NATCHEZ &8212; The project engineer for the Corps of Engineers&8217; $30 million bluff stabilization project in Natchez said he wants to see a design for a proposed blufftop condo development before work is started on the condos.

The developers don&8217;t need a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before starting work, said Terry Smith of the Corps&8217; Vicksburg office.

&8220;Still, I would hope they (city officials) would pass the design by us,&8221; Smith said, adding that all he&8217;s heard about the development &8220;is what I&8217;ve read in the paper.&8221;

&8220;I would hope they would come to us with the design because it&8217;s a unique situation &8212; the type of engineering that was done to stabilize the bluff is unique to that situation.&8221;

Among Smith&8217;s concerns is that enough of a buffer zone is put between the complex and the edge of the bluff &8212; although what that distance should be is contingent on such things as the size of the complex, something that&8217;s not yet known.

However, agreements the city has signed with the Corps state such a development should be at least 100 feet from the edge of the bluff. That being said, Smith added he&8217;s sure the bluff will stand up to the development well. &8220;I feel confident it will,&8221; Smith said. &8220;We just want to have those safeguards (such as a buffer zone) in place.&8221;

Is the stability of the area&8217;s loess soil a concern? Not particularly, Smith said, because &8220;you can engineer around all different types of soil.&8221;

City Engineer David Gardner has previously said the soil has good bearing to handle the proposed development.

Both Smith and Gardner said the Corps and the City of Natchez have always had a good working relationship.

And Gardner said he&8217;ll certainly forward the agency a copy of the geotechnical study that condo developers Ed Worley and Larry L. Brown Jr. have commissioned for the site.

&8220;We&8217;ll do that as a courtesy to the Corps,&8221; Gardner said. &8220;The Corps&8217; done a lot for the city, and I think the city ought to honor the Corps&8217; request.&8221;