Overall, Natchez is a beautiful city. But like many other cities throughout the nation, it has a variety of not-so-pretty problems &045;&045; dilapidated houses, abandoned cars and litter among them.

Challenges such as absentee owners, budget and personnel constraints and the legal process itself sometimes present obstacles to prosecuting such violations, as city officials pointed out in today’s &uot;A Closer Look.&uot;

But there are things the city can do to curb the situation &045;&045; and enhance the city’s curb appeal.

City Planner Bob Jackson is looking at several different options, from bringing proposed landscaping requirements to the Zoning Board to exploring ways to use absentee owners’ overgrown lots.

Perhaps most importantly, Keep Mississippi Beautiful’s Barbara Door and Stephanie Hutchins have already met with Mayor Phillip West to explore ordinances other cities have used to address beautification problems.

They will meet next month with West and, hopefully, with department heads and community groups that work with beautification issues.

We encourage the city to follow through on measures to enhance our city’s visual appeal.

Meanwhile, however, we ask the residents of Natchez &045;&045; in citizen groups and individually &045;&045; to do their part by picking up litter, making sure their properties are kept maintained and clean.

Keeping Natchez attractive is everyone’s job, and it can help attract new residents and businesses to our city, boosting the economy for us all.