BOCA RATON, FL (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2026) — Boca Raton City Council is scheduled to review the city’s prior actions and research on freestanding emergency facilities during a May 26 workshop meeting, a discussion that could shape whether the city later revisits zoning rules for the medical use.
No vote or recommendation is proposed at the workshop, according to a city presentation prepared for the meeting. The item is informational and is intended to give council members background on previous city actions, a previously considered text amendment, and comparisons with other South Florida jurisdictions that already have freestanding emergency facilities.
Freestanding emergency facilities are not currently located in Boca Raton, according to the city presentation. The issue has already come before the city in connection with a proposed facility at 1001 East Telecom Drive, where the Planning and Zoning Board approved a site plan through Resolution 2025-001. An adjacent property owner appealed that approval, and City Council later reversed the board’s decision based on concerns related to a parking reduction.
The city also noted Ordinance No. 5698, adopted in August 2024, which reduced parking requirements for medical offices. That ordinance did not apply to outpatient surgery centers, including emergency rooms, according to the presentation.
The previously considered city-initiated zoning amendment would have added rules to Chapter 28 of the city code. It would have allowed freestanding emergency facilities as a conditional use in several commercial zoning districts: Medical Center, City Commercial General, City Commercial High Office, B-4 General Business and Light Industrial Research Park.
Under the version summarized by city staff, the amendment also would have created a definition for “freestanding emergency facility” and added supplemental standards. Those standards included requiring vehicular access on an arterial road and not within a school zone, prohibiting the facilities from abutting existing or zoned single-family residential property, and requiring at least one dedicated ambulance loading and unloading area that would not interfere with site circulation. The parking provisions would have been reformatted but would not have changed the required parking, according to the city presentation.
A city map included in the workshop materials shows where freestanding emergency facilities would have been eligible if the code amendment had been adopted. The mapped areas include parts of Boca Raton zoned under the commercial and LIRP districts identified in the presentation.
The Planning and Zoning Board recommended approval of the amendment on Jan. 8, 2026, in a 6-0 vote, but with several modifications. The board recommended adding the LIRP district as a conditional-use location, keeping the arterial frontage requirement while allowing access from non-arterial roads, removing the restriction on access within school zones, and requiring a one-mile separation between freestanding emergency facilities.
City Council held the first of two public hearings on the amendment on Jan. 6, 2026. At a Feb. 24, 2026 meeting, council members asked for more information about existing freestanding emergency rooms in the region, according to the presentation.
City staff later verified 18 existing facilities across Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties, spread across 10 jurisdictions. The presentation lists facilities in Palm Beach Gardens, unincorporated Palm Beach County, Westlake, Pembroke Pines, Cutler Bay, unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Doral, Miami Lakes, Palmetto Bay and Hialeah.
Of those 18 facilities, 15 are on standalone sites and three are in a shopping center or similar setting, according to the city’s review. Fourteen of the 18 have arterial road frontage, and all 14 with that frontage have vehicular access from the arterial road.
The city’s review also found that all 18 facilities have a covered ambulance drop-off area. Five have separate dedicated ambulance parking. Eleven include a dedicated right-turn lane into the property, and 12 include a dedicated left-turn lane into the property, according to the presentation.
The city also compared zoning rules in other jurisdictions. Five of the 10 jurisdictions with existing facilities have code provisions specific to freestanding emergency rooms, including Palm Beach Gardens, Palm Beach County, Westlake, Pembroke Pines and Pompano Beach. Those local rules vary, covering issues such as zoning districts, parking requirements, major-street frontage, screening from residential property, lot size, emergency vehicle access and buffering near single-family or two-family residential areas.
For Boca Raton residents, the May 26 workshop is not the final step on the issue. The presentation says council may revisit the text amendment or request additional information or workshops. For now, the item is being presented as background only.
Source: City of Boca Raton workshop presentation, “Presentation - Free Standing Emergency Facilities"
Boca Post delivers independent Boca Raton news covering city hall, public safety, schools, development, courts, and the issues shaping the community.
