The Richmond Hill City Council has greenlit the first of many long steps towards the annexation of land located along Port Royal Road from a tract belonging to Memorial Health University Medical Center.

Hoyer Investment Company Land, LLC is asking that 290.618 acres of land be annexed and rezoned for a planned unit development. It is part of a 436-acre tract purchased by Memorial in January 2020.

Memorial Health University Medical Center bought the land in order to build a freestanding emergency room in Richmond Hill, but they have since decided that they don’t need the full acreage.

However, Memorial’s plan to build a freestanding ER has been tied up in court and is facing opposition from St. Joseph’s Candler, which claims the freestanding ER will “charge emergency room prices without providing that level of care” and hurt rural hospitals by taking away their patients.

Memorial still plans to build an ER on the property, according to the hospital’s CEO, Brad Talbert.

The 290.618-acre property on Port Royal Road to be annexed is currently unincorporated and zoned as agricultural.

As a reminder, the City Council has approved the acceptance of the procession of the application, not the actual annexation itself. A timeline of events for the annexation is listed below.

ANNEXATION TIMELINE 

• City Council meeting to accept application for annexation: Oct. 3

• Deadline to submit application for Public Hearing on rezoning: Oct. 6

• Planning Commission Public Hearing on Rezoning: Nov. 13.

1st City Council reading on Rezoning: Dec. 6