A judge declined City Walk Urban Mission’s emergency motion to stay in its shelter on Mahan Drive on Tuesday.
Judge Angela C. Dempsey of Florida’s 2nd Judicial Circuit rejected City Walk’s motion for preliminary injunction without notice after the organization was ordered to vacate the premises by the Tallahassee Fire Department in late March.
City Walk, a church that operates a homeless shelter, filed an injunction against the City of Tallahassee, stating the “plaintiff and its residents will suffer an irremediable injury in what amounts to a crime against humanity by throwing these citizens back onto the streets and rendering them once again homeless.”
On March 24, the fire department found the building to be a danger to its residential occupants because of numerous building code violations, mainly that the shelter does not have a sprinkler system, according to court records.
“…the Fire Marshal deemed the continued residential occupation of the property to constitute an imminent danger,” according to court records.
Renee Miller, pastor at City Walk Church and executive director of City Walk Urban Mission, agrees that the shelter needs a sprinkler system, but the organization can’t install one without a building permit, which can’t be obtained without a change of use.
“We are continuing to seek legal remedies through the court systems and fighting for our constitutional rights as a church but also the rights of the citizens who live here and are under our care,” Miller told the Tallahassee Democrat.
City Walk’s motion for the injunction argues the organization has tried to file permits to change the use of the building as residential, but “approval has been wrongfully withheld by the City for the last several years.”
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Since December 2020, the city has alleged the shelter, which started to house people during cold nights but quietly transitioned to a full-time operation, is out of compliance with city codes.
The years-long dispute has pitted neighbors of the shelter with those who hope the city would invest more in homeless initiatives, especially during City Commission meetings. In their opposition, nearby residents and business owners have pointed to instances of aggressive panhandling, public urination, drug use and solicitation in which people from the shelter are knocking on doors.
The city has issued numerous code violations in the past two years, including the latest from the fire marshal.
The city’s response to the shelter’s motion for a preliminary injunction alleges unsafe and unsanitary conditions at the shelter, citing three resident deaths and outdoor showers. Miller denies the shelter is ill-equipped and unsafe, and said residents have died from chronic illnesses.
“To say that we’re not safe because somebody died of cancer is ridiculous,” Miller said. “I don’t even know that there’s a word for that. The City of Tallahassee needs to be ashamed of itself.”
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Currently, City Walk has over 30 occupants. The shelter is collecting tents and organizing cots in case they have to vacate the building.
“There’s still another court hearing to go to before they get to actually enforce that,” Miller said, “and we’re working as hard and fast as we can to make sure our clients are housed, fed and protected.”
