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Brownsville staff outlines proposed Medical Overlay District to protect health-care corridor
Summary
City staff and consultant Friesen | Nichols presented a draft Medical Overlay District intended to guide compatible development near existing and planned health-care and bioscience uses along I-69E and Alton Gloor; Planning & Zoning recommended approval and staff will return the ordinance for formal consideration.
City planning staff and consultant Friesen Nichols presented a proposed Medical Overlay District at the Brownsville City Commission work session on May 6, 2025, describing zoning changes intended to protect and encourage health-care and bioscience development along Interstate 69 East and Alton Gloor.
The overlay would create a new zoning column in the Unified Development Code (UDC) with permitted uses tailored to medical and complementary uses — hospitals, surgery centers, clinics and labs, freestanding emergency rooms, health-related hotels and apartments, assisted living and nursing facilities, pharmacies with drive-throughs, and electric-vehicle charging stations. The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval at its recent hearing; commissioners heard the work-session presentation and asked for refinements on connectivity and signage.
City staff and Friesen Nichols said the overlay targets an area with multiple vacant parcels and existing medical uses so future development will be compatible with the hospitals and 24-hour emergency centers there. The draft ordinance also adds design and development standards for the overlay, clarifies related UDC definitions (including for electric-vehicle infrastructure), and updates landscaping cross-references.
Commissioners and staff emphasized connectivity — pedestrian and vehicle — to ensure patients and employees can move between facilities, and asked staff to coordinate with TxDOT where median or frontage-road changes are planned. Commissioners discussed whether a separate overlay should be considered for the area around Valley Baptist; presenters said Valley Baptist’s surroundings are largely built out but that a second overlay could be considered in the future to protect that campus.
There was no vote during the work session. Staff said the ordinance will be brought back to the commission for formal consideration and final action once refinements are made and coordination with agencies such as TxDOT is completed.
