NATCHEZ &8212; Plans currently being pursued for Natchez riverfront developments are still in the discussion stages.

A meeting has been set for Nov. 7 and 8 to come up with a bluff top condo design that will meet both the developers&8217; needs and the city&8217;s preservation ordinance and design guidelines.

Preservationists and locals have said the $19 million condo development Worley and Brown propose for the site &8212; with more than 53 units, standing five stories tall &8212; doesn&8217;t fit in with the character of the surrounding buildings and isn&8217;t in keeping with Natchez&8217;s preservation ordinance or design guidelines. City officials have said such a development is needed to help boost Natchez&8217;s struggling economy and act as a catalyst for further development along the riverfront.

Preservation Director Mimi Miller of the Historic Natchez Foundation, which is setting up the meeting, said architectural delineator James Piatt of Boston and consultant Chris Chadborne, who will facilitate the meeting, have said they&8217;ll take part.

Piatt &8220;is an artist as well as an architect. He has a talent for sketching out the designs people are talking about as they&8217;re talking about them,&8221; Miller said.

Meanwhile, Mayor Phillip West has confirmed developers have expressed interest in locating a casino and hotel in Natchez.

But he emphasized that the companies, which he would not name or give any details about, have only said they might be interested and asked for initial information &8212; not committed to a project.

This isn&8217;t the first time in recent years a developer has expressed interest in locating a casino in Natchez other than the existing Isle of Capri.

Florida-based developer Charles Cato had expressed interest in locating a casino at the city&8217;s 5.3-acre Roth Hill riverside property and possibly a convention-grade hotel on the bluff.

Millions of dollars in state funds and about $20,000 from the city itself have been spent on riverfront improvements, including bluff stabilization and infrastructure improvements to Roth Hill Road, which descends almost to the water&8217;s edge.

City officials even signed an agreement, in 2003, to negotiate exclusively with Cato, but that agreement lapsed.

Cato is now pursuing Gaming Commission approval to open a casino just south of the Mississippi River bridge and build a hotel adjacent to that location.