One year after moving into a building at 944 Ky., the Lawrence Open Shelter is seeking a city permit to allow the homeless shelter to expand and remain downtown at least five more years.

Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday will consider a request for a five-year use permitted upon review permit for the shelter, which was formed to serve homeless residents who are intoxicated and are not allowed to stay at the Salvation Army shelter, which won’t accept people who have been drinking.

The commission meets at 6:35 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, Sixth and Massachusetts streets.

The permit also would allow the shelter to expand into adjacent office space that currently is vacant. The expansion would allow the shelter to accommodate 30 people, up from a maximum of 20.

The shelter typically is at capacity each night, director Loring Henderson wrote in a letter to commissioners. The shelter’s board has not made a final decision whether to expand but wants to have the ability to do so.

Attempts to reach Henderson for further comment Friday were unsuccessful.

Staff members of the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Department are recommending approval of the permit. Staff members received about 10 letters from neighbors of the shelter who supported the request.

It received one letter — from Paul Horvath, who has an office near the shelter — requesting commissioners deny the permit if the shelter wasn’t willing to change its practices. Horvath wrote that he had observed an increase in the number of people drinking in the adjacent alley since the shelter opened.

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