NATCHEZ &045;&045; Representatives of Emerald Star Casino will appear Tuesday before the Zoning Board of Adjustments for a public hearing on a permit for his planned Emerald Star Casino.

The meeting will be held at 5 p.m. at the city’s council chambers on Pearl Street.

Because the site of the casino &045;&045; just south of the Mississippi River bridge, adjacent to the Ramada &045;&045; is in the waterfront development district, developer Charles Cato must obtain a special exception use permit for the development.

Factors the zoning board will consider in granting the permit will include the casino compatibility with the surrounding area.

&uot;We’re also working on site plan review, which will go before the Planning Commission, probably next month,&uot; said City Planner Bob Jackson.

After that, Cato will only need to secure building permits on the city level.

The 87,000-square-foot casino would include 35,000 square feet of gaming space, 800 slot machines and 30 table games.

Last month, Cato closed a deal on 21 acres of riverfront land, the site on which the casino will be built.

And by April 1, he hopes to purchase the Ramada and The Briars bed-and-breakfast inn.

Cato has said he hopes to start construction on the casino in late April or early May and open the casino and renovate the Ramada by November.

But he must still go before the Mississippi Gaming Commission for approval of a financing plan. Cato will probably make that presentation at the commission’s April meeting.

The Florida-based developer received approval of the site and of his development plans from the commission in February.

Emerald Star must also secure environmental permits as well as approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Coast Guard.

Although construction has not yet started at the site, crews earlier this week took soil borings needed before construction of a retaining wall for the development can begin.