St. Paul’s by-the-Sea Episcopal Church is asking a federal judge to dismiss the Town of Ocean City’s countersuit against the them as its case involving its homeless shelter moves forward.
In a response filed last week, the church’s attorney, Robin Cockey, of Salisbury, answered the city’s counterclaim by denying the city’s assertion that the church is operating an illegal and unpermitted barrack-style housing shelter.
The response comes less than a week after the city asked the federal court to stop St. Paul’s from operating a homeless shelter on its property.
“In particular, Counter-Defendants deny the Town’s characterization of its facilities as ‘barracks-style housing’ or otherwise in noncompliance with the Town’s zoning code,” the response reads.
In late March, St. Paul’s – the church located on the corner of Third Street and Baltimore Avenue directly across from City Hall – began moving occupants of an outdoor tent shelter into the church hall, hours ahead of a city-imposed deadline to have the church remove the tents or face daily fines.
In the weeks that followed, the church invested in its indoor shelter, rearranging the church hall, hiring staff, and purchasing bunk beds and other supplies.
However, the city argues the barrack-style housing arrangement violates the zoning code for the R-3 residential district in which the church is located. On June 8, following a 30-day notice period, the city started issuing $1,000-a-day fines to the church’s senior warden and the pastor.