NATCHEZ — The City of Natchez has temporarily halted billboards going up in the city.

The Natchez Board of Aldermen recently placed a moratorium on billboards in light of a current review of the city’s ordinance regarding billboards.

The aldermen have asked Interim City Planner Riccardo Giani to research billboard regulations in cities similar to Natchez.

“Our billboard ordinance is pretty wide open and not that strict compared to other cities,” Giani said.

Giani plans to introduce a text amendment to the city’s regulations in May for a recommendation from the Natchez Planning Commission to outline in the city’s off-premise sign regulations regarding billboard location, height and other provisions. If the planning commission approves the amendment, it will go before the board of aldermen for final approval.

Ward 3 Alderwoman Sarah Smith said at a recent aldermen meeting she thinks a recent rush to erect billboards in the city has occurred in light of the board’s decision to review the guidelines. Smith stressed the importance of updating the outdated off-premise billboard regulations.

Giani said the planning office has approved approximately five new billboards in the past month or so, perhaps because developers have realized the current relatively lax billboard regulations.

New guidelines would also address nonconforming billboards, Giani said. A billboard that does not have permanent fixtures and simply has a vinyl covering over the billboard would be considered nonconforming.

Nonconforming billboards also exist in areas the city has already prohibited billboards, such as Homochitto Street, Giani said. Those billboards were grandfathered in, but new regulations could set a time period, likely one to five years, after which the billboards would have to be removed. The city would work with the billboard owners, Giani said, to find an appropriate location for the billboards.

Regulations for digital billboards would also need to be considered, Giani said.

Giani’s recommendation is that no digital billboards be permitted in the city. He said it would be up to the aldermen, however, to determine that.

Some cities permit digital billboards in the extremities of the highway corridors, and not the interior of the city.

“We don’t want to become the poster child for highway development or have billboards around the Natchez Trace, it affects the historic character of the town,” Giani said.