NATCHEZ — A Natchez resident building a house in the historic district spent parts of Thursday and Friday picketing city hall.

J.T. Robinson, who house is on the corner of Myrtle Avenue and Elm Street, said he has had multiple run-ins with the planning and preservation commissions. He’s become a target for their rules, he said.

Fed up with the multiple stop work orders he’s faced, Robinson took a more vocal approach to airing his grievances.

Recently, the problem has revolved around roof shingles.

The inspection department noticed on Thursday that his shingles were not in compliance with historic district requirements and construction was halted.

Robinson said he felt it was unfair that his work was stopped and that’s why he picketed, but the issue was soon resolved.

“They couldn’t show me where we were violating anything,” he said.

City Inspector Paul Dawes said the city has allowed Robinson to continue roofing his house with the shingles he has been using because it wasn’t written out word for word in the code book that he had to use architectural shingles.

“We have let him slide on that one because it was not specifically spelled out,” Dawes said, though in meetings, Robinson has been told several times about the correct shingles to use.

City Planner John “Rusty” Lewis said it was better for the project that it just continue to move forward.

“The applicant already had approximately 30 percent of the roof completed without using the correct shingles,” he said. “I networked among preservation members and representatives of the Historic Natchez Foundation and in the interest of keeping the project moving along, we allowed the builder to continue his project using the shingle he had started with.”

But the last time Robinson had a run-in with the planning department, he didn’t end up walking away victorious.

When laying his foundation, Robinson did not follow the code that dictates that all houses within the zoning district must be 20 inches off the ground.

He said the foundation was 20 inches on three corners but 17 on one, and he couldn’t see the issue in having it that way.

The city departments told Robinson he had to re-lay his foundation in accordance with the code.

Enraged, Robinson went around town and found numerous examples within historic districts that violated several codes and wondered why he was the one being made an example.

Dawes said that was never the case.

“Every time there is a requirement that he does not like, he wants to argue it to the bitter end and claim that we’re singling him out and unduly applying a restriction to him,” he said.

Robinson said the problem is a lack of blanket enforcement in the town.

Lewis said it is the city’s job to make sure that developers are following the codes.

“Sometimes people do not want to follow those requirements and, it becomes contingent upon the planning department and the inspection department to see that all requirements are met,” he said.

And Dawes will admit there have been problems with enforcement.

“In the past, we had city planners that came and went and didn’t do their jobs and now we’ve got one who will do his job,” he said.

Also, a limited staff in the inspection department has been lacking, Dawes said.

That is why Mayor Jake Middleton moved two employees from the planning department to the inspection department, and Dawes said that has been immensely helpful.