Escanaba's City Council voted unanimously Thursday, Oct. 1, to reject a rezoning proposal that would have allowed a homeless shelter at 113 S. 10th St., according to TV6 & FOX UP.

The vote keeps the former Bertrand's/Bittner Engineering building in the city's Commercial "E" zoning district, where shelters are not permitted. The city's Oct. 1 agenda packet identifies Mayor Mark Ammel, Mayor Pro Tem Tyler DuBord, Ronald J. Beauchamp, Todd Flath and Karen Moore as the five council members present. TV6 & FOX UP reported that the vote was unanimous.

Hope on the Horizon 906 had sought to convert the vacant building into a transitional shelter. The property has sat empty for nine years.

The city's staff report notes that similar uses may be permitted in the Residence "C" Multiple-Family district, and TV6 & FOX UP reported that city officials said Hope on the Horizon could establish a shelter in a C-zoned property without seeking a rezoning. Hope on the Horizon President Laurie Kaski-Hammar said after the vote that the organization will pursue a property in the C zone, which runs along 1st Avenue South.

"When the city council opted to deny changing the zone for the building that is in question, what they did state is that we are allowed by right in 'C' … So, we will take advantage of where we are allowed by right and move forward in that direction," Kaski-Hammar said, according to TV6 & FOX UP.

The pivot was not a surprise. Kaski-Hammar told the Daily Press in September that the organization was already in the process of purchasing a C-zoned house and would move forward regardless of the council's decision on 113 S. 10th St.

She told WZMQ on Sept. 21 that Hope on the Horizon had already made an offer on one house and was looking at another.

The rezoning question stretched back months. The Escanaba Planning Commission voted unanimously Aug. 13 to recommend denial, finding the change inconsistent with the city's master plan for the downtown commercial district. City Planning and Zoning Administrator Joseph Walker's staff report stated the rezoning was "not consistent with the Master Plan's vision for maintaining an active, mixed-use commercial environment within the downtown." Walker also noted that converting the property to a tax-exempt use could affect the city's tax base and Downtown Development Authority revenue.

The Oct. 1 public hearing drew speakers on both sides. Community members and human service professionals voiced support for the shelter. Robin Custance, who opposed the rezoning, said she wanted more planning before the city moved forward on a shelter location.

Council members thanked residents for speaking and said they support a shelter in an appropriately zoned area, according to TV6 & FOX UP.

Hope on the Horizon 906 was founded by Kaski-Hammar in memory of her late son, John Karl Hammar. The organization had more than 80 volunteers as of September and has been searching for a shelter site for roughly three years, according to Kaski-Hammar's testimony at the August planning commission meeting, as reported by the Daily Press.

No timeline for opening a shelter in the C zone has been announced.