NATCHEZ — Natchez city officials said no progress has been made on attempts to regain public access to a privately owned parking lot overlooking the Natchez bluff because the property remains tied up in estate matters.

The parking lot next to the old Broadway Street Depot has access to hiking trails along the bluff and a scenic view of the Mississippi River and it had been open to the public.

However, in May 2018 the land was suddenly roped off overnight and marked with a sign reading, “Private Property: No Trespassing.”

County land transactions and a report in the June 13, 1984, Natchez Democrat show the city sold the property to Sim Callon on June 12, 1984, for $37,333, and it was used as a parking lot for Callon Petroleum Company.

In 2015, land transactions show the 3.5 acre property was deeded over to Riverview Properties LLC, which includes Callon family descendants.

Shortly after the parking lot was closed to the public, Natchez officials expressed interest in buying the property for public use.

In June the city hired Ridgeland company Barber and Mann Inc. to appraise the parking lot and adjacent green space off North Broadway Street for a total of $7,500, following a unanimous vote by city aldermen.

The appraisal, however, was called off because a judge ruled the sale of the Callon parking lot property could not proceed due to estate settlement issues involving Callon descendants, said Bob Latham Natchez city attorney.

The parking lot had a brief opening in May during the Bishop Gunn Crawfish Boil. However, it still remains closed for regular use.

Latham said officials have since started to negotiate buying back the property, but it remains tied up in an estate for the late Fred and Sim Callon.

“We just kind of put those negotiations aside because the judge overseeing that estate process wanted to wait until the estate had been settled with the court,” Latham said.