Flower Mound Town Council members told TotalCare ER to talk to its future neighbors before asking for their votes.

The council tabled a special use permit for the proposed 24-hour emergency room Monday, Sept. 21, after learning the applicant had not met with residents in the Rustic Timbers and Hunters Glen neighborhoods, the North Texas Sun reported.

The 7,980-square-foot facility would occupy an existing retail building south of Cross Timbers Road, north of Arrowhead Drive and west of Fireside Drive. Because it would operate between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., the town classifies it as a medical facility with extended hours, which requires a special use permit.

TotalCare ER would offer X-rays, CT scans and lab work but would not include a surgical unit or intensive care unit. Lead architect Cameron Culver told the council ambulances would not drop off patients at the site. A small number of ambulances might transfer stabilized patients to a hospital, but sirens or lights would rarely be needed, Culver said. The applicant did not request a variance from the town's noise or lighting ordinance.

The Flower Mound Planning and Zoning Commission recommended denial of the permit on Sept. 14, triggering a supermajority requirement for council approval. At that hearing, commissioners raised concerns about noise and light impacts on nearby homes to the east and southwest of the building. They also questioned whether the facility was needed, pointing to the emergency room at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Flower Mound and several urgent care locations in the area.

TotalCare ER presented its case at the Sept. 21 meeting in Jody Smith Hall. Mayor Pro Tem Adam Schiestel asked Culver whether the applicant had reached out to neighbors. When Culver said no, council members signaled they would not vote that night.

"Where you've missed the mark is not meeting with the neighbors," Schiestel said, adding that the concept itself had convinced him.

Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Brian Taylor called the facility a "great benefit to the town" but urged the applicant to set up a meeting with Rustic Timbers and Hunters Glen residents before returning to the council. "That's what it's going to take to get the rest of the council on board," Taylor said.

Culver agreed to contact nearby residents and return to the council in the coming weeks. Town staff confirmed the site could not convert to a full hospital without a new special use permit.

No return date has been announced. Residents can monitor the town's meeting calendar for the next scheduled hearing.