Planning commission makes no recommendation on proposed micro‑hospital behind H‑E‑B; City Council to decide

The Lake Jackson Planning Commission on Thursday closed a public hearing on a proposed micro‑hospital behind the H‑E‑B shopping center but made no motion, leaving the decision to the City Council at a public hearing scheduled for Monday.

The proposal would require amending the existing Planned Unit Development (PUD) because hospitals are not listed as an allowed use under the site's underlying B‑2 (central business) zoning, staff said. The developer and the architect presented site plans and building details; several residents and a nurse who identified herself as a Houston Methodist employee urged caution over traffic, proximity to youth sports fields and whether the market can sustain another facility.

Architect Alan Swift, identifying himself as the architect of record with Hikent Swift Architects, said the project is planned "just with behind the HEB. It is a micro hospital, currently scheduled for about 18,000 square feet single story building." He told commissioners the design includes an emergency department, 24‑hour observation beds, imaging (MRI, CT, X‑ray and ultrasound) and back‑of‑house support. Swift said the structure is being designed so a second floor could be added in the future, though the initial build is single story.

Neighbors and commissioners questioned how many inpatient beds the facility would provide and how that would affect traffic and nearby ball fields. Swift described the bed plan as a small observation unit (the applicant previously discussed a range of 2 to 14 beds) and said ambulance drop‑off would be at the rear corner of the site with primary public entry and most vehicular traffic routed along the street between the site and H‑E‑B. He said deliveries and employee parking are planned on the building's east and south sides and that the developer is open to community buffers such as fencing, foliage or berms.

Sandy Seeley, who gave her address as 843 Magnolia and identified herself as a nurse, said she had "some major concerns about this," citing existing local hospital capacity problems and the presence of athletic fields near the proposed site. "We already have a hospital in this town with an emergency room with another emergency center across the street from it, and we can't keep patients in that hospital," Seeley said, adding worries that another small facility could become an empty building if it cannot recruit staff or sustain patient volume.

Commissioners and staff reviewed the public‑notice process. Staff said the city met statutory notice requirements by publishing notice in the newspaper and mailing to properties within the state's required radius; the city also posted a sign on the property and used a QR code on the sign for public information. Staff noted the mailings extended slightly beyond the 200‑foot minimum in places where large parkways separated parcels.

Owners and company representatives were described in the hearing. Staff told the commission the company's CEO is Jeannie Shipp of Mont Belvieu; another owner named Jill Shipp was identified as living in The Woodlands, with other owners in Longview and Tyler. The applicants said they operate freestanding emergency facilities elsewhere in Texas and seek to expand into Lake Jackson with the micro‑hospital model.

After public comment and the applicant's presentation, commissioners debated concerns but took no formal motion. Chair (unnamed in the record) closed the hearing. Staff told the commission the matter remains scheduled for a City Council public hearing on Monday and that the council will receive the commission's minutes and may consider the absence of a recommendation when it decides.

No code sections or state statutes were cited by name at the hearing; staff limited its description to the PUD process and statutory notice requirements for zoning hearings.

The City Council public hearing is expected to include the developer's formal request to amend the PUD to list hospital use for the site. The planning commission's record of the public hearing will be provided to the council for its consideration.