DULUTH — After more than two hours of impassioned public testimony Thursday evening, city councilors voted 6-0 to approve a permit that will enable the Vineyard Church to provide a safe place for people living out of their vehicles to spend the night safely.

The Duluth Planning Commission already had signed off on the permit, allowing the operation called Safe Bay to open its doors, if only temporarily, because a group of a dozen concerned neighbors banded together to hire an attorney and appeal that decision, prompting the city to place the permit on hold until that appeal could be heard.

Brenda Miller, an attorney representing the appellants, said her clients acted for two reasons: “to require city officials to follow their own rules and to ensure the safety of participants of an out

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