Where is Friendswood?
Friendswood is a city on Farm Road 518, twenty miles south of Houston and twenty-seven miles northwest of Galveston. The city lies in northwestern Galveston County and extends into southern Harris County. Four creeks cross it: Chigger, Clear, Cowards and Mary’s. The 2020 Census counted 41,213 residents. The Census Bureau gives its land area as 20.76 square miles.
How did Friendswood develop?
Quakers from Kansas settled at Estacado in Crosby County in 1880 but found the plains too harsh. They sent Francis Jacob Brown to find a site in South Texas. In 1895 Brown negotiated with J. C. League for a tract of more than 1,500 acres. Settlers named the community for the Friends, as Quakers are known. A post office opened in 1899.
Pine felled by the Galveston hurricane of 1900 was used to build Friendswood Academy, which graduated its first class in 1907. Farmers grew Satsuma oranges, strawberries, figs and rice. Oil was found in the area in the 1930s. The town stayed mainly Quaker until 1958 and incorporated in 1960. After NASA’s Manned Spacecraft Center opened ten miles away in 1962, Friendswood became a commuter suburb.
Who governs Friendswood, and who provides services?
Friendswood has a council-manager form of government. The mayor and six council members are elected at large to three-year terms, with a four-term limit approved in 2007. They serve without pay. The council appoints the city manager, who runs daily affairs and prepares the budget.
The city’s Water and Wastewater Operations division handles water production and treatment, water distribution and wastewater collection inside the city limits.
Which school districts serve Friendswood?
Friendswood ISD covers 16.49 square miles and serves students who live in the Galveston County part of the city. Its boundaries run mostly along Clear Creek at the Harris County line, Brazoria County and League City.
What permit, property and flood rules apply in Friendswood?
A city permit is required to build, move, add to or structurally alter a building. Driveway replacements, fences, generators, irrigation systems, storage buildings and swimming pools all need permits. Building Inspection staff review applications, usually in 5 to 7 working days.
Friendswood has zoning, with residential, commercial, industrial and planned-unit districts on an official zoning map. Flood risk comes from storm surge off Galveston Bay and from the four creeks. The city lists Harris County Flood Warning System rain gauges in or near Friendswood.