No Tents Discovered at Church

A code enforcement task force inspecting the grounds of First Southern Baptist Church on Thursday found no tents for the homeless, but that might not end a long-running dispute between the pastor and the city, officials said.

The church and a population of about 20 homeless people who were living on its grounds were warned after an inspection in June by the Neighborhood Improvement Task Force that camping violates the city’s zoning code.

But the Rev. Wiley S. Drake told the coalition of inspectors from health, fire and other departments that he could not evict the homeless because helping them was part of a religious mission.

He raised the hackles of elected officials last month by encouraging his congregation to pray for the City Council’s eternal damnation.

Officials had given Drake until Thursday to rectify the camping situation and other minor code violations, such as not having proper soap containers or adequate fire equipment.

Rick Warsinski, the city’s acting development services director, said inspectors reported that the tents were down and that no homeless people appeared on the grounds.

The homeless have simply abandoned their tents and moved into their cars, Wiley said later. He said he does not intend to force them to leave, even though officials consider car-camping a zoning violation too.

“We are ministering to our people here and performing our religious duties as a church,” Drake said. “Our attorney said that if [city officials] try to conflict with our ministry, we’ll fight them tooth and nail.”

Warsinski said the city will continue to monitor the site, both to follow up on the minor violations and to ensure that the camping has ceased.