One year at a time.

That’s how city commissioners want to approach dealing with a downtown homeless shelter that has been criticized by neighbors as being unresponsive to complaints that clients frequently trespass, loiter or cause problems in the neighborhood.

Commissioners unanimously agreed Tuesday night to extend a use permit for the Lawrence Community Shelter, 944 Ky., for one year rather than the five years shelter leaders had sought.

“The neighbors deserve some accountability,” Mayor Boog Highberger said as he spelled out reasons for why the city should reject the five-year extension request.

Commissioners heard about one hour of public comment from supporters and critics of the shelter. Several neighbors said they wanted the one-year permit because it ensured that the shelter would have to go through a formal review process to show that its efforts were working and that the facility was fitting in well with the surrounding neighborhood.

Several neighbors said that thus far the shelter had not fit in well with the neighborhood. They said shelter residents have generated large numbers of police calls by trespassing, loitering, littering and committing other offenses. Some said the shelter’s staff had not been aggressive enough in enforcing shelter rules that punish residents for bad behavior that occurs away from the shelter site.

“You have to have someone who will start controlling behavior and modifying behavior,” said Phil Hemphill, who lives near the shelter. “You have to say you will never get into public housing or subsidized housing if you continue to act like this.”

Supporters of the shelter, though, praised the staff and said what was needed was for the community to find a larger and more suitable site for the shelter.

“Accountability for the Lawrence Community Shelter belongs to this whole community,” said Hilda Enoch, a longtime advocate for homeless services. “It is all of our responsibilities. It is our neglect, not the staff’s who work for pittances and who are the most dedicated staff we have in this community. This belongs to all of us and has been neglected by all of us for far too long.”

Commissioners largely agreed that a new location for the shelter was needed, but said the community was taking steps to improve services for the homeless. During the last budget process, the city agreed to hire several counselors who will help people try to exit homelessness.

“Every time I hear the impatience of people who come before us, I wish we could move with more speed to find a solution,” City Commissioner Mike Rundle said. “But we are making progress. You can’t expect success to happen overnight, though.”

Shelter leaders tried to assure commissioners that they are implementing new programs to help people find jobs and housing and receive other assistance to end their homelessness.

“Some of the descriptions that I heard of the shelter tonight are not something I recognize,” said Loring Henderson, executive director of the shelter. “I assure you that we are striving to do more than be a shelter.”

In addition to requiring the shelter to go through an annual review, commissioners agreed to require shelter staff to come up with a plan to control loitering.