already contributing to our local economy.
Visit Tallahassee actively promotes Leon County for birding and nature-based tourism. In Q4 of FY 2025, 9% of visitors said nature and birdwatching were a reason for their visit, while 24% participated in these activities during their stay. Protecting the millions of migratory birds that pass through our skies each year isn’t just an environmental issue—it helps protect an existing part of our tourism economy.
Economic development shouldn’t come at the expense of an economic asset we already have.
The Value of Dark Skies
Dark skies are a natural resource worth protecting. They allow us to see the stars, experience the night sky and preserve something that excessive artificial light can permanently take away from an entire community. They also protect wildlife, support human health, reduce glare and light trespass, and contribute to our quality of life.
Compromise is Possible
Buc-ee’s has already demonstrated that it can modify its standard development model in response to community concerns.
In Boerne, Texas, Buc-ee’s agreed to reduce its primary sign to 60 feet, incorporate dark-sky-compliant site lighting and make additional changes intended to address community concerns. Asking Buc-ee’s to reduce the size and height of its Tallahassee sign isn’t asking Buc-ee’s not to come. It’s asking the company to make the same kind of compromise it has already made elsewhere.
Why Did the County Approve It?
According to the project manager, the requested deviation meets the applicable standards and therefore cannot simply be denied. But one of those standards requires a finding that:
“The deviation will not be detrimental to the public’s health, safety, or welfare or to the surrounding properties.”
That raises an important question:
With hundreds of homes planned within the Park Place PUD and research documenting potential impacts from excessive artificial light at night, what evidence did the County rely upon to determine that a 100-foot, internally illuminated sign nearly three times the standard size will not be detrimental to surrounding residents or properties?
Leon County code ordinarily allows an interstate sign with an area of 150 square feet.
“The applicant is also requesting a deviation to the maximum height of the ground sign allowed. Section 10-9.401(i) and Table 10-9.3a of the LDC allows up to a 125-foot-tall sign (with an administrative height adjustment for physical conditions). The applicant is requesting a 150-foot-tall ground sign.
Pursuant to Section 10-1.106 of the LDC, in granting a deviation from development standards the approval body, for all Type ‘B’ site and development plan applications, the Development Review Committee (DRC), the following criteria must be met:
1) The deviation will not be detrimental to the public’s health, safety, or welfare or to the surrounding properties;..”
— Application Review Meeting Packet, August 19, 2026, Page 7
Something More Thing You Should Know
131 Acres of Conservation Area Does Not Belong to Buc-ee's
At the August 19 Application Review Meeting, County staff clarified that the approximately 131 acres identified for conservation are part of the larger Park Place PUD—not Buc-ee’s approximately 30-acre site.
Subsequent public discussion and media coverage have sometimes presented the conservation acreage alongside updates about Buc-ee’s in a way that can leave the impression that Buc-ee’s itself is setting aside 131 acres for conservation. It is not.
The Brightness of the Sign Undermines Other Dark Sky Lighting
Similarly, describing the project as using dark-sky lighting doesn’t tell the whole story. Site lighting may comply with dark-sky requirements while the County simultaneously considers a deviation allowing an exceptionally large, internally illuminated interstate sign.
The Choice is Not Economic Development or Nothing at All
These aren’t reasons to oppose Buc-ee’s coming to Tallahassee. They are reasons to make sure the public receives an accurate picture of what Buc-ee’s is actually proposing and what exceptions are being granted.
Economic development and responsible development don’t have to be competing goals. Buc-ee’s can build in Tallahassee without a 100-foot sign nearly three times the standard size.
Take Action
The Buc-ee’s project itself is already moving forward. The issue is the size and height of the proposed interstate sign—and there is still time to ask the County to reconsider the deviation.
Email project manager Ana Richmond and ask the County to reconsider approval of the 100-foot-tall, 415-square-foot illuminated sign and encourage Buc-ee’s to reduce its size and height.
County Contact: Ana Richmond — RichmondA@leoncountyfl.gov
What to Ask
You don’t have to oppose Buc-ee’s to oppose an oversized sign. Ask the County to:
- Reconsider whether the sign meets the required standard that a deviation not be detrimental to public health, safety, welfare or surrounding properties.
- Consider credible research on the effects of excessive artificial light at night, particularly with hundreds of homes planned within the same PUD.
- Ask Buc-ee’s to compromise on the sign’s size and height, as it has already agreed to do in Boerne, Texas.
- Explain what evidence was used to determine that a 100-foot illuminated sign nearly three times the standard size would not negatively affect surrounding residents or properties.
Help Build the Case
If you find credible research from universities, medical organizations, government agencies or peer-reviewed journals documenting impacts of excessive nighttime lighting on human health or surrounding properties, send it to the County.
Bottom Line
Buc-ee’s doesn’t need a sign nearly three times the size normally allowed to succeed in Tallahassee. The company has agreed to smaller signs in other communities, and asking it to do the same here isn’t anti-growth—it’s asking for responsible development that respects nearby residents, wildlife and the standards our community put in place for a reason.