The City became aware in December 2021 of an unlicensed homeless shelter operating at 19 South Main Street and in violation of the Jasper zoning ordinance. In light of the weather temperatures, the City made a humanitarian decision and gave the unlicensed homeless shelter a month to find a new and more appropriate location to transition their operations to. At the end of the month, the unlicensed homeless shelter had not moved to a more appropriate location and therefore the City conducted a code inspection of the premises and found numerous Life Safety Code violations. The City is currently seeking to require the owner and/or tenant to resolve the Life Safety Code violations and have the unlicensed homeless shelter move to an appropriately zoned location that would allow for licensing. The City has reached out to licensed homeless shelters for resources and support on the behalf of those located at 19 South Main Street. If the unlicensed homeless shelter does not transition to an appropriately zoned and safe location, then the City will have no choice but to proceed forward with an enforcement action for the safety of all located within the structure.

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