The Reno City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to move forward with designing a second homeless shelter, re-confirming its desire to build the shelter on Sage Street.

In a way, the vote was largely symbolic because the city doesn't actually have the money to build or operate the shelter. Designing the shelter itself and planning how to use the five-acre site at 250 Sage St. will cost about $10,000.

But the council's vote also is another step in the city's steady march towards expanding the number of beds available to homeless people suffering during the cold winter months.

"To do nothing creates a larger impact on the businesses on Fourth Street and on the downtown businesses," said Reno Councilman Paul McKenzie after a Fourth Street landlord asked the council to reconsider the Sage Street site. "And from the humanitarian (viewpoint), take your shirt off and walk outside right now and tell me we don't need something done for the people living like that every night."

Councilwoman Neoma Jardon, who has been insistent that the city address the shelter problem now, became emotional when she called for the vote.

"To the people on the street, this one's for you," she said.

As the price of housing in Reno has soared, so has the homeless population. The current shelter on Record Street has 310 beds, all of which are full. The overflow shelter, now in a warehouse on Washington Street, has 138 beds, all of which are full.

As overnight temperatures have dropped into the teens, a coalition of faith-based community groups has helped the city erect a large, heated tent in the parking lot of the Record Street shelter. The tent is staffed by volunteers. All 40 beds there are full.

That has left crowds of homeless people to sleep on the street outside the shelter.

Even with Wednesday's vote, it would be two years before the second shelter would be built.

First, the council must address city ordinances that prohibit more than one shelter from being built in the city of Reno. That issue is on an agenda for next month.

The city also must identify funding to build and operate the shelter. No price estimate has been discussed.

"We are approaching this not like a traditional project where we go and find the money and figure out what do," said Assistant City Manager Bill Thomas. "We are approaching this as a need to be addressed, we will decide what to pursue and then go about finding the funding not only to build the shelter but to operate it in perpetuity."

Many council members expressed frustration that the city of Sparks and Washoe County have not been more involved in finding a location for a second shelter. As pointed out by mayoral candidate Eddie Lorton, state law requires counties to provide homeless services.

"We have asked repeatedly for the other two entities to come forward with land, with options and at each and every moment it's, 'We've looked. Sorry, don't have anything'," Bobzien said.

Councilman Oscar Delgado pushed back on the claim Sparks and Washoe County don't want to help. He said not having land is different than not wanting to help fund the service.

"They are looking forward to participating," Delgado said. "But they've been approached (by the city saying), 'This is what you are going to get, county,' and not, 'How do we walk forward hand and hand?'

"We need to walk forward hand and hand with these folks and I think they want to do that."

The city also will have to address environmental contamination on the Sage Street site from past industrial uses on the property.

Thomas said the city will continue to consider other possible locations while it moves forward with the Sage Street location.