AUSTIN, Texas – Discussions on how to improve homelessness in Austin are far from over.

For a while, some city leaders have argued if homeless people can’t camp on the streets the city should create another place for them to stay.

One of the suggestions is an emergency shelter. The former Health South Rehab Hospital has been vacant for a few years now but local leaders are looking to redevelop the site for affordable housing. Some council members, though, want to turn the space into an emergency homeless shelter. The shelter would operate for less than a year.

“The resolution asked the city manager to be creative about that to look toward the range of solutions that might be of help from hotel motel vouchers to looking at existing shelters to considering also setting up an emergency shelter on a very temporary basis,” said Kathie Tovo, of Austin City Council District 9.

Other council members felt instead of approving a resolution, it was more effective to wait and hear from experts and have them make policies.