A judge on Tuesday rejected a New York City plan to require single adults to prove they have no other housing options before being admitted to homeless shelters because Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s administration failed to consult the public and City Council on the policy, says The Wall Street Journal.

State Supreme Court Justice Judith Gische said City Hall violated New York’s charter in seeking to implement the new shelter rules unilaterally in November. She did not rule on the merits of the policy, saying her decision on the flawed process made the substantive issues “academic.”

Advocates for the homeless challenged the policy in court, arguing that it would put more individuals out in the street. The City Council also opposed the restrictions.

The city said it would appeal Justice Gische’s ruling. Seth Diamond, commissioner of the Department of Homeless Services, said the decision “does not undermine the city’s strong reasons for developing this common sense procedure, nor does it make any determinations about its legality other than ruling on the method used to issue it.”