Town rejects new definition of family

BLACK JACK, Mo. -- The city council in the St. Louis County town Black Jack has rejected a measure that would have changed the definition of a family to include unmarried couples with two or more children. The measure was rejected Tuesday 5-3. Those who do not meet the town's definition of family could face eviction.

In February, Olivia Shelltrack and Fondrey Loving were denied an occupancy permit because they have three children and are not married.

The move generated much attention and the proposal from the town's planning and zoning commission to change the law.

The commission's proposal would have allowed "two unrelated individuals having a child or children related by blood, adoption or foster care relationship to both such individuals" to live together in a single-family dwelling.

The current ordinance prohibits more than three people from living together unless they are related by "blood, marriage or adoption." It had been used to prevent unwed people from living together with their children.

Black Jack's special counsel, Sheldon Stock, declined to say whether the city will seek to remove Loving and Shelltrack from their home.

The couple told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch they were surprised by the decision but that marriage remains a low priority for them.

"I'm just shocked," Shelltrack said. "I really thought this would all be over, and we could go on with our lives."