NATCHEZ &8212; Ask Natchezians what they&8217;d like to see the riverfront used for &8212; both on and below the bluff &8212; and the answers are as individual as the people.

Downtown dweller Michael Cates, also of the Historic Natchez Foundation, said he personally would like to see a mix of retail and residential development that&8217;s not quite as tall as the condo complex proposed by developers Ed Worley and Larry L. Brown Jr.

A disclaimer: Cates was a partner in a competing proposal submitted to the city for use of the former pecan factory site, where the Worley-Brown condos would be located.

&8220;As far I&8217;m concerned, anything they can get to go under the bluff could go there, because it&8217;s isolated from the view from the bluff,&8221; Cates said. &8220;But it would be nice to see an area that fits in with Silver Street, something that&8217;s still historic-looking.&8221;

Kurt Russ of Natchez said he likes the idea of a condo development on the bluff because it could become a catalyst for more privately-owned development in the area.

And as far as the rest of the bluff and the adjacent Roth Hill riverfront area is concerned, Russ doesn&8217;t see why Natchez can&8217;t build a boardwalk and amphitheater like Vidalia&8217;s.

For that matter, he wouldn&8217;t mind part of Broadway being blocked off to traffic so it could become a kind of walking mall.

One thing he doesn&8217;t want is publicly owned development &8220;because it would drain your tax base,&8221; Russ said. &8220;I&8217;d want more private-type activity &8212; something that&8217;s pleasing to the eye but also good for the economy.&8221;

Real estate developer Vidal Davis, also a partner in a pecan factory site proposal submitted to the city, said he&8217;s in favor of placing condos at that site but also favors leaving the rest of the bluff as green space to be enjoyed by the public.

Below the bluff, he would like to see any retail or restaurants that can be courted there &8212; not one big development, but instead piece-by-piece development.

&8220;The city&8217;s waiting for something big like a gaming boat to come there,&8221; Davis said.

Cappy Stahlman, who owns property near the bluff, said he would like to see more residential developments and more places where both residents and tourists could comfortably sit to enjoy the area&8217;s beautiful sunsets.

Even Natchez natives who have since moved from the area are monitoring the riverfront&8217;s development through friends and family who are still here.

Chesney Doyle &8212; whose family, the Blankensteins, own a business across Broadway from the condo site &8212; now lives in Atlanta but has plenty of opinions about the riverfront&8217;s ideal use.

The Mississippi River is the greatest river in the world and Natchez&8217;s No. 1 selling point, Doyle said. As such, she would like to see a feasibility study done to find the best use of the land &8212; not just private development, but also including public access to the magnificent view &8212; and the most effective way to market it to millions.

&8220;Enhancing and marketing this reality as the centerpiece of a comprehensive development plan is the fastest, smartest way to create the most economic opportunity for the city and for the greatest number of citizens,&8221; Doyle said.

Doyle&8217;s in favor of placing walking and biking trails, picnic spots and perhaps an amphitheater on the bluff from Rosalie to the pecan factory site.

Condos, hotels, retail shops and more, she added, could be placed along the entire east side of Broadway.

At his temporary headquarters in Baton Rouge &8212; his home was destroyed and office rendered inaccessible in New Orleans by recent hurricanes &8212; architect Clifton T. James is working on a comprehensive plan for the whole of Natchez, including the riverfront.

He has compiled information from all previous development studies done by and for the city. Next, he&8217;s relying on Mayor Phillip West to set up three public meetings to get input from the public on what they would like to see developed in Natchez.

&8220;Most of the studies that have been done in the past were just words, but this is a physical plan that would include buildings and landscaping,&8221; said Mississippi native James, who West said has offered his services to the city for free.

&8220;The next phase is engaging the community to see how they would like the city to look in 20 years,&8221; James said.

That includes everything from the type of recreational and educational facilities they would like to see to the infrastructure they believe will be needed to the developments they&8217;d like to see on the riverfront.

Due to delays caused by Hurricane Katrina and due to the upcoming holidays, West said last week he doesn&8217;t see such public meetings taking place before next year, hopefully by the end of March.

But the meetings will happen, including everyone from businesspeople to youth, West said. &8220;It&8217;s important to inform them and give them a sense of ownership in this process,&8221; he said. &8220;It&8217;s important for them to play a major role in economic development.&8221;

Although West said Natchez will not imitate any particular city in planning how it wants to grow in the coming years, he doesn&8217;t rule out looking at a variety of other cities across the nation to see what&8217;s worked best for them and may fit with Natchez.

Once all that information is compiled, James said the next step will be to prioritize that wish list and attach cost estimates to each item so the city can better know where to look for funds for all those projects, not just those limited to the riverfront.

For his part, James would like to see a range of riverfront activities that cater to &8220;all different types of people&8221; and believes it will take a mix of public and private funding to make that happen.

One thing&8217;s for sure, West said &8212; he would rather see the riverfront developed piece by piece than wait for a bigger project to materialize. &8220;Let&8217;s not wait for another boat for the next 10 years,&8221; West said.

In recent years, the city has developed a 31-page color booklet to send to developers inquiring about the sites &8212; the foot of Roth Hill, the parking lot site and the pecan factory site, although earlier this year the city entered into an option agreement with developers Ed Worley and Larry L. Brown Jr. to develop a condo complex on the Pecan Factory site.

The packet includes maps, some brief descriptions of the property and photos of the riverfront and the individual sites themselves.A thick request for proposals, also sent to prospects, details zoning restrictions on the site, as well as other restrictions, such as the need for approval to locate in the 100-year flood plan.City Engineer David Gardner has said anything built at the foot of Roth Hill would need to be built up six feet or more above ground.

Under Natchez&8217;s zoning ordinances, only retail, restaurants, small offices, bars, service businesses, dockside gaming, entertainment, dwelling units, guest houses, marinas and docks and parks are allowed by right in the waterfront development district.

Hotels would be required to apply for a special use permit.

And other work may be needed to make a riverfront development happen.

The Weatherford-McDade plans show Water Street, now partially under water, being rebuilt and extending from Silver Street to Roth Hill Road.In order to do that, the city would need to get the agreement of the Isle of Capri, which leases about six acres of land north of its current site from several different landowners and owns the parcel just south of Roth Hill.The city would also need to get the agreement of the other property owners themselves. The city would also need to find money to make such improvements, one potential source being Community Development Block Grants through the Mississippi Development Authority.