Victoria Planning Commission recommends denying Rogers Memorial Hospital group home proposal at 8150 Bavaria Road

The Victoria Planning Commission on Jan. 7 recommended the City Council deny a zoning text amendment and a conditional use permit (CUP) sought by Rogers Memorial Hospital to operate a 30‑bed residential behavioral‑health facility at 8150 Bavaria Road.

The recommendation came after a staff presentation, testimony from Rogers representatives and a public hearing in which multiple neighbors objected to locating a residential behavioral‑health program in an R‑3 multifamily neighborhood. Planning staff explained the request would add “group homes” to the list of conditional uses in the R‑3 district and allow a CUP for Rogers to operate the existing Emerald Crest building as a residential treatment facility.

City Planner Bridal McCann told the commission staff had found a code inconsistency that removed group homes from the permitted/conditional use list for R‑3 while retaining a definition elsewhere, and said the city attorney advised the applicant pursue the text amendment. McCann also summarized staff review and outreach: the proposal was published, mailed to owners within 350 feet, posted online and at city hall, and a neighborhood meeting was held Jan. 6 at the Victoria Recreation Center, which about 15 neighbors attended.

Rogers representatives said the proposal would reuse the vacant Emerald Crest building, a roughly 2‑acre site with 30 parking spaces, and would serve up to 30 voluntary residents in two separate wings (15 adults and 15 adolescents) for short‑term, intensive residential treatment. Attorney Kate Duncan (Quarles…