Planning commission approves tier change to let Palms West Hospital use 18.85 acres for parking, future expansion

The Palm Beach County Planning Commission on a unanimous voice vote recommended approval of a tier change that will reclassify an 18.85‑acre parcel west of Palms West Hospital from the rural tier to the urban‑suburban tier, allowing the property to be used for expanded surface parking and aligning its tier with the adjacent hospital campus.

Joanie Brinkman, agent with Urban Design Studio representing HCA in Palms West, told commissioners, "What we have before you today is a tier change ... it's about 18.85 acres in size and currently has a rural tier designation, and we're requesting to go to the urban suburban tier." Staff later recommended approval with a condition limiting the parcel's maximum trip generation under the county's long‑range traffic policy.

The change preserves the site's existing future‑land‑use designation of Institutional and Public Facilities and was presented as a consistency measure so the hospital campus and the subject parcel use the same tier and zoning standards. County planner Alondra Lopez Mojica said the parcel has been vacant since a 2006 future‑land‑use change from rural residential to institutional and that the county recently rezoned the property to Institutional and Public Facilities and amended the development order to allow additional beds and surface parking. Lopez Mojica said, "The required study conducted by staff concludes the proposed change is appropriate considering the factors outlined in the comprehensive plan."

Staff and the applicant emphasized there are no buildings proposed on the subject site at this time. The planning staff noted that, if the property were developed at the higher allowable intensity in the urban‑suburban tier, its development potential could increase from approximately 82,000 square feet to almost 370,000 square feet because of a higher floor‑area‑ratio allowance. Any future expansions or new construction on the parcel would require a development‑order amendment and would be reviewed for concurrency and traffic impacts at that time.

Commissioners asked about public feedback and traffic impacts. Commissioner Serge asked whether any community comments had been received; staff said no public comment cards were submitted and that one municipality had technical questions that staff addressed. On concerns about westbound traffic on Southern Boulevard, the applicant's agent said traffic and concurrency for any future hospital expansion "will be addressed in a public forum in the future, with any expansion of the hospital." The approval includes the staff condition limiting trips to meet Policy 3.5.D of the county comprehensive plan.

During discussion, Commissioner Rick Stopik offered a brief history of the hospital's growth and supported the motion, saying the facility "has turned into a real facility" and that the community's growth justifies expansion.

Votes at a glance - Tier change (Palms West parcel, 18.85 acres): motion to recommend approval with staff conditions approved by voice vote; no individual roll‑call votes recorded in the transcript. - Agenda approval and minutes approval: motions approved by voice vote earlier in the meeting. - Postponement: the county‑initiated Round 25B text amendment for farmworker housing (Item 3A1) was moved and approved for postponement to allow further research and review of state legislation implications.

The commission made no final decision on development specifics for the parcel; the tier change permits increased development intensity under the comprehensive plan but any building or further expansion will require separate approvals and traffic concurrency review.