RAPID CITY, S.D. (KELO) — Over a year ago the Hope Center in Rapid City closed down, leaving people in need of shelter without a place to keep warm on cold winter nights.

A nearby church wants to fill that need, but it’s proving to be complicated. 

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First Presbyterian Church applied for a conditional use permit to provide shelter to people in need.

That permit was rejected by the City Planning Commission and then tabled by the city council.

“But I think we looked at it, listened to all the public testimony, and somebody made the motion to table it. Now when that’s done, there can be no discussion, it goes right to a vote, and the vote was to table it unanimously by the city council,” City Council President Kevin Maher said.

The He Sapa Community Alliance and the church want to create a low-barrier warming shelter that could help up to 20 people a night.

“My contention is that, unhoused people are here, downtown is where the resources are. They come down the street from the library they walk down, and what was most compelling to me and the reason I sought to house this program here at our church was I saw people sleeping in our courtyard,” Pastor Adam Knudson said.

Concerns from the city council included the potential for loitering and neighborhood complaints. 

“When we get a lot of opposition from the businesses around that church and so when they got their businesses, they built their buildings, they didn’t expect to have a homeless shelter across the street,” Maher said.

There are also concerns that people could show up at the church intoxicated.

“Obviously if somebody is falling down drunk and dangerous, we’re going to call somebody else, we’re not going to be equipped to handle that. But if somebody is able to lay down in a bed to  get a goodnight sleep, to not bother any people, we didn’t want that to prohibit anyone from being able to enter,” Knudson said.

First Presbyterian Church currently has cots, blankets, and separate rooms for those that would stay and are just waiting for the City Council to know how they could move forward and start to help those outside their walls.