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ST. LOUIS — A city appeals board heard arguments Thursday in a case that could decide whether a longtime refuge for the homeless downtown will reopen.

Officials with New Life Evangelistic Center, which ran a controversial shelter at 1411 Locust Street for 40 years before the city shut it down for code violations in 2017, said they want to reopen as a church, with worship services, a food pantry and office space.

But Elkin Kistner, an attorney for downtown neighbors, said there shouldn’t be anything at all. Even with planned renovations, he said, the building won’t be up to code. And he and his clients cast the plan as a ploy aimed at eventually reviving the full shelter that housed hundreds of homeless people per night despite an occupancy permit limiting guests to 35 and was accused of fostering loitering, public urination and drug dealing in the heart of the region.

“You give ‘em an inch, they’re going to take a mile,� Kistner said before the hearing.

The hearing marked the latest clash between residents and service providers for the homeless in a city where advocates say more resources are always needed, but neighbors are usually wary. It also marked another fight in a decade of them for New Life, which previously tried to reopen as a church with the possibility of a shelter in 2019, only to be stymied by another legal challenge by residents.

On Thursday, the Rev. Ray Redlich and Chris Rice, grandson of New Life founder Larry Rice, stressed that it’s a new day at New Life.

They said they’ll offer free clothing, housewares and bus passes homeless people might need. They said homeless services providers could use their offices to meet with clientele. But they said there will be no overnight stays. The floors once used for shelters will be sealed off, they said.

In questioning Thursday, Kistner tried to cast doubt on the plan. He asked Chris Rice and Redlich whether being permitted as a church really allowed for all the things they wanted to do. When they said it did, Kistner questioned whether they saw any limits.

He also seized on their comments about having the building open to people when the weather is cold, casting it as a backdoor daytime shelter.

Chris Rice pushed back, saying the building would be open to people during cold weather just as the library is.

“We are a resource to them,� he said.

But Chris Rice insisted that once the building closes at 3 p.m. on weekdays and 2 p.m. on weekends, they’ll have to move on like they would anywhere else.

Attorneys for both sides will submit proposed judgements to the appeals board in mid-June. Board members will make a decision sometime after that. Any ruling could be appealed in court.