NATCHEZ — As hundred-year-old trees plummeted to the ground Thursday, Jody Foster admitted that making way for construction isn’t pretty.

“Unfortunately, new development is ugly,” Foster said. “There’s just no way around it.”

Foster is a local housing developer who is currently clearing seven acres of land where the historic Ashburn Plantation used to stand, which is now at the end of Ashburn Street in Natchez Ward 4.

Foster is also clearing another seven acres next to Ashburn, which ends on Winchester Road.

All 14 acres belong to Foster, who intends to build upscale patio homes and townhouses that will cater to retirees.

Those plans have not been approved by the city yet.

Foster said if the construction is approved, he plans for the community to be named Ashburn Woods, as a nod to the historic structure that used to stand there.

“What’s happening right now is nothing more than a guy cutting timber on his property,” Foster said.

In August 2014, the Natchez Board of Aldermen voted unanimously to rezone the seven acres at the end of Ashburn Street to mixed density residential housing.

That vote, however, came with a few stipulations.

Since the property is next to the historic Routhland property, located off Winchester Road, a 25-foot green space buffer is required along the perimeter of the seven-acre Ashburn property, said Director of Planning and Zoning Frankie Legaux.

Foster said he plans to build a green space buffer, but it could take a few years for that buffer to mature and create a clear divide between Ashburn Woods and the Routhland property.

“We have a preliminary plan (for the property), but that is sort of like a ‘this is what I’m thinking about’ plan,’” Legaux said.

Until the office of city planning receives a final plan for the property, Legaux said no construction on the property could begin.

“The other property, the one on Winchester Road, that will have to be rezoned, too,” Legaux said.

Currently, Legaux said Foster has not violated any city codes.

“It’s private property, and they can move dirt around there and cut down trees — just like any other private property,” she said.

And while Foster has lofty visions for his development, several residents on Ashburn Street and Winchester Road are not too thrilled about the land clearing.

Patty Barlow, who lives at the end of Ashburn Street, said she is more than a little upset about losing the lot that used to boast nothing but woods and wildlife.

“We’ve all grown up around these woods, and we have respect for its history,” Barlow said Wednesday from her front porch as several T. Lewis Trucking trucks passed by. “I feel like we’ve been sucker punched.”

Barlow, 62, lives with her 85-year-old mother, Doris Brown. Watching their “little sanctuary” turn to rubble has been upsetting, Barlow said.

“It’s personal to us,” Barlow said. “The residents of Ashburn are very upset.”

A few streets over, Burnley Cook had similar complaints.

Cook’s Park Place residence backs up to Winchester Road, which currently has a front-row seat to Foster’s land clearing.

Currently, Foster said he is planning on the main entrance to Ashburn Woods being on Winchester Road.

“We’ve lived here all our lives, and one of the attractions was we could look out from our big window and see the trees and listen to the animals at night,” Cook said. “My back deck, I could come out in the buff if I wanted to, and no one could see me.”

As a way to show his distaste, Cook spray-painted a message on two pieces of plywood at the edge of his property Wednesday reading “Shame on those destroying these woods.”

“I want (Foster) to see it, and I want tourists to see it,” Cook said.

Not all residents are displeased with the development, though.

Natchez resident Bernie Pyron, who grew up on Park Place, said he’s excited about the potential of high-end housing coming to the area.

“I’m not bothered by the construction,” 78-year-old Pyron said. “That’s progress, and Natchez needs more of it.

Natchez resident Opal Vines said she has also looked into buying property on Ashburn Woods.

Vines, 74, said Natchez is long overdue for an upscale retirement community.

“I think it is absolutely a godsend for the city of Natchez, and for the people who are looking to build in there,” Vines said. “There has been a longtime demand for this.”

Sandra Ellard, a realtor with Coldwell Banker Stewart Realty overseeing property sale of Ashburn Woods, said Foster purchased the second parcel of land next to Winchester Road because the demand for housing units was so great.

“I have a growing list of people who are interested in these properties,” Ellard said.

Once the city finalizes the building plans, Ellard said she would immediately begin working with potential buyers.

In the meantime, Legaux said the only thing the city can do is wait for a final plan for the 14 acres of land to be submitted, which will then be voted on for approval by the board of aldermen. Once that finalized plan  is submitted and approved, Foster will have a two-year window to begin construction,

“Until then, he’s not doing anything a homeowner can’t do,” Legaux said.