NATCHEZ &8212; A $20 million dollar subdivision development for Natchez was unveiled Thursday evening in the most unlikely of places.

During the Natchez Board of Adjustment meeting, representatives from Cambridge Consultants, a Baton Rouge planning and design firm, and Russ Young Construction of Ferriday unveiled a proposal for a 119-lot subdivision called The Preserve that they hope to build on a 30-acre piece of property south of the Natchez Mall. The total investment of the project will be in excess of $20 million, the developers said.

&8220;You are about to embark on a unique approach to planning,&8221; Thomas Keene of Cambridge Consultants told the board.

What the firm presented Thursday night was a new development concept for the city called a planned unit development.

In fact, the concept is so new to Natchez, the city zoning ordinance does not allow for such development.

Planned unit developments, unlike standard subdivisions, allow for a mixture of building uses. A concept commonly used in large urban areas, such as Houston and Atlanta, PUDs can include single-family houses, townhouses and other building types without adhering to one residential zone.

The PUD planned for this development will include 79 single-family dwellings and 40 townhouse lots.

&8220;Each unit will be designed by our firm,&8221; Keene said. &8220;Each unit will have enclosed parking for two cars and will have a minimum of 1,350 square feet.&8221;

The units will conform to a 30-page set of guidelines.

&8220;They will be self-imposed regulations that far exceed the (city&8217;s current ordinances),&8221; Keene said.

The site is situated near the antebellum Richmond to the south and the antebellum Longwood to the southeast.

&8220;We are bound by historical properties, and we are very cognizant of that,&8221; Keene said.

Of the 30 acres, only 18 acres will be used for construction. The rest will be used as a natural buffer along the property&8217;s boundaries. This will provide a buffer zone between the development and the historic properties, Keene said.

Only one proposed lot will share a property line with the

Longwood site.

Because PUDs are a new concept to the city, the developers approached the Zoning Board of Adjustments first, a process that usually comes at the end of the planning process.

&8220;Without a variance there would be no reason for us to go with planning and zoning,&8221; Keene said.

&8220;(Because there is no PUD ordinance) we are going to have to create our own,&8221; Keene said.

&8220;It seems to me, this is what the city needs,&8221; zoning and adjustment board member Mattie Joe Ratcliff said after the meeting. &8220;We need development. This is the kind of progress that the town needs.&8221;

As far as being adjacent to historic properties, Ratcliff said that it did not appear that the PUD would interfere with either Longwood or Richmond.

The board unanimously approved the variances for front and rear yard setbacks.

Access to the site would be through the Natchez Mall access road. An exit for emergency vehicles would be off of Windsor Lodge Road.

Natchez Mall manager Marie Lofton said the development will be a great asset to the area.

&8220;We are very excited about this,&8221; she said.

Developers hope to build the entire development in three to five years.

&8220;We will be marketing to active adults,&8221; Keene said. &8220;They will appeal to those 55 and older.&8221;

Russ Young of Russ Young Construction said they most of the marketing will be done outside of Natchez to attract those retirees who are interested in living in Natchez.

&8220;We think it is (going to attract them), we think they will come,&8221; Keene said.

Van &8220;Butch&8221; Stewart who is providing consulting services to the development said that this will be a major investment for the city.

&8220;With 119 units, this will be the cleanest industry in town,&8221; Stewart said.