The Salt Lake City Council recently took emergency action to make sure that as many as 90 homeless men have a place to sleep this winter.

For about a decade, The Road Home shelter at 210 S. Rio Grande St. has partnered with neighboring St. Vincent de Paul Center to provide overflow shelter for homeless men needing a place to stay overnight.

City planning officials recently learned that the conditional-use permit that would allow St. Vincent to provide the space didn't exist — making the action illegal.

Because the process for obtaining the proper permissions would take four to six months, the City Council unanimously approved temporary zoning regulations that will allow the overflow sheltering to continue through this winter.

"The decision we're making tonight is to get through this winter," said Jill Remington Love, the council's chairwoman.

The oversight was discovered when city planners began looking into a business owner's complaints that the operation of homeless shelters in the area is interfering with his business.

"I would hate to be the singular person responsible for killing this idea, because I do have a soul," said Pete Henderson, managing owner of the Rio Grande Cafe, 270 S. Rio Grande. "But they have been in violation of the conditional-use permit for 10 years. The city has stood by and observed this. Essentially, the rules are not being applied to the nonprofit organizations as they are to the rest of us."

In addition to the temporary action by the City Council, city leaders committed to address problems cited by Henderson and others, such as the concentration of homeless shelters in one area of the city and the lack of synchronization of hours among them that leaves the homeless population with nowhere to go at certain times of the day.

"I appreciate the thoughtfulness of the council in considering this waiver," said Christian Harrison, chairman of the Downtown Community Council, "but I shouldn't have to remind you that it's a generous act paid for by residents of my neighborhood."

The council cited a "compelling, countervailing public interest" for the land-use regulations, allowing for the temporary action without a public hearing or a recommendation from the Planning Commission.

Downtown resident Mickelle Weber said the city's quick action essentially allows for a second homeless shelter in her neighborhood, without public input.

"No one wants anyone to be freezing to death in our neighborhood or anywhere else in the city," Weber said. "Our neighborhood shares an unfair brunt of a social issue that is citywide."