Jefferson City will research shelter safety regulations

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Jefferson City's Public Works and Planning Committee met on July 9 to discuss research on safety requirements for shelters, including those that house homeless individuals, and to create a draft of the ordinance.

According to the Department of Planning and Protective Services' memorandum, officials want to find out more about:

• Occupancy limits
• Hours of operation
• Security and safety requirements
• Definitions of types of shelters
• Staffing levels
• Neighborhood involvement requirements

The memo states that it was necessary to do further research because current shelters have no safety regulations.

The memo also states that staff reviewed other cities' processes and building codes and concluded they would need more time to update and clarify Jefferson City's ordinance.

Planning and Protective Services Director Dave Helmick said city staff want to be prepared with a clear outline of what a shelter would look like.

"The Planning Protective Services Department's working on is to put those definitions into our building code so that when we have someone that comes forward and wants to do a shelter of some sort, there is a clear guideline, a minimum life safety, as well as the definitions of what type of structures they are," Helmick said.