Doña Ana County panel approves conditional special-use permit for Harvest Christian Church on Paseo Real Drive

The Doña Ana County Planning and Zoning Commission on Jan. 23 approved a conditional special-use permit allowing Harvest Christian Church to operate a religious institution at 313 Paseo Real Drive.

The commission voted 5-0 to approve case SU24-036 with staff-recommended conditions, including a required pre-application meeting with building services, engineering, floodplain and fire officials, and state review for commercial septic use.

Planning staff described the subject property as a two-acre parcel zoned T-3 (neighborhood edge) that includes a house built in 1950 and a garage added between 2018 and 2023 that appears to straddle a tax-lot line created in 1990. Staff said the parcel is adjacent to single-family residences, commercial uses to the north and west and a mobile home park to the south, and noted Scott School and a nearby business district as local landmarks. Water for the residence is served by a local “lake section” provider and a septic tank is installed; staff said the applicant must contact the New Mexico Environment Department for approval of commercial septic use.

The applicant, Ruben Sanchez, said Harvest Christian Church currently meets at the Dolores C. Wright Community Center in Chaparral and estimates a typical Sunday attendance of 45 to 50 people. “We’re guesstimating 25 cars because most of them are couples,” Sanchez said, adding that the congregation’s typical vehicle demand is about 20 to 25 cars and that the proposed site has room to expand on-site parking as the congregation grows.

In its application, the church proposed converting the existing house into a place of worship, building a modest addition, and providing roughly 25 on-site parking spaces with managed ingress and egress. Staff told commissioners the applicant will be required to obtain a site-threshold assessment and a driveway permit from the county for access from San Veil Drive, which is a county-maintained local road with an 80-foot right-of-way.

Commissioners asked about projected occupancy, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance for restrooms and parking, and how the church would handle on-street parking near a bus stop. Staff said occupancy estimates were not supplied in the packet, that ADA-accessible restrooms and parking will be required as part of permitting, and that the applicant proposed using parking attendants and on-site drop-off to avoid street parking.

Staff recommended a conditional approval that includes: limiting the SUP to use as a religious institution; hours of operation of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and a 10:30 a.m. Sunday service (with possible future midweek services); a required pre-application meeting with county permitting divisions; coordination with the assessor to remove the internal tax lot line; payment of applicable fees for permits and any septic review; and compliance with building, fire and life-safety codes.

Commissioner Rango moved to approve SU24-036 with the conditions presented; Commissioner Fisher seconded. The roll call vote recorded “yes” from Commissioner Odonga, Commissioner Jimenez, Commissioner Fisher, Vice Chair Cerniak and Chair Zarzages. The motion carried and the conditional SUP was approved.

Next steps for the applicant include resolving the assessor lot-line issue, completing the pre-application meeting with county permitting staff, obtaining required driveway, building and septic approvals and meeting ADA and fire-safety requirements. The permit, as approved, applies only to the religious-institution use described in the application.

Votes at a glance: SU24-036 — Approve conditional special-use permit to operate a religious institution at 313 Paseo Real Drive; mover Commissioner Rango; seconder Commissioner Fisher; roll-call outcome 5-0 (Odonga: yes; Jimenez: yes; Fisher: yes; Cerniak: yes; Zarzages: yes).