NATCHEZ — Residents near a proposed assisted living facility and the facility’s architect are working together to come up with a design for the facility to satisfy concerns of the neighborhood.

Glenwood subdivision has appointed residents Chuck Caldwell, Scott Slover and Kent Hudson to represent the neighborhood in meetings with local architect Johnny Waycaster of Waycaster & Associates about a proposed assisted living facility on John R. Junkin Drive.

The facility has been tangled up in a zoning dispute with the City of Natchez since at least 2009. The Natchez Board of Aldermen was expected to vote July 9 on whether to rezone the property from R-1 single family residential to R-3 mixed density residential to allow the facility.

Waycaster, however, requested that the board postpone its decision until he could meet with the neighborhood in an attempt to garner support for the project from Glenwood residents.

Several Glenwood residents have spoken out publicly against the development.

Since the board of aldermen granted Waycaster’s request to delay the decision, Waycaster and the Glenwood representatives have met to work through concerns of residents.

Slover said the main concern is the increase in traffic that would likely come with the facility. He said residents are concerned about potential accidents because John R. Junkin Drive does not have a turn lane that goes directly to the proposed site.

Drivers would have to make a U-turn in front Glenwood to get to the facility, a move Slover said has caused accidents in the past.

Residents also have concerns, Slover said, about whether the facility would be visible to them from their property.

“While there are some woods between the proposed place and the neighborhood, they may not be thick enough, especially in the winter, and (the facility) may invade the privacy (of homeowners),” Slover said.

But the neighborhood, Slover said, is making a “good faith” effort as a group to find a compromise that will satisfy both parties.

“We want them to be able to locate there,” Slover said. “We just want to make sure that the safety issues are taken care of and traffic concerns and any adverse impact on the neighborhood.”