CARISSA MARSH/Acorn Newspapers IN DISREPAIR—This old church building on Barnard Street, built in 1961, will be torn down to construct a new church to house the congregation of Iglesia de Dios, or the Church of God. The planning commission last week approved a request by the Church of God to construct a nearly 10,000squarefoot addition around a vacant church house built almost 50 years ago to use as the future home of its congregation.

The commissioners said they'll be pleased to see the dilapidated structure get a design and landscaping face-lift.

"It's certainly good land use. It's an improvement of the eyesore that's there now," said planning chair Michael McGuigan.

The empty 3,193-square-foot church, built in 1961, sits on a 1.33-acre parcel at 4450 Barnard Street, just north of the 118 Freeway and east of Tapo Street.

The Church of God congregation currently rents a space at 171 Royal Ave., near Madera Road.

Roger Douglas, a Barnard Street resident since 1989, agreed with McGuigan.

"I believe that churches are good for communities," he said. "This particular property, I'm glad to see it being developed because it has been (hurting) the neighborhood since the church became vacant."

The commission voted 4-0 on April 8 to award the church—also known as Iglesia de Dios—a conditional use permit to construct the new church building and perform additional site improvements. Commissioner Mary Bibb didn't attend the meeting.

The neighborhoods surrounding the site are rural in nature and have older single-family homes on larger lots.

The project calls for the construction of a onestory, 12,250square-foot church. About 500 square feet will be removed from the existing building and 9,550 square feet will be added.

Resident Laura Sibley didn't attend the meeting but submitted comments to the commission calling the proposal an "excellent community project, especially for kids" and said it "meets the needs of the Hispanic community."

Improvements to the site will include 15,400 square feet of landscaping and three 25footwide driveways for access from Barnard Street. A public sidewalk and a curb and gutter system will be constructed and parkway trees and ground cover will be planted.

Utilities serving the site will be housed underground.

A conditional use permit for similar improvements to the property was approved in 1998, but it expired in 2004, a staff report said.

While the site plan includes 71 parking spaces—three more than required by city code—two commissioners expressed concern that more spaces might be needed in the future.

"I understand that right now there is a congregation of 200 people but I also understand that a church's mission is to grow its congregation and spread the word," Commissioner Tim Shannon said. "I am somewhat concerned about the possibility longterm of parking issues with this church."

Shannon said Barnard Street is not set up well for onstreet parking because there are no curbs or driveways.

Project manager Richard Enderson said that parking wouldn't be a problem because the worship sanctuary holds a maximum of 284 people and the church's four services are held at different times—two on Sunday and two youth ministry services during the week.

"The parking lot will be more empty than it will be full," Enderson said.

In the end, the commissioners decided the parking should be adequate given the number of worshippers the assembly area can hold and the permit conditions that restrict church activities to inside the building.

According to staff reports, the applicant hopes to begin construction in November and to complete the project in six to nine months.