When the weather gets chilly this winter, homeless people in the city of Bunnell in Flagler County could have to tough it out on the streets.
That’s because The Sheltering Tree — the city’s only overnight cold-weather shelter — was shut down by Bunnell’s zoning board last week.
Sheltering Tree board member Sarah Ulis said it’s been in operation for 11 years.
“It was sort of out of left field that we had not submitted a business tax receipt, which had to be superseded by a fire code inspection,” she said.
The shelter’s in the First United Methodist Church, and Ulis said it’s not clear whether the church or the shelter dropped the ball.
An appeal is likely, she said, as her board plans to meet with supporters soon.
A call to Bunnell City Manager Alvin Jackson was not returned by this story’s deadline.