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Planning commission upholds staff, denies rezoning for proposed surgical hospital on Jacqueline Road
Summary
The City of Laredo Planning and Zoning Commission voted to follow staff recommendation and deny a rezoning request to allow a surgical hospital on Jacqueline Road, citing traffic, access and compatibility with the comprehensive plan.
The City of Laredo Planning and Zoning Commission on Jan. 16, 2025 voted to follow staff’s recommendation and deny a rezoning request that would have changed lot 5, Block 2, Martinez Business Park Unit 2 (1414 Jacqueline Road) from B-3 Community Business to B-4 Highway Commercial to allow a proposed surgical hospital.
Staff told the commission the requested zone change did not comply with the city’s comprehensive plan and raised concerns about compatibility with nearby residential uses and access. A city planning staff member said traffic on Jacqueline Road already is about 15,000 trips per day and that hospitals are heavy trip generators, estimating “approximately 3 trips per peak hour per bed” for hospital use. Staff also flagged the limited, single point of access proposed for the property as a major issue.
The applicant’s representative, Anna Castro, described the proposed facility as “an orthopedic, state-of-the-art hospital” to be built by a local doctor and said a conditional use permit (CUP) was not available for surgical hospitals under state rules, which led the applicant to pursue a zone change instead. Castro told the commission the prospective buyer’s purchase of the site is contingent on obtaining the rezoning and said there may be an option to secure egress and ingress from another street if a neighboring parcel is acquired.
Commission discussion focused on access, traffic generation and the proximity of multifamily townhomes across a creek immediately east of the parcel. Staff noted that B-4 zoning would allow intense uses such as heavy automotive repair and warehousing that staff said could negatively affect adjacent residential areas; staff recommended a CUP as the more tailored regulatory tool but said the applicant declined that route.
A motion to follow the staff recommendation carried. The commission recorded the outcome as approved to follow staff’s recommendation; the meeting transcript records the vote as 5–2 in favor of the staff recommendation.
The applicant did not complete purchase of the property; Castro said the sale is contingent on the zone change. Castro and the staff member who presented the item are expected to appear again if the applicant pursues other permitting or access solutions.
