by DAVID HAMILTON

NATCHEZ —Natchez aldermen denied Tuesday a request to establish a mobile home subdivision within city limits.

This denial is in accordance with an earlier decision rendered by the Natchez Planning Commission, which denied the request to place a mobile homes on Marblestone Road.

City Planner Riccardo Giani stated that establishing mobile homes within city limits is not permitted without “special exception.” Typically, this means a mobile home may only be established in the city if it is replacing another mobile home.

Giani also stated that any establishment of a mobile home must benefit the public. Residents at the meeting believed that this establishment would achieve exactly the contrary.

Resident Annie Johnson, who lives on Marblestone Road, spoke at the meeting, and expressed concern that allowing a mobile home subdivision could be dangerous.

“I am a business owner in that area … I like to know who’s coming in to my door,” Johnson said.

Johnson said she worried about “strangers” that could come into the neighborhood and disrupt the current peace in the area.

“You see people shooting down one another on the streets and whatnot — we have not had that in Marblestone.”

Johnson’s remarks drew mild applause from other residents attending the meeting.

Ward 1 alderwoman Joyce Arceneaux-Mathis stated that the board typically sticks with the decisions made by the planning commission unless proof is demonstrated that the decision was “arbitrary and capricious.” Arceneaux-Mathis said the lack of testimony from the applicant himself made it impossible to dispute.

Arceneaux-Mathis made a motion to deny the application, and the board voted unanimously to carry that motion.