Natchez cracking down harder on neglected properties

NATCHEZ, Miss. – Mayor Dan Gibson is warning property owners that the city is cracking down harder on imposing fines on those with dilapidated houses, unkempt yards and other public nuisances.

“We’re sending a message to everyone that … we need people to get serious about cleaning up their properties,” Gibson said.

Meeting Tuesday with the Natchez Board of Aldermen, the mayor said a list has been compiled of more than 150 neglected properties reported to city officials in the past 18 months. As owners continue to ignore the city’s demands to take corrective measures, they will be taken to court, Gibson said.

“At some point, we’ve got to do more than just take down the complaints. We’ve got to make sure action is taken, tickets are written, fines are imposed and the city knows that we mean business,” he said. “The warning time is over. Citations will be given.”

The owner of a property deemed “an unsafe or unclean nuisance” will be ticketed by the city’s code-enforcement officers, but it’s up to Municipal Court Judge Christina Daugherty to impose the fines.

Gibson noted the judge has expressed concerns about the number of rundown Natchez properties in violation of city laws regarding property maintenance.

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Plans are underway by the city to erect 15 signs marking Natchez’ historic district. This is mainly to show residents living in the area that they’re subject to regulations governing structural changes to their houses.
“Some of them are not aware when they purchase a home that they’re purchasing in the historic district,” said Frankie Legaux, the city’s director of planning and zoning. She reviews building alterations proposed by property owners in the city’s historic district for the Natchez Preservation Commission to approve.

“That’s been some of the problems that we’ve had as people don’t realize, for exterior renovations or changes, that they need to come before the commission,” Legaux told city aldermen Tuesday.

They approved the historic district signs contingent on final approval by the Preservation Commission of their design and locations.

The sites for the street signs designating the historic district include Homochitto at Metcalfe, Martin Luther King at Orleans, MLK at Main, St. Catherine near Jefferson and MLK, Canal near the Mississippi River bridge, State at Canal, Cemetery Road by the National Cemetery, North Union at Elm and seven other locations.