SARATOGA SPRINGS — Legal action filed to block a Code Blue homeless shelter from being built on Walworth Street has stopped it, at least for this winter.
Shelters of Saratoga will return to last year’s location at the Soul Saving Station Church on Henry Street, shelter Executive Director Michael A. Finocchi said.
“God bless the Soul Saving Station,” Finocchi said. “I mean, we can’t thank them enough for opening their doors again for us this year in this time of need.”
The plan, if the legal issues are sorted out in their favor, is to continue with the Walworth Street plans, Finocchi said.
A group of about 22 residents is challenging the city Planning Board’s approval of the project and the Zoning Board’s dismissal of the group’s appeal in June. They filed suit in July.
Shelters of Saratoga wants to build the Code Blue shelter next to its headquarters on Walworth Street to make it easier for homeless people to get the services they need, officials there said. Original plans anticipated it would be completed by November.
The shelter serves Saratoga, Washington and Warren counties. It opens when temperatures dip below 32 degrees, in accordance with state law.
An attorney for the neighbors could not be reached Friday. They believe that the neighborhood location is not the appropriate place for the shelter.
The neighbors also take issue with the city’s definition of the project as a neighborhood rooming house, which their attorney contends is incorrect.
The Planning and Zoning boards, however, sided with the shelter.
The Code Blue shelter served an average of 35 people last winter.
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