Editor’s note: The original version of this story inaccurately reported that the development agreement between the city and RMB Exploration for the first Arlington drilling operation had not been approved by the city, a fact that was unknown at the time. The Natchez Board of Aldermen approved the agreement at its Jan. 10 meeting.

NATCHEZ — The Natchez Planning Commission voted 5-1 Thursday at a special call meeting to deny the Arlington oil well after discussions of a legal agreement between the city and the developer, public outcry and confusing city code.

Commissioner Emma Rose Jackson voted against the motion. Commissioners Linda Futrell and Jacqulyn Williams were not at the meeting.

Commissioner Deborah Martin recused herself and sat in the audience during the meeting.

A legal agreement signed by Mike Biglane of RMB Exploration and Mayor Jake Middleton in December 2011, allowed RMB to go ahead with preliminary drilling for the oil well on historic Arlington property at the company’s own risk without the necessary approvals from the city.

The Natchez Board of Aldermen approved the agreement at its Jan. 10 meeting.

In the agreement, the city agrees not to take immediate enforcement action delaying the consequences of the code violation if the well is successful until Biglane gets the necessary approvals and permits.

Nix said Thursday afternoon before the meeting that the agreement was essentially drafted in an effort to accommodate Biglane’s tight timeline for the first oil operation.

Nix said because of contractual and financial obligations of Biglane’s business plan, the agreement allowed RMB to proceed with preliminary oil exploration while he had an application for the operation in progress.

“The problem there was that (Biglane) had a short-term project that was going to last roughly a week, and he had contractual obligations and expectations, so he had to move forward or suffer a lot of economic loss,” Nix said.

Nix said Biglane’s business plan did not take into account the eight-to 10-week approval process that the operation would require.

The operation would need a certificate of appropriateness from the Natchez Preservation Commission because of its proximity to Arlington, rezoning approval from the Natchez Planning Commission and final approval from the Natchez Board of Aldermen.

The city leased its mineral rights under Auburn Avenue, Winchester Road, Ashburn Street and Marks and Fry avenues to Biglane in an oil, gas and mineral lease dated Aug. 27, 2011. The city is entitled to royalties in the lease if the well is productive.

The proposed operation, which is on the opposite side of the oil exploration the company conducted earlier this year on the historic Arlington property, was denied by the Natchez Preservation Commission at the commission’s May 23 meeting.

Biglane filed an appeal to the preservation commission’s decision on May 25. The appeal will be heard by the Natchez Board of Aldermen at its meeting at 11 a.m. Tuesday.

In the letter of appeal, Biglane said RMB has already “staked the location and leases have been acquired.”

“We have a terms and conditions lease with the Vaughn family that expires on July 1, 2012, and investors have already invested,” Biglane said.

Planning Commissioner Butch Johnson said the commissioners had been provided at the meeting with a copy of the agreement, which Johnson said he did not believe was ever approved by any city board or commission.

Natchez City Planner Bob Nix said he had honestly forgotten about the agreement until Thursday. Nix said he was not involved in the initial drafting of the agreement but made amendments to it before it was signed.

Johnson said he believed the agreement went against the whole process and reason for having commissions in place, because the agreement allowed RMB to proceed with the project without having final approval from commissions.

Nix said, when asked by Johnson, that the agreement does apply to the second unit because the application for the first unit was withdrawn to be amended to add the second unit, but Nix said it was still the same application.

Biglane has said in previous commission meetings that he was under the impression that there was an understanding that the company would conduct the early exploration then come back for approval if they intended to set up a well.

Johnson said he did not believe city code allowed for administrative approvals such as the Arlington agreement to be granted without first appearing before city commissions and the board of aldermen.

Nix said he would not comment on that issue.

The question, Nix said after the meeting, is how one interprets the city’s charter and what power it gives to the mayor as it would pertain to the agreement made with Biglane.

“The person who would interpret the city charter and advise the city on its charter is the city attorney, and I am not the city attorney,” Nix said,

Natchez City Attorney Everett Sanders and Mayor Jake Middleton could not be reached Thursday for comment.

A handful of residents spoke out against the oil well operation at the meeting, all of which said they were not against drilling for oil, only the location of the Arlington oil operation.

Resident Vicki Bowman Barber urged the commission to approve the oil operation because it meant jobs for people in the community.

Margaret Perkins, Natchez Inc. board member, said she is certainly not against economic development or drilling for oil, but she, along with other residents at the meeting, said she did not believe the middle of a residential area was an appropriate place for an oil operation.

Perkins said she had also talked to residents who had signed leases for the oil operation that she said did not realize the magnitude of the potential operation Biglane has planned.

“(It was) kind of like a get-rich-quick scheme,” Perkins said.

Because the present Villa Residential zone that Arlington is in has no provision for oil-and-gas well drilling and development, the city would have to rezone the property as a Planned Unit Development permitting the development of oil wells.

Commissioner Karen Stubbs asked Nix if the planning commission decided to rezone the 15.7 acres to allow the operation, would it outline guidelines for similar future oil operations.

“Yes, you’re setting a policy precedent with this…I don’t think this will be the last application,” Nix said.

Biglane told the preservation commission at its last meeting that he has 200 acres of land leased for oil exploration in Natchez in addition to the property at Arlington, including property at Monmouth, Kenilworth, Winchester Road and Dunleith.

Stubbs said she would have preferred to have meetings prior to hearing the application to outline guidelines for oil wells, so the commission and developers, such as Biglane, would have clear and outlined guidelines for oil operations.

“I really don’t disagree with you … the policy that was developed is confusing, and we’re making the best of what we’ve got right now,” Nix said.

Johnson made the motion to deny Biglane’s application and said it was out of respect for the preservation commission’s denial of the certificate of appropriateness and the overwhelming concern form residents.