UPDATED at 2:15 p.m. with ruling.

ST. LOUIS • A city board ruled Tuesday that Rev. Larry Rice's homeless shelter downtown is a nuisance and will be closed effective May 12, 2015, unless he complies with city terms.

Rice’s occupancy permit allows him to have a maximum of 32 beds. Many nights, Rice allows upwards of 300 people to stay in the shelter.

The city’s Board of Public Service has conducted more than a year of hearings on a petition to revoke Rice’s hotel license, which has allowed him to operate his New Life Evangelistic Center as a homeless shelter. It culminated Tuesday in a final decision just two days before Christmas.

A group of downtown residents, led by developer Brad Waldrop, brought the matter before the board in 2013, alleging that the shelter is a drag on downtown and prevents investment in the heart of the city. A petition alleges that the shelter is “being operated in such manner as to constitute a detriment to its neighborhood.” The petition cites loitering; littering; drinking in public; lewd and indecent conduct in and around the shelter; drug use and sales; and intimidating behavior and noise.