Salt Lake City has issued a certificate of occupancy for The INN Between, a hospice for the homeless that was halted from opening in July by the City Council.
The INN Between, 344 S. Goshen Street (1050 West), is now open and has accepted its first occupants, according to executive director Kim Correa. The hospice in the convent at the old Guadulupe School, she said, would allow homeless people, who presently are able to care for themselves but have been diagnosed with a terminal illness, a safe place to stay.
In July, the City Council passed a temporary land-use regulation that would delay the planned August opening until December. At that time, Council Chairman Luke Garrott said the council wanted to ensure that such a hospice had all the safety precautions in place when it opened.
Those concerns now have been met, Correa said.
"We breathed a sigh of relief as we reached a critical milestone that marks the completion of a long and arduous struggle with zoning issues and building renovations," Correa said in a prepared statement. "Now, the real work begins as we concentrate our focus back to our mission of providing a safe place where homeless men and women can live in comfort and with dignity as they embark on the end-of-life journey."
But Garrott said Thursday the council is not necessarily satisfied that The INN Between has met the spirit of the law surrounding such facilities. "It's totally an open question," he said.
Nonetheless the city issued the certificate of occupancy after the planning department gave its approval.
Garrott expressed reservations about the opening of the hospice. "They have found loopholes in the law that have allowed them to open," he said. "Let's hope there aren't any negative consequences."
csmart@sltrib.com