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Friendswood to update comprehensive plan with $250,000 GLO grant; consultants outline timeline and public outreach
Summary
City staff and consultants outlined a two-part comprehensive plan update funded by a General Land Office resilient‑communities grant; the work includes a yearlong plan update and a zoning/ordinance follow-up and will form a citizen advisory committee.
The Friendswood City Council heard a presentation on the city’s comprehensive plan update and the process funded by a General Land Office (GLO) resilient‑communities grant, with consultants from Ardura Group and CDS outlining a yearlong schedule, public engagement steps and a later zoning‑ordinance update.
The consultants said the grant covers both the comprehensive plan update and recommended changes to the zoning ordinance so the plan’s recommendations can be implemented. “The purpose of the grant is to update the comprehensive plan with a focus on hazard mitigation,” consultant Ladakrishna Rao of Ardura Group said. Rao added that the grant includes a component to help amend ordinances so the plan does not “just stay on the shelf.”
Why it matters: Council members said the plan will guide land use, infrastructure and fiscal decisions for decades and could improve the city’s competitiveness for future state and federal grants. City staff and consultants said the plan will incorporate prior master plans (parks, drainage, thoroughfares), analyze fiscal impacts of land‑use choices and produce an implementation chapter with prioritized steps and potential funding sources.
Ardura described a two‑phase approach: a roughly 12‑month comprehensive plan update followed by a targeted revision of zoning and related ordinances. The consultant team includes an urban designer who will develop character‑based guidance for corridors and downtown, a civil/ resiliency engineer who will address infrastructure and hazard resilience, and an economic‑market analyst from CDS to supply demand and feasibility analysis for residential and commercial uses.
Consultant Ty Jacobson of CDS said the market study will examine regional demographics and supply‑demand for housing, retail, office and industrial uses and will interview local brokers and developers to ground forecasts in local knowledge. “We want to understand the real estate market on the whole, the residential component of it, both for sale and for rent, as well as commercial,” Jacobson said.
Public engagement: The team asked the council to help form a Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee (CPAC) of about 18–22 members that will meet several times during the process. The consultants also plan focus groups, one‑on‑one interviews, pop‑up events (the consultants said they will staff a booth at the city Halloween festival), and an online interactive platform with a questionnaire and a map where residents can mark likes and dislikes.
Timing and funding: City staff said the city secured $250,000 from the GLO for the work and that grant management is included so the city’s staff workload is reduced. Consultants said the plan will emphasize resiliency and align recommendations with state and federal policies to improve future grant prospects.
Next steps: Staff will return to council with a proposed CPAC membership for appointment in the coming months and will circulate the consultant questionnaire for council input. The consultants asked for council feedback on the engagement materials before posting them on the city web page.
Ending: Council members welcomed the kickoff, stressing the plan should be a “living” policy document that guides, but does not rigidly bind, future land‑use decisions. The consultants and staff said they will keep council and the public regularly updated during the project.
