More than a year ago Mayor Kirk Caldwell pledged to clear permitting issues for churches willing to house some homeless on their property. The city envisioned providing converted shipping containers to serve as temporary homes for individual families.

First Assembly of God in Moanalua, in tandem with other churches, is tweaking that vision with its own innovative alternative: easy-to-assemble and durable Alaska-made spherical domes.

One dozen of them — reserved for homeless mothers and children in Kahaluu — are boxed up on church land, awaiting approval of a city building permit application. The new community could begin taking shape next month.