To: Mark Hafner, City Manager
From: Sarah Hensley, Director of Community Development
Subject:
Title
PUBLIC HEARING: Consider an ordinance approving a Specific Use Permit (SUP) for a Surgical Outpatient Facility, for Millrock Investment Fund 1, LLC, in an existing 10,389 square-foot building on approximately 1.72 acres, legally described as Lot 10, Block B of Keller Town Center Addition, situated approximately 300 feet southwest of the intersection of Country Brook Drive and Keller Parkway, zoned Town Center Medical Overlay District and addressed as 1220 Keller Parkway. Brent Smith, Millrock Investment Fund 1, LLC, Owner/Applicant. (SUP-23-0030)
Background:
The Applicant wishes to open an ambulatory surgery center in an existing 10,389 square-foot facility located at 1220 Keller Parkway. This type of facility provides surgical procedures that do not require hospital admission or an overnight stay. The Applicant has not yet confirmed the tenant, but intends for the center to be a multi-practitioner facility focused on coronary procedures. Other specialties may also utilize the facility, such as orthopedic and pain management physicians.
The subject property is located in the Town Center Medical (TCM) Overlay District, where a Specific Use Permit (SUP) is required for a Surgical Outpatient Facility. A previous SUP was approved for the same use at this location but has since expired. Below is a brief timeline of the site:
• 2006: Site Plan approval for Uptown at Keller Town Center Phase I, which included a proposed Medical and Arts Building. The parking lot and underground utilities were completed in early 2008 but the building was never constructed.
• 2011: SUP approval for First Choice ER, a stand-alone emergency room facility, which was never built, and the SUP expired in 2014 after City Council granted a two-year extension.
• 2014: SUP and Site Plan approval for E-Care Emergency, a stand-alone emergency room facility that opened the following year.
• 2015: Legacy ER and Urgent Care received a Certificate of Occupancy (CO) and took over operation of the facility for a short period of time. Although they ceased operations after less than a year, Legacy continued to lease the space.
• 2019-20: Unified Development Code (UDC) amendments were approved to establish the TCM Overlay District for certain properties and add “Surgical Outpatient Facility” to the use chart for TCM Overlay District as a use permitted by SUP.
2020: SUP approval for Advance Care Medical, a Surgical Outpatient Facility, which expired after a CO was not issued within one year.
Site Details:
The building was originally constructed with the intended use of minor emergency medical clinic. Some internal modifications began after the 2020 SUP approval which the Applicant intends to complete for use as a surgery center. The Applicant has no plans for exterior building modifications other than to clear and replace all dead landscaping.
The Unified Development Code (UDC) parking requirement for a medical facility that is not a hospital is one space per 200 square-feet of gross floor area, bringing the total requirement for this applicant to 52 spaces. The site plan approved in 2014 included 58 regular and 3 accessible spaces.
Hours of Operation:
7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday - Friday
There will be no after-hours or emergency procedures at the facility. At full operation, the facility could have as many as 15 full-time employees. Member physicians, though not technically employees, will frequent the facility.
Citizen Input:
On October 12, 2023, the City mailed out 53 letters of notification for this Public Hearing to all property owners within three-hundred feet (300’) of the subject site. A public hearing notice sign was posted on the site. Staff has not received any written feedback from the public regarding the proposed SUP.
Planning and Zoning Commission Recommendation:
At the October 24, 2023 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, Commissioners unanimously recommended approval of the SUP request as presented.
Request:
1. A request for an SUP for Millrock Investment Fund 1, LLC, to operate a Surgical Outpatient Facility in the Town Center Medical Overlay District in an existing 10,389 square-foot building.
Summary:
Section 8.02 (F)(2) of the UDC states that when considering a SUP request, the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council shall consider the following factors:
1) The use is harmonious and compatible with surrounding existing uses or proposed uses;
2) The activities requested by the applicant are normally associated with the permitted uses in the base district;
3) The nature of the use is reasonable and appropriate in the immediate area;
4) Any negative impact on the surrounding area has been mitigated; and
5) That any additional conditions specified ensure that the intent of the district purposes are being upheld.
Alternatives:
The City Council has the following options when considering a Specific Use Permit:
§ Approve as submitted.
§ Approve with modified or additional condition(s).
§ Table the agenda item to a specific date with clarification of intent and purpose.
§ Deny.