Friendswood City Council denies health care permit to operator that flooded during Harvey
FRIENDSWOOD, Texas (KTRK) -- After its facility received more than five feet of water during Hurricane Harvey, Friendswood City Council is fighting back against allowing a nursing home to reopen at the same spot.
The fence still surrounds the nursing home nearly a year after Harvey rolled through.
A council member helped saved dozens of elderly patients inside.
Those memories came back when he saw the Friendswood Health Care Center requested a permit to finish and reopen the facility.
The operator wanted to use the space as a nursing home that could house more than 80 people.
It passed Friendswood's zoning board, but when it got to city council, the request was voted down unanimously.
"Whether they had a plan in place to protect them in the future, we just felt we couldn't take that risk. It's the council's responsibility to take care of its citizens," Friendswood city council member, Sally Branson said. "We feel very strongly about that."
While the operator was denied by council, members say they wouldn't be opposed to the nursing home returning if it found a location not near a body of water.
As for the company, we reached out to the representative who spoke before council.
However, our calls weren't returned.
