Moberly homeless shelter shuts down due to permit issues

A homeless shelter in Moberly has shut down due to permit issues.

On Thursday, Moberly’s city attorney, Charles Thompson, wrote a letter to Hilltop Chapel Ministries explaining that the city was made aware of the homeless shelter operations that the company was doing without an occupancy permit and without a conditional use permit for a shelter.

The letter states, “Please be advised that the City of Moberly has received your application to rezone the property, however, filing of an application does not allow you to continue operations. You must cease operations in order to be considered for any rezoning of the property or for any occupancy permit.”

Thompson explained that criminal charges may be filed if the company continues to operate a homeless shelter.

Thompson ends the letter by saying, “To avoid criminal prosecution, we can offer a diversion agreement if all shelter operations are ceased immediately.”