Boca Raton Revises Zoning Code to Allow Free-Standing Emergency Rooms

The rendering of a proposed free-standing emergency room on Yamato Road, Boca Raton, FL. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

After a proposed free-standing emergency room was turned down by the city earlier this year amidst objections from a neighboring property owner, the city council has adopted an ordinance that delineates where such facilities may be built in the future.

Until the adoption of the ordinance Dc. 18, 2025, the city code was silent on free-standing emergency rooms, leaving officials to interpret whether they should have been considered under requirements for doctors’ offices, surgical centers, or other medical facilities. Each of those facilities have their own requirements for size, locations, parking and other attributes. The zoning ordinance now includes specific language on free-standing emergency rooms, which have become popular in recent years to alleviate pressure on full-service hospitals. Free-standing emergency rooms have the same certifications and capabilities as traditional emergency rooms, and must be operated by a licensed hospital owner, but do not have inpatient facilities attached.

The zoning ordinance was updated to allow free-standing emergency rooms to be located within the General Business, Medical Center, City Commercial General, and City Commercial High Office zoning districts.

The future location of a proposed free-standing emergency room on Yamato Road, Boca Raton, FL. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

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Last January, the city’s planning board recommended approval of an 11,000 square foot free-standing emergency room on Telecom Drive, just outside the Boca Raton Innovation Campus (BRIC) property. BRIC appealed that decision to the city council, challenging whether such a facility was allowed in the zone, and raising concerns over parking capacity. The backers of the emergency room cited existing zoning codes that allow for medical offices, and protested the notion that a small facility would require large swaths of parking stalls, but the council ultimately granted the appeal in April, terminating the project. The revised zoning ordinance, notably, would not allow a freestanding emergency room at the Telecom Drive location, which is located in the Light Industrial-Research Park zone.

The updated ordinance defines a freestanding emergency room in language almost identical to the state’s definition. Boca Raton will further require that a freestanding emergency facility “shall expressly not include an urgent care, outpatient surgery center or medical office.” Under the same ordinance, the phrase “emergency room” was removed from the definition of “outpatient surgery center,” which has its own zoning requirements.

Free-standing emergency rooms will be conditional uses in the respective zones, and must include direct vehicular access to an arterial road, must not be located within a school zone, and must not abut single-family residential property. One parking space must be provided for each 175 square feet of area. The ordinance also requires bicycle spaces equal to 5 percent of the total number of spaces.

Additionally, free-standing emergency rooms must include at least one dedicated ambulance loading and unloading area situated away from regular vehicular circulation areas.