Somerton church wins final round in battle with city
SOMERTON — A Somerton church pastor’s more than yearlong zoning battle with the city of Somerton appears to have come to an end, now that a state agency has declined the city’s petition to suspend his contractor’s license.
The city had filed the petition with the Arizona Registrar of Contractors alleging Stephen Henry failed to get a building permit to complete work on a building that serves as the church for his Spanishlanguage ministry, Iglesia Bautista de Somerton.
Earlier this month an administrative judge for the ROC rejected the city’s complaint, ruling in favor of Henry. Acting Somerton City Administrator Hector Tapia said the city has no plans to appeal the decision.
“Finally we have won the administrative case in Phoenix,” Henry said. “If the city does not appeal the decision, it will be finalized on Feb. 12. The judge decided that since there was no contract for that work, I was not considered a contractor. Also, he took into account that there was no payment to me for that work.”
The decision comes two months after another decision in Henry’s favor in Somerton Municipal Court, where the city had also filed a complaint alleging Henry needed a building permit to replace lighting and wiring in the building at 118 W. Main St.
Judge Manuel Figueroa tossed out the complaint, finding the city had not provided Henry with a reason it was ordering him to stop the work. Figueroa also found that Henry had been denied the right to appeal the order.
Henry opened the church in 2016, and a city inspector issued the suspension order to Henry in October of that year.
The city initially also required that Henry secure a conditional use permit to operate a church on Main Street, but that requirement was later revoked in an amendment to city zoning ordinances. The amendment was made after the U.S. Justice De- partment advised the city that it could be violating federal law by making Henry get that permit for a church.
“Instead of actively trying to close a church, the city should be combating the criminal element and fixing potholes in the street,” Henry said. “I spent approximately $40,000 on my defense. I imagine that the city had to spend more, because it had three different attorneys involved.”
Tapia said, however, the church will still need to get a business license from the city to operate.