Hotel plans cause uproar in Friendswood

by Hayley Kappes / The Daily News
Posted on April 5, 2010 at 8:19 AM
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Galveston Daily News Web site
FRIENDSWOOD, Texas — A proposed Sleep Inn and Suites at the corner of FM 528 and San Joaquin Parkway has caused uproar from residents in nearby subdivisions since the project was announced last November.

The three-story, 60-room hotel will be located next to the Boca Raton subdivision.

A major concern for opponents is the hotel’s proximity to Windsong Intermediate School, which sits diagonally across FM 528.

"We’re not opposed to commercial development on that property, but a motel is the wrong use," Ed Dondzila, secretary of the Boca Raton subdivision homeowners association, said. "It doesn’t make sense. It’s eight miles from (Interstate) 45, and there’s no tourist attraction in Friendswood."

Dondzila and other residents in Boca Raton, San Joaquin, Keystone, Falcon Ridge and Sunmeadow developments oppose the hotel because they think it will decrease their property values and increase criminal activity.

City council members have not addressed residents’ concerns about the hotel, nor have they outlined any benefits a hotel would offer the city, Mark and Jackie Taylor, residents of Boca Raton subdivision, said.

Hotel property owner Ajay Jain told a Houston TV station he has not secured the loan to build the hotel and does not know if it will go through.

Friendswood’s current ordinances allow hotels and motels to be built on property zoned for community shopping centers.

Friendswood city council will consider today a change to the way community shopping properties are zoned, which will prevent hotels and motels from automatically qualifying for those properties. The ordinance change also will require a hotel developer to obtain a special use permit approved by the city council, which requires greater scrutiny, Mayor David Smith said.

The change to the city’s zoning laws will not affect the proposed Sleep Inn and Suites because it falls under the current ordinance.

The hotel is not a done deal, however. Jain has submitted site plans to the city, and the planning and zoning commission will review the plans April 15. He can obtain a building permit only after planning and zoning approves the plans.

Today’s city council meeting will have a first reading of the ordinance change, and the second reading will take place in two weeks when the council will vote on the matter, Smith said.


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