The Warren City Council approved a motion asking the mayor to declare a local state of emergency to protect people exposed to forecast sub‑zero temperatures and to allow temporary shelters without special‑land‑use approval while the emergency is in effect.

Council Secretary Mindy Moore explained the request, citing an interagency meeting with police, fire, and residents about shelter availability and the limits of existing shelter intake windows. Moore said the city’s zoning ordinance does not specifically allow emergency or homeless shelters and that special land‑use hearings would take too long to permit temporary sites in the immediate cold. Under the Emergency Management Act, the mayor may declare a local emergency for seven days; the council may extend that period. The motion directs the mayor to issue an emergency declaration for health and safety purposes and to allow temporary shelters at reasonable locations without the usual special‑land‑use permit requirement through the council’s next meeting on Jan. 28, 2025, pending any further council action.

City attorney representation and staff said the emergency declaration is intended as a short‑term legal mechanism to permit rapid deployment of warming centers while staff work on zoning revisions that would explicitly accommodate shelters in the future. The council also discussed contracting arrangements so the city could pay nonprofits under agreements for services while avoiding direct donations to private organizations.

Councilmembers asked how long shelters might operate and where they would be located; staff said specific sites and operational details would be worked out by the administration and nonprofit partners. The council confirmed they expect the mayor to sign an initial seven‑day declaration and that the council would consider an extension and operational particulars at the Jan. 28 meeting. Councilmember Jonathan Lafferty and others noted that nonprofits and police had raised logistical issues, including limited shelter intake hours and differing capacity by population (men, women, families).

The motion passed on a recorded vote. The council asked staff to prepare zoning and planning work so future emergency or seasonal sheltering can proceed through ordinary regulatory channels.

Practical next steps: the mayor’s signed emergency declaration will allow temporary shelters to open quickly, the administration will identify reasonable locations and nonprofit operators, and planning staff will prepare ordinance amendments to recognize shelters in the zoning code for future winters.