AUGUSTA — A proposal for a new, 20-bed homeless shelter on the east side of Augusta may be left out in the cold.

Following a five-hour meeting Tuesday during which numerous advocates for both sides spoke passionately, the Augusta Planning Board voted to table a proposal from United Community Living Center officials to open a low-barrier overnight year-round homeless shelter at 16 E. Chestnut St.

Board members said they needed more information, including about the potential impact the project could have on surrounding property values, to decide whether to grant it a conditional use permit. They suggested the nonprofit group come back to the board with a more detailed proposal.

Leaders of the United Community Living Center, which operates an existing daytime community center on Spruce Street near the proposed homeless shelter and offers services to people who are homeless in Augusta, said during the meeting that is not an alternative for them. That’s because their option to purchase the building was expiring this month and was contingent on winning Planning Board approval. They feared a delay would kill the project.

Betty St. Hilaire, the organization’s executive director, said Wednesday the group was weighing its options, and she planned to reach out to its seller’s agent, so the proposal may not be dead just yet.

There is also the matter of a proposed temporary ban on the city considering any new homeless shelter proposals for six months, sponsored by Ward 2 City Councilor Kevin Judkins. An effort to adopt that moratorium as an emergency measure and waive a required second reading last week failed in a tie vote. The moratorium is on councilors’ agenda for discussion Thursday night, and it could go back to councilors for a vote in a second reading at their Dec. 18 business meeting. The moratorium could thus apply to the tabled shelter proposal.

St. Hilaire said the plan is to have 20 beds, to keep the project small and easier to oversee. But they didn’t want to rule out the option of being able to expand to 30 beds eventually, because the former office building they’d convert into two floors of dormitories, with a kitchen in the basement, has enough space to accommodate more people.

St. Hilaire said homeless people wishing to move in would have to apply and go through a screening process. She said that process would select only people committed to bettering their lives and taking steps to break the cycle of homelessness.

Attorney Mary Denison, representing United Community Living Center, said at the start of Tuesday’s meeting that the moratorium is “the elephant in the room,” and if it is adopted, “that’d be the end of our proposal. We don’t have the luxury of coming back. So we’re hopeful we get approval from this board and that moratorium (won’t pass) and we can move forward with housing 20 to 30 people for the winter season.”

Denison said as winter hits, Augusta is still grappling with a homelessness crisis and the city’s most vulnerable people can’t wait and need shelter as soon as possible so they can get off the streets.

“This will be a targeted group of selected people, targeted for their willingness to move forward,” St. Hilaire said. “Some homeless people are not interested in that. This is not the program designed for them. For those ready to move forward, we’ll have intensive, supportive services, help with education, job placement, skills training, disability applications, from trained staff committed to their long-term stability.”

Low-barrier shelters, unlike most family shelters, allow guests who may have criminal records, mental health problems, or who have been using drugs or alcohol to come in as long as they do not misbehave or cause problems that put anyone at risk. St. Hilaire said guests at the shelter would not be allowed to bring or use drugs or alcohol on the premises and could be searched upon entry.

Numerous business owners and residents of the neighborhood surrounding the East Chestnut Street site proposed for the shelter expressed fear its presence could attract criminals or sex offenders to their neighborhoods and make them and their families, co-workers, and clients unsafe.

Some also expressed concern the presence of a homeless shelter and its users would reduce their property values, and make it harder to sell or rent out their properties nearby.

Lori Dube, a real estate agent with Sprague and Curtis in Augusta, said in her experience a low-barrier shelter placed in a residential or commercial area can cause decreased buyer interest as potential buyers may fear the area could be unsafe, and thus reduce property values.

Judkins, a former board member of United Community Living Center, said he agrees the city needs a low-barrier homeless shelter but expressed concern about the group’s proposal and said the city should ban development of any homeless shelters until it has rules and regulations in place to ensure they are safe for both their occupants and their neighbors.

“These are good people, they’re trying hard, I appreciate the compassion they’re showing their clients they serve,” Judkins said. “My concern is we don’t have any rules in Augusta that specifically apply to low-barrier shelters. We need to have the time to sit down with the City Council, you good folks, and some partners from these community businesses, to try to develop the right set of rules and regulations.”

Last year, center officials unsuccessfully sought to open a 40-bed homeless shelter and community center on Green Street, just west of the city’s downtown. The Planning Board rejected the proposal after opposition from neighbors and downtown business owners.