NATCHEZ — City of Natchez leaders are counting on local legislators to help bring three parcels of land — totaling nearly 90 acres — back under the city’s purview.

The city has been working to get the land, commonly referred to as the “bean field” property, back from the federal government and State of Mississippi for nearly 20 years.

City Attorney Hyde Carby presented the Natchez Board of Aldermen Tuesday with a copy of a bill to be introduced to the state Legislature.

The land — originally set aside for the southern terminus of the Natchez Trace Parkway — was given back to the State of Mississippi from the federal government last year.

The City of Natchez currently has a 25-year lease on 37 of the 67 acres conveyed — the bean field, next to Natchez High School — and has eyed the property since 1999 for possible recreational use.

The next step in the process to retrieving the land involves legislation.

The Mississippi State Highway Commission — now the Mississippi Department of Transportation — initially acquired the land when plans were to end the Trace there.

In the 1990s, the highway commission and the National Park Service determined the best terminus for the Trace would be more east, at Liberty Road. The 67 acres near NHS became surplus property.

The bill Carby presented Tuesday calls for the State of Mississippi to donate to the city all the rights, title and interest to three parcels of land — a 21.40 acre tract near the start of the flyover bridge; a 37.09 acre tract that’s part of the bean field land and a 29.90 acre tract near Walmart where the VFW headquarters is currently housed.

The important portions of the bill, Carby said, detail assurances on how the land will be used by the city.

Two parcels of the land — the tract near the flyover and the bean field land — must be used exclusively for recreation or educational purposes, Carby said.

The 29-acre tract near the VFW building can also be used for recreation, but the bill states the city has the option to sell that property with certain conditions applying to the proceeds of the sale.

“The proceeds would be put into a special fund, which the city would control,” Carby said. “The money can be used for recreational projects within Adams County or for development of the historic Natchez riverfront — the bluff — or match contributions of any department of interior — National Park Service — projects, which would likely be the Emerald Mound project or the Fort Rosalie project.”

The federal legislation deeding the land to the state included a caveat requiring any development on the bean field property to be compatible with the use of the parkway.

Carby said a vote by the board of aldermen was not necessarily required, but asked the board to pass an amendment showing support for the bill.

The board voted unanimously in support of the bill.

Wednesday was the deadline for making requests for general bills in the Legislature, and the deadline for introduction is next week.