The Last Stand for the Good 'Ol Boys of Santa Rita
SAN ANGELO, TX — Now that the City of San Angelo has reaffirmed it will allow Lifepoint Baptist Church and Texas Tumbleweeds Gymnastics to carry on with the commercial use of LBC’s gym, the battle between the church and a few Santa Rita neighborhood landowners has moved back into the district courtroom.
LBC applied at the City for, and received, a special use permit, or exception, to use its gymnasium for commercial purposes even though the gym is located on property that is zoned as residential. Some Santa Rita residents objected, fearing that allowing commercial use of the gym could become an initial domino to fall fostering an encroachment of commercial businesses into their historic neighborhood. The attorneys for the church said LBC was wanting to maximize the use of the gym facilities by leasing it to Texas Tumbleweeds that runs faith-based gymnastics programs for San Angelo youth. The Santa Rita group filed a lawsuit to prevent the church from using the gym for a commercial enterprise, claiming the special use permit was illegal.