Natchez officials tackle blighted properties

NATCHEZ, Miss. – City aldermen have adjudicated 26 parcels of blighted private properties for workers to clean up if owners continue refusing to do so.  

The Natchez officials authorized the work needed to clear out overgrown yards or demolish dilapidated structures that have been formally deemed “a menace to the public health, safety and welfare of the community.”

Owners of these nuisance properties have failed to follow warnings by city officials to take corrective measures.

Efforts will be made to force landowners to reimburse the city for the cleanup expenses, but that’s frequently futile. 

“Now we’re stuck with taking care of 26 properties,” said city Alderman Sarah Carter Smith. “So this is not a good thing. It’s a terrible thing. When people don’t keep up with their property, all taxpayers pay for it unless we get reimbursed – and oftentimes we don’t. So it’s very, very frustrating for people that do take care of their homes.”

The list of nuisance properties presented Tuesday to the Board of Aldermen to judge are on various streets – mostly in north Natchez — that include Beaumont, Brenham, South Concord, East Woodlawn, Metcalfe, North Rankin and Purnell.

While the city will take the necessary remediation measures for these deteriorated structures and overgrown land, there are nearly 200 previously blighted properties that city officials have gotten owners to make right, said Mayor Dan Gibson.

As of Tuesday, there are “close to 200 you have worked with without have to adjudicate, and that is good progress,” Gibson told Natchez Police Commander Lee Best, who enforces city laws against blighted properties.