Developers with plans to build condos on the site of the old Natchez Pecan Shelling Company will have to wait for a new set of rules.

The board of trustees of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History decided to research new requirements presented by the permit committee at Friday’s meeting.

“(The recommendations) were not adopted,” MDAH spokesman Chris Goodwin said Friday. “No decision was made. They’re going to study it further and take it up in the next board meeting, probably July.”

This means more waiting for developers Worley-Brown, LLC, who have plans to build condos on the bluff at the old factory site.

But that doesn’t bother Larry Brown much, he said Friday.

“We would have liked to have had a permit issued, but three months, in the scheme of things, doesn’t affect us that much,” he said.

Brown, who attended the board of trustees meeting, said based on his observations, the board got mixed messages from the recommendations of the MDAH staff.

“Based on questions some of the board members asked, they seemed confused,” Brown said. “They elected to take some time to get more information and talk at their next meeting.

“I certainly can’t blame them for that. I was a little bit confused myself.”

Natchez resident Gwen Ball, one of a group of citizens who opposed the destruction of the factory, also attended.

“I thought the meeting provided a fair and beneficial hearing,” she said. “We were very pleased that the board of trustees deferred the decision until MDAH can undertake a more thorough examination of the situation.”

The factory, a Mississippi landmark, was demolished after Mayor Phillip West issued an executive order in February to tear it down, citing public safety concerns.

MDAH required certain steps be taken before the building was demolished, but none of those were met.

Since several of the old requirements hinged on the building itself, the permit committee recommended revised requirements last week.

The proposed requirements, which would have to be met before the developers were allowed to build, included approval from the city preservation commission and an archaeological survey.

MDAH Historic Preservation Division Director Ken P’Pool has recently said there was reason to think the site had been used by Native Americans and French colonists.

P’Pool could not be reached for comment Friday.