By Hayley Kappes
The Daily News
Published January 3, 2011
FRIENDSWOOD — Longtime residents always tell Penelope Burke they had no idea a crystal clear lake sat less than a mile south of FM 518 on the southeastern edge of Friendswood.
Burke, a member of the city’s parks and recreation advisory board, has worked for more than 20 years to develop what locals have nicknamed Lake Friendswood.
The lake has a convoluted history, Burke said.
In the early 1970s, the landowner used the 47-acre property as a sand excavation pit where developers extracted materials to level land in preparation for subdivisions that boomed with the opening of the Johnson Space Center.
After digging down 100 feet, a natural spring began to gradually fill the pit, Burke said.
Once developers exhausted the sand pit, the landowner sold it.
The city in 1993 bought 42 acres at the site, most of which encompassed the lake and planned to make it a public park with a $500,000 grant from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
Plans halted, however, when a Friendswood resident filed a lawsuit against the city claiming he owned a five-acre part of the property adjacent to the lake.
A jury ruled that the resident had the rights to the five-acre parcel, leaving the city with a divided interest in the lake.
Since it didn’t own the entire tract of land, the city had to return the grant to the state.
“This is a 30-year conversation that’s gone on without resolution about what to do with the lake,” Burke said. “The intent is what matters. When the city acquired the lake, it was to be open to the public.”
The spring-fed lake is not accessible to the public, city spokesman Nick Haby said.
Broken concrete and rebar leftover when the Texas Department of Transportation widened FM 518 was placed on one side of the lake to prevent erosion. The material makes it unsafe to swim.
“There is no good access to the lake right now,” Haby said. “There is a dirt road that leads back to it blocked by a gate. There are parking issues and amenities that we would want to put there and safety issues that have to be considered.”
Members of the parks and recreation advisory board want to build a paved road to the lake on Windemere Road off FM 518 and fence off the property.
The board has discussed installing bathrooms and a floating dock anchored over the concrete and rebar to prevent access to the potentially harmful material.
Swimming and motorized watercrafts would be prohibited.
Board members have also discussed the possibility of a hike and bike trail around lake that would connect to the West Ranch Subdivision.
The city hasn’t pinpointed an amount to spend on the lake’s development.
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