Santa Fe church may have found a home

The Sangre de Cristo Church plans a new church for a lot at 2095 Galisteo Street, south of St. Michael's Drive. (EDDIE MOORE/JOURNAL)

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A Santa Fe church that has been operating out of the Genoveva Chavez Community Center for more than a decade may have found a new home.

The citys Board of Adjustment on Tuesday unanimously approved a special use permit that would allow the Sangre de Cristo Bible Church to build a 9,306 square foot structure at 2095 Galisteo Street, north of Siringo Road and east of St. Francis Drive. The 4.23 acres of property is currently zoned for residential use.

Pastor John Romero said Sangre de Cristo Bible Church is an independent, non-denominational church founded in 2001 and now with a congregation of about 120 people. It has been holding services in the community room at the Genoveva Chavez Community Center almost its entire existence.

The new church would be a metal building with a stucco facade with seating for 244 people. A parking lot capable of accommodating 76 cars would also be built on the property.

Under questioning from board members Romero said ideally the parking lot would be paved, but putting in an asphalt lot initially would be dependent on funding.

Romero said getting approval to build the church was just a first step. The next step is for the church to buy the property, owned by Playschool of the Arts located across Galisteo from the proposed site.

A 9,306 sq. ft. building for the Sangre de Cristo Church is planned for a lot at 2095 Galisteo Street, (EDDIE MOORE/JOURNAL)

The church didnt get all it wanted from the Board of Adjustment. It originally planned to construct a 25-foot sign facing St. Francis, but Daniel Esquibel, a senior land use planner for the city, said the height of the sign didnt meet the citys code for signage in a residential area.

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Santa Fe church may have found a home