Federal civil rights attorneys have sued the city of Jacksonville for refusing to allow a nonprofit organization to convert an old apartment building into housing for the homeless.
The Florida Times-Union reports that lawyers with the U.S. Department of Justice's civil rights division on Tuesday asked a federal judge for an injunction blocking the city's move on the grounds that it discriminates against disabled people.
Ability Housing of Northeast Florida has been trying to convert a 1920s-era apartment building into homeless housing.
But city officials used a zoning law to block the plan after neighbors and some city officials demonstrated against the project.
Ability has also sued, and that lawsuit is still in progress.
City spokeswoman Marsha Oliver told the newspaper that she would not comment on active litigation.
