ST. CLOUD — A tiny house intended for the homeless remains empty in St. Cloud.

A zoning board of appeals has denied a request by St. John’s Episcopal Church to allow the house to be used as a residential structure.

The 132-square-foot house sits on wheels and is on the church grounds. The St. Cloud Coalition of Homeless Men had hoped to place a resident there when the house was donated to the group in May.

But the St. Cloud Zoning Board of Appeals last month denied a request to amend the church’s conditional use permit to allow the house to be used as a residential structure there.

“We really don’t know what the next option is,” coalition president Tina Lamberts said.

Meanwhile, the prospective resident is still sleeping on a friend’s couch.

The house was donated by the Central Minnesota Jobs & Training Services: Youth Build out of Willmar.

Electricity to the tiny house is provided by plugging into an exterior outlet. A continuous water supply can be maintained by attaching a hose, but it also contains a 32-gallon freshwater tank.