SAN ANTONIO – Tiny homes meant to house the homeless are sitting vacant while Last Chance Ministries works out issues with the city of San Antonio.
KSAT has been following the plans to build Victorious Point Transitional Housing at 607 Frio City Road since the beginning of the year.
Michael Shannon, development services director for San Antonio, said the city went out to inspect the construction when it saw the KSAT coverage, but no one had pulled permits for the construction.
The first issue, Shannon said, was that the property is not properly zoned for what the church is trying to do. The process would be taken through the proper channels to ultimately end up before City Council for a vote, but that could take months.
The city said the sheds, or tiny homes, need permits for the safety of the occupants and neighbors. The site has received 61 citations dealing with safety issues, such as plumbing and electrical wiring.
“No matter who's going to be inside these homes, these tiny homes, we want them to be safe,” Shannon said. “We don't want people to get electrocuted. We want to have proper safe water and sewer.”
Shannon said there have been ongoing efforts to get the church to comply, but construction continued so the city had to pull the power to the property.
Shannon said there’s no doubt the goal to build homes for the homeless is well intended, but regulations must be followed.
Jimmy Robles, a pastor with Last Chance Ministries, issued the following statement on the matter:
“As a non-profit we are very grateful the city of San Antonio is working with us as we venture into a project that is a first of it’s (sic) kind. I understand that there will be challenges as there are with any new project especially for something never been done before within Bexar county. There are meetings already scheduled for next week.”
Shannon said the first call to order is getting the proper zoning.