NATCHEZ — A redesigned intersection at the Magnolia Bluffs Casino site at the foot of Roth Hill could mean the 16 spaces the Natchez Preservation Commission voted to remove Wednesday will remain at the site.

Natchez City Planner Bob Nix said after the Natchez Planning Commission meeting Thursday it was questionable whether the preservation commission had the authority to require the removal of the 16 spaces and change the existing casino site plan. The 16 spaces were located near the base of Roth Hill.

The planning commission voted Thursday to approve site plan amendments that kept the 16 spaces but moved them closer to the casino entrance and added a three-way intersection to the base of Roth Hill.

Before voting to remove the spaces Wednesday, preservation commissioners cited safety issues with the parking spaces being located in a curve and concerns that hazardous weather conditions could create dangerous road conditions for drivers coming down the hill where the cars were parked.

The preservation commission also voiced concerns about the landscaping that was removed near the proposed public park to accommodate the parking.

Nix said after the meeting that Thursday’s revised site plan would go back before the preservation commission next month to ensure the landscaping was consistent with the historical character of the area, which is within the commission’s authority.

Preservation commission member Liz Dantone, who made the motion at the preservation meeting Wednesday to remove the parking, addressed the planning commission about the possibility of upholding the removal of 16 parking spaces because the site has excess parking.

A variance approved by the planning commission approximately a year ago reduced the minimum parking to 382 spaces. The casino plans currently show approximately 427 spaces, plus the additional 100 off-site spaces the city agreed to provide and eight off-site spaces for buses.

Even with the three-way intersection, which Dantone said she believed was a great improvement, Dantone said she still had safety concerns of the parallel and head-on parking being in an area where the movement of cars would be conflicting.

Dantone also asked the commission to consider how important open space at the site is, especially because the riverfront walking trail may need to be widened to accommodate shade trees and park benches both commissions requested.

After further public comments from residents about parking and other requirements for the casino, planning commission member Butch Johnson said he thinks people sometimes forget that the casino is a business trying to make a profit.

“You have to realize that these people are trying to make money, and I hate to beat them to death with stuff to do,” he said.

Mary Jane Gaudet said she believed some people think the residents who voice their concerns at public meetings are “taking a hard screw and putting it to business development.” Gaudet said because tourism is so important to Natchez, it is important to ensure its beauty is kept intact.

“If we ask them to keep this town looking beautiful, it is because we appreciate the jewel of this community,” she said. “If they knew they were coming to this town, and if they followed our preservation laws to begin with … don’t feel like we’re picking on them.”

Ongoing concerns about secondary emergency vehicle access to the casino site were also an issue brought up at the planning commission meeting.

Casino architect Ed A. Vance said at the preservation and planning commission meetings that the Natchez Fire Department had requested a secondary access road to the site, but he said no final decision had been made.

Vance said a right-of-way is in place to allow a road and a fire truck to enter private property from Silver Street and come through the public park to the casino.

Natchez City Engineer David Gardner said Thursday afternoon he believed there was not a right-of-way currently in place to allow access to the private property.

Resident Gwen Ball said at the planning commission meeting that since details were mostly vague and unknown about the access road, she questioned whether the planning commission should approve the casino site plan amendments.

“I’m wondering if it’s really appropriate to grant further approval when we haven’t seen or really know about how the secondary access is going to be resolved,” Ball said.

The planning commission granted the approval of the site plan amendments with several conditions, some of which include the developers’ compliance with the recommendation of the current fire chief on the secondary access point and the conceptual design for the three-way intersection be finalized and reviewed by the city’s traffic engineer and engineering and planning and zoning departments.

Planning commission member Cheryl Rinehart said she shared the public’s concerns of the excess parking, limited open space and potential safety concerns for secondary emergency access. Rinehart abstained from the vote.

In other news from the meeting:

•The commission conditionally approved casino landscaping and lighting plans for the casino lease property only. Further plans for landscaping and lighting in the public park area will be considered for approval once the park design is complete.