City commissioners have delayed a key vote on a proposal to move the community’s homeless shelter to the eastern edge of Lawrence.

Late Monday afternoon, City Hall leaders pulled from Tuesday’s meeting a hearing for a special use permit for the Lawrence Community Shelter. Commissioners now are scheduled to hear the proposal to locate the shelter in a warehouse adjacent to the Douglas County Jail on April 20.

The item was pulled, in part, because property owners near the site are contending that restrictive covenants on the proposed site could prohibit a homeless shelter.

Staff members said they needed more time to examine those claims. The covenants for the Franklin Business Park regulate several aesthetic and design issues related to buildings, landscaping and parking in the business park. The covenants also state the park is for use by “business, industrial and governmental uses.” It was unclear whether the shelter, which is a Kansas corporation, fits the business category.