The Belfast City Council unanimously approved several amendments to city ordinances on Tuesday night that clear the way for the creation of a transitional housing facility in a local church.
The approval of the amendments will allow the Midcoast Maine Homeless Coalition to present a plan to convert the lowermost floor of the United Methodist Church at 23 Mill Lane into a temporary housing facility.
Up to four families can be housed at the facility at a time, which will only accommodate families who have children.
The plan for the transitional housing initiative is headed by Midcoast Maine Homeless Coalition. It was originally proposed in January. The measure had previously received an outpouring of support by the public and its partner organizations and was endorsed by the Belfast Planning Board in late February.
The coalition also on Tuesday requested a waiver to all permit fees for its proposed transitional housing facility. That motion was also approved.
Families will have to apply and be approved before they are able to make use of the property, council member Mary Mortier said.
“This is a test case; this is a trial. We’re attempting in this community to attempt a new thing. It is called transitional, or temporary, housing. It is not a homeless shelter. It is not a place where someone comes off the street at 4 a.m. because they have nowhere else to stay,” Mortier said. “This is a really important thing for our community, and I really hope and pray that they are successful.”
The City Council unanimously approved the first reading of the proposed ordinance amendments at a March 4 meeting. The process is standard protocol before a zoning ordinance is changed in order to allow this measure to continue and take effect.