Ocean City is asking a federal judge to stop St. Paul’s by-the-Sea Episcopal Church from operating its overnight homeless shelter, according to a response and counterclaim acquired by WBOC on Monday.
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St. Paul's by-the-Sea Episcopal Church has officially filed a lawsuit alleging the Ocean City mayor and city council are violating its First Amendment rights over the church's overnight shelter for local homeless people.
Ocean City officials issued citations Monday to St. Paul’s by-the-Sea Episcopal Church after the church continued operating an overnight shelter past a town-imposed deadline.
A dispute between the Town of Ocean City and St. Paul’s by-the-Sea Episcopal Church is escalating after the town ordered the church to stop allowing people to sleep overnight inside one of its buildings.
St. Paul’s By-the-Sea in Ocean City says it plans to move people staying in tents on church property inside next week and begin operating an overnight low-barrier shelter as an April 1 town deadline approaches.
A dispute between an Ocean City church and town officials over a homeless encampment is drawing attention to broader questions about shelter access and code enforcement, as a new deadline has been set for the tents to be removed.