We have been ordered to stop all Church related activities by the City of Castle Hills at our temporary location which was located at 5703 Blanco Rd. San Antonio, Texas 78216. We were given a verbal order the week of September 22, 2024 by the City of Castle Hills and then a written order on September 24, 2024. The City of Castle Hills cited zoning and code enforcement as the reason.
They informed us of the following,
“5703 Blanco Road in Castle Hills Texas (not San Antonio) is zoned as an “F” TWO-STORY OFFICE-PROFESSIONAL DISTRICT. Section 50-284”. “Churches or any other nomenclature of a place of worship are not included in the language of the code as acceptable uses for the subject zoning status of the target property. You cannot function in any of the aforementioned nomenclatures on this property”.
Thus, given the code there was no way for us to obtain a temporary certificate of occupancy under any sort of exemption from the code. Therefore, we can no longer use the building for any purpose. Given the seriousness of this matter we felt it was best to abide by the zoning and code enforcement of Castle Hills, even though we feel that it is unjust. In the City of San Antonio religious houses of worship (Churches) are typically excluded from these types of zoning restrictions. Local governments usually do not want to prohibit the free exercise of religion, something which is enshrined in the Constitution of the United States of America.
This has caused significant disruption and disturbance to our parish operations. As of right now we will be meeting at Milano on Wurzbach (11802 Wurzbach Rd, San Antonio, TX 78230) for Sunday morning worship. Liturgy will be held at 9:30am. They are located in the Elm Shopping Center. We will also have Catechism Class on Wednesday nights at 5600 Vance Jackson Rd. San Antonio, Texas 78230 at 6:30pm.
We are looking into another suitable temporary location as we await the completion of our Church building project. We need a space which can accommodate 150-200 people. The parish council is working very hard to find another suitable location. Until we find another suitable temporary location there will be no Vespers on Saturday evenings, Sunday School or Coffee Hour. Confessions will by appointment only. Please keep us in your prayers as we navigate these very challenging times.
