St. Louis to close shelter in weed-control building in June

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis will only house homeless men displaced by a downtown shelter's closure in its weed-control building for 60 days.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported an agreement to close the temporary shelter by June 5 came after lawyers from Arch City Defenders and Saint Louis University Law Clinic sued the city recently. The suit argued a city-owned building that houses gardening equipment and vehicles is "not suitable for habitability by humans."

Officials with Arch City on Friday called the agreement a victory, with its spokeswoman describing the shelter arrangement as "dystopian." But city officials struck back with a statement that said the lawsuit "was frivolous and changed nothing."

The temporary shelter was set up after another shelter closed after a long battle with the city.