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ST. LOUIS — Two northside neighborhoods near the new National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency facility have proposed a plan that would guide development there, in hopes of blocking the use of eminent domain against residents. 

Neighbors in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Place and Jeff-Vander-Lou are asking City Hall to approve a plan that will allow existing residents to use tax abatement for property improvements as well as guarantee that eminent domain will not be used against homes that are being maintained.

“There are families and businesses who have lived here for generations,â€� Virginia Druhe, president of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Place Community Association, said in a statement. “They’ve continued to invest in this community and in their homes despite little return on that investment. It’s these folks who we need to make sure to protect.â€�

Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, which provides free civil legal assistance, is working with the groups on the plan, according to the release.

The new $1.7 billion NGA campus is the largest federal investment in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ history. City officials, business leaders and others have hailed the project — where thousands of people will work — as a panacea for the region and anticipate NGA will attract more companies, more people and more money to the area.

But many North City residents don’t trust City Hall. Officials used eminent domain several years ago to clear out the nearly 100-acre footprint where NGA, at Jefferson and Cass avenues, is now being constructed. 

ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Development Corp., the city’s economic development agency, said Tuesday it is supportive of the neighbors’ plan and that it would not use eminent domain against occupied buildings or homes.

The board of directors for SLDC’s Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority, which reviews development proposals that include tax incentive requests, is  at its meeting Wednesday. 

Neighbors said the plan arose after they were surprised by media reports earlier this year that the city had conducted a blighting report of their neighborhoods, where about 700 homeowners live. 

They fear the city could use that study to again launch eminent domain proceedings against them. 

Druhe, the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Place leader, said the neighborhoods have seen “rampant land speculation,â€� since the NGA development. At the same time, some outside land owners have refused to maintain or develop their properties.

“We’re hopeful this plan will give the city the power to put a stop to that practice,� she said. 

Residents have long been at odds with businessman Paul McKee's NorthSide Regeneration, which is the largest landowner in North City, over allegations its properties are not well maintained.

McKee did not immediately respond on Tuesday to a request for comment. 

Lance Knuckles, SDLC’s senior vice president of strategic growth, said the agency is looking forward to working with neighbors, and aims to include them in redevelopment decisions.

“We understand there is some trauma for residents in this area around blighting and eminent domain,� he said in a statement.

The neighbors’ plan also calls for a “community advisory panel� to give residents a bigger say in future development here.

Neighbors said SLDC and their alderpersons, Rasheen Aldridge and Laura Keys, have been receptive to their proposal so far.

If the Land Clearance board approves the plan Wednesday, it moves to the Planning Commission for approval and then to the Board of Aldermen. 

“If the city is serious about inclusive and equitable investment,� Druhe said, “SLDC and the Board of Alderman should not only support our plan, but work alongside us to make sure that it’s implemented in a way that includes residents of both neighborhoods.�