Judge rules against activist in St. Louis shelter case

ST. LOUIS -- A federal judge has tossed out an activist's lawsuit that sought to keep St. Louis from revoking an occupancy permit for his downtown shelter for homeless people.

U.S. District Judge John Ross dismissed on Tuesday the lawsuit filed in March by the Rev. Larry Rice's New Life Evangelistic Center, calling the legal action premature, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

The city has said it will shutter the shelter unless it abides by its permit. The city said the shelter -- which often accommodates more than 200 people -- should close, then apply for a new license or scale back occupancy to the maximum 32 people allowed by the original 1976 permit.

The shelter, which has drawn complaints about crime and nuisance activities from people who work and live nearby, awaits the city's decision on its application for a new permit.

Rice has insisted without the New Life center, many homeless people will have no place to turn. The lawsuit argued the city's action infringed on the religion of New Life and its members, and would end a "40-year religious mission" to help the poor.

But Ross ruled Tuesday the federal lawsuit was premature because the city gave Rice's center the option of reducing to 32 beds or applying for a new license.

"The court cannot determine that the city has definitively barred New Life from using the building as it wishes until the city has evaluated a completed application and determined how it will apply its land use regulations to the facility," Ross wrote.

A message seeking Rice's comment Wednesday was left at his center.

Winston Calvert, the St. Louis city counselor, said Tuesday's ruling "confirms that (Rice's center) is not immune to the city's laws and that it must comply with health and safety regulations."

"We hope (the center) will take this opportunity to work with the city," Calvert said. "It has the opportunity to update its services in a manner that better serves people who are homeless and to be respectful of the downtown community."

Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com