COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (WOWT) - Council Bluffs leaders are debating a controversial ordinance that could dramatically change how homeless shelters operate, with opponents calling the proposed restrictions among the most restrictive policies in the country.

The proposal comes as Council Bluffs’ homeless population continues to grow.

The ordinance’s biggest restriction would require those who are homeless to be clean and sober before a shelter can take them in.

The ordinance, proposed by Councilman Roger Sandau, would require sobriety before shelter entry and impose new restrictions on operations. Sandau cited that 50 percent of the metro area’s unsheltered population is in Council Bluffs.

“I don’t think what we’re doing today is working,” Sandau said.

Mayor Walsh said Sandau’s proposal h

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