Lake Jackson council approves first reading to add hospitals to Oakwoods PUD; holds second reading pending H‑E‑B approval

The Lake Jackson City Council on April 7 approved on first reading an ordinance to add “hospitals” as a permitted use to the Oakwoods planned unit development, the triangular redevelopment area bounded by Orchard Creek Drive, Circle Way and Oak Drive. Council members said they will delay second reading until the council receives written approval from H‑E‑B, whose deed restrictions apply to the shopping‑center property.

The change clears the way for a proposed micro‑hospital site immediately behind the H‑E‑B store. Architect Alan Swift, representing the applicant, described the project as a two‑story facility with an emergency/observation area and imaging services, saying, “Our project is a micro hospital… we do not have a surgical component,” and that the design includes 22 emergency/observation beds and two inpatient beds required by state licensing.

Proponent Jeannie Shipp, co‑founder of Hospitality Health ER and one of the project partners, told the council the company runs facilities elsewhere in Texas and described a model focused on faster patient throughput and community amenities. Kevin Harrington, a local consultant and former president of the Texas Association of Freestanding ERs, told council members he has reviewed the company’s operations and said the community needs more local access to care.

Supporters and some medical staff described the facility as intended to serve walk‑in patients and routine emergency‑care needs, not as a full trauma center. Swift said ambulances transporting high‑trauma cases would continue to go to major trauma centers and that, under Texas practice patterns and medical‑director guidance, ambulances typically bypass facilities that do not provide full trauma services.

Several residents and health‑care workers pressed the council with concerns about how a micro‑hospital would interact with existing local hospitals and with insurance coverage. One speaker, Sandy Seeley, a registered nurse, questioned whether a facility that limits certain services and insurance participation would relieve local gaps in specialty care and warned of the risk of another vacant medical building if a project failed. City staff and proponents said the proposed operator has experience and that the project could expand in future if demand supports it.

Council and staff clarified the process for amending a PUD: changes must go to the planning commission and require separate ordinance action by council. The council also noted that planning commissioners did not forward a recommendation in this case; a council liaison said many of the commissioners’ questions were outside the planning commission’s scope.

At the end of the public hearing the council took a motion to approve Ordinance No. 2299 on first reading. The motion included an amendment that the second reading be deferred until the city receives written approval from H‑E‑B confirming the PUD amendment would not conflict with H‑E‑B deed restrictions. City Attorney Sherry stated the city will “hold the second reading until we receive that formal approval from H‑E‑B.”

What happens next: the ordinance passed first reading, and staff said the council will return for a second reading only after formal written approval from H‑E‑B is on file. The council and applicants also discussed limits that could be included in a PUD amendment—bed counts or a specialty/general hospital designation—and noted the council could add conditions if it later chooses to do so.

Sources: public hearing testimony and staff presentation at the Lake Jackson City Council meeting, April 7, 2025.