Planning board unanimously approves rezoning for 2119 and 2209 Y Road to allow Encompass Health rehabilitation facility

The planning board voted unanimously to rezone two parcels at 2119 and 2209 Y Road from SF1 (low‑density single‑family residential) to RBD (Regional Business District), clearing the way for a proposed Encompass Health inpatient rehabilitation facility.

Staff presented ZM2026-0056 as a conventional zoning map amendment for two parcels totaling 9.09 acres and said the requested RBD designation would allow by‑right uses in the district, including medical facilities such as an inpatient rehabilitation hospital. The parcels lie adjacent to an activity‑center corridor identified in the comprehensive plan and are near existing commercial zoning along Highway 74. Staff warned that the comprehensive plan’s future‑land‑use designation is low‑density residential but argued the request is consistent with nearby higher‑intensity development and recent rezonings.

“By right, the uses that could be built here include medical facilities,” said the staff presenter. The applicant, Edmund Ball, chief real estate officer for Encompass Health, described the company as a national inpatient-rehabilitation provider and said the concept shown to the board envisions a single‑story, 50‑bed facility. “We’ve shown 50 beds,” Ball said. “That would be a single story, and we typically look for 6 to 8 acres, so nine acres would be sufficient.” He also clarified that Encompass hospitals provide physical, occupational and speech therapies and do not provide inpatient substance‑abuse or behavioral‑health services.

Board members asked about existing conditions on the parcels; staff said the two houses on the sites are vacant and noted moderate tree coverage and buffering near the Walmart Supercenter. Staff also emphasized that any future development must meet site‑plan, stormwater and Unified Development Ordinance requirements; if those standards could not be met the applicant would need a conditional rezoning.

A nearby resident, Robert Ross of 2208 Y Road, spoke during public comment and urged the board to preserve pastureland and the rural character along the curve of Y Road. Ross said his property is used for grazing horses and cattle and expressed concern about the potential for a wider roadway. “We love horses. We love cows. We’d like to keep our side road that way,” Ross said. In response to questions, staff told the board the four‑lane version of the activity‑center boulevard in the comp plan was a visionary element from earlier plans and that no funding or design currently exists.

After deliberation, a board member moved to approve the rezoning (CM 2026‑0065 as presented), the motion was seconded and the board approved it by unanimous voice vote.

Votes at a glance

• CM 2026‑0065 (rezoning for 2119 and 2209 Y Road to RBD): passed unanimously. • Order regarding appeal of the zoning administrator’s notice of violation (from June 1): board voted to approve the order unanimously (see meeting actions).

The board then took an unrelated appeal item and approved the order on the appeal of the zoning administrator’s notice of violation by a unanimous voice vote, and concluded with a brief introduction of a new intern, Cade Falenberry.