Hello Ruby Tuesdays. The Natchez Metro Planning Commission approved a site plan Thursday for a Ruby Tuesdays restaurant proposed for the Tracetown Shopping Center in Natchez.

Barry Williams, landscape architect for the project, said the regional Ruby Tuesdays office in Mobile, Ala., is currently considering building four restaurants in southwest Mississippi, including in Natchez.

Site plan approval is the first step in the planning process for a new development and following the zoning board’s ruling, Williams said the company will now apply for a building permit.

Williams said Ruby Tuesdays considers the Tracetown Shopping Center to be a good site, but several issues would have to be worked out between the company and the property owner before a restaurant could be built.

Perhaps most important is who will pay for the restructuring of the shopping center entrance and eventually, reworking of the entire intersection with John R. Junkin Drive.

&uot;Right now you can’t say they are 100 percent coming, but they are giving it a hard look,&uot; Williams said.

Maryann Langnes, co-owner of Tracetown McDonald’s said she would be glad to have Ruby Tuesdays as a neighbor. &uot;We think it’s great,&uot; she said. &uot;Anything to improve that area. And it’s not direct competition anyway.&uot;

Also at the meeting, the board voted to give the city planning staff authority to incorporate its recommendations for changes to the city’s telecommunication ordinance into a draft ordinance.

Assistant City Planner Gretchen Kuechler said she was reviewing 22 ordinances from around the country and presented the board with a summary of the ordinances on the subjects of tower height and setback requirements for commercial properties.

The zoning board will vote on the amendments at their next meeting, Feb. 15, so they can make a recommendation to the Natchez Board of Aldermen before the tower moratorium expires Feb. 27.

Joyce Arceneaux, Ward 1 Alderwoman and public utilities chairperson, attended the meeting on behalf of the board.

She said her main concern with the towers is public safety.