NATCHEZ — The owner of Southern Carriage Tours pleaded “not guilty” in Natchez Environmental Court this week to charges his horse stables are a neighborhood nuisance.

SCT owner George Vines did not appear in court Monday, but instead had his counsel send a letter stating his plea regarding allegations his Briel Avenue stables generate strong odors that disturb the neighborhood around them and that the property holds more water than it should.

Natchez Animal Control Officer Randy Meyers has also said he has received a number of complaints about the property.

After the plea was entered, the matter was set for trial April 21.

Vines said he has made a point of approaching the people who live around the stables to ensure they aren’t being disturbed by any smells, and none of the people he has spoken with told him they were.

He also said he and his son used a bulldozer this weekend to move mud and improve drainage on the property.

“It is still muddy down there, but there isn’t anything you can do about it,” he said. “It is a horse lot, (so) it is going to be muddy.”

The stable owner said concerns about the animals’ safety are also misplaced.

“I want (the animal control officer) to get down there and see the horses and see if they are happy now,” he said.

“I talked to a veterinarian, and he said it was crazy to say (the property) was dangerous for horses.”

Vines said when the case goes to court — and though he admits no guilt — he is sure he will be found guilty.

“The code enforcement officer wrote the ticket, and they believe a policeman over the person,” he said. “We will appeal it, anyhow.”

Judge Tony Heidelberg said the court has also gotten complaints about horse manure being dropped in the streets, and SCT’s activities in those areas will be monitored as well.

“We are not going after them, we are going to work with them,” he said. “We want the animals to remain safe, the property value to remain constant in the area and we want people who come to Natchez and live here to cross clean streets without stepping into any voids from the animals.”

Vines said no one has spoken to him about the horse waste, but he has bags rigged to catch the animals’ droppings during the day, though sometimes a little bit misses or the bags get holes in them.

“What little bit there is that misses is gone the next rain,” he said.

The carriage tour’s starting point at the corner of Canal and State streets is hosed down every day, he said.

Vines’ attorney could not be reached for comment Tuesday.