A new overnight shelter on Commercial Street opened for the homeless Monday night, but some city leaders say its good intentions may be in violation of the law.

The New Life Evangelistic Free Store plans to give Springfield's homeless population a place to sleep during the long winter nights.

Problem is, it sits right next door to the Victory Mission shelter.

A 1997 city ordinance prohibits homeless shelters from being located less than 2,000 feet away from each other.

But Reverend Larry Rice says his building is a religious facility and has a constitutional right to serve people in need.

“Our goal is to help break the cycle of homelessness,” Rice said.

Rice believes allowing people to sleep on the floor of this store will not only get them off the streets, but reduce potential crime.

“When people are out on the streets at night and it’s very cold, everything they do violates the law. So we're trying to keep them from getting locked up for loitering, or shouldn't be sleeping out there somewhere. We're trying to give them a place to come in,” said Rice.

But councilman Denny Whayne says that rice may be in violation of city code.

“He'll probably hear from the law department tomorrow,” Whayne said.

“We're not classifying ourselves as a shelter; we're classifying ourselves as a free store and a church. Frequently, the guys share messages. If they start locking everybody up that fell asleep in church on Sunday mornings, they'd have a lot of people,” said Rice.

Rice estimates that there are around 100 homeless people in Springfield and expects between 20 and 35 people per night during the winter.

“This winter with heating costs going up, there's going to be a lot more people being forced onto the streets and we're already seeing that,” added Rice.

Hank Zeniewicz used to be homeless and will oversee the shelter from 9:00 pm to 7:00 am. He says the best option would be another permanent shelter, but until that happens, this floor is better than the bitter cold.

“We only have this spot. We have to work with what we have and this is what we have,” Zeniewicz said. “We would like to make sure everybody has shelter, but we want to make sure it’s properly done as well.”

Councilman Whayne says he's troubled that Rice is knowingly defying the law.

“If they keep violating the ordinance, they'll probably be a citation issued,” Whayne said.

“We'll go to court,” Rice said.

Rice has been this road before, undeterred, willing to fight the city to the bitter end.

“They prefer not to have this on Commercial Street but we had to weight their preference against people having the right to stay alive and not freeze to death,” added Rice.

What does the Victory Mission think about all this? Jim Harriger says if men don't feel like they can come to the Victory Mission, it is good to have somewhere else to turn. He says this is a bad ordinance that is very restrictive that makes it almost impossible to get another shelter in Springfield. But he says he is concerned about the safety of people inside if there isn't proper oversight.