Two ordinances pertaining to the hunting of white tailed deer by bow hunting in North Royalton, introduced at the May 3 City Council meeting, were unanimously adopted at the June 7 meeting. This follows the passage of the measure at the March 15 Primary, where six communities all passed the measure. Broadview Heights, Parma, Parma Heights, Seven Hills and Strongsville joined North Royalton, in an effort to address the deer population problem on a more regional level. In North Royalton, 6,395 voters voted for the measure and 2,968 voted against the measure.
“The voters recently spoke overwhelmingly in every single ward in our city by passing the deer ballot issue that they want hunting as a way to help address this. As such, I support what the majority of residents in our city want us to do,” said Ward 3 Councilman Dan Langshaw. He added that he is happy that “we are finally addressing this longstanding issue.”
North Royalton officials had met on several occasions with the other five community officials to discuss the measure and come up with legislation that was to be introduced in the respective communities. Members of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), including the Division of Wildlife, as well as representatives from groups that would certify archers were also in attendance. “Our number one concern is always safety,” said Mayor Bob Stefanik. “The main goal is to ‘continue to keep a regional approach’ in dealing with the deer issue.”
The first piece of legislation amends the city’s codified ordinances, Part Six General Offenses Code, Chapter 618 Animals, Section 618.12 Hunting Prohibited. The ordinance states that the unmanageable number of white tailed deer population has caused great financial loss in landscape destruction and increased accidents to travelers. Because of these situations, the nuisance abatement initiative should be allowed for the health, safety and welfare of the public, which is an effort coordinated through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the “other similarly situated municipalities.” The amendment removes the current verbiage that states that no hunting is permitted, along with the penalties involved and replaces it with new verbiage that will address the controlled bow hunting measures for the white tailed deer. Basically, Stefanik said that the ordinance would permit the hunting of white tailed deer by long bow or short bow during hunting season or during the rest of the year through the use of the nuisance abatement process. Either way, the hunter would need to abide by certain criteria that is set forth in the ordinance. The proposed Ohio Deer Hunting Season for 2016-2017, for archery is September 24 through February 5, 2017, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources website.
The second ordinance amends the city’s codified ordinances, Part Two Administration Code, Chapter 214 General Fee Schedule, Section 214.04 Fees to add a registration fee required for a municipal deer damage control permit at a fee of $150.
Both ordinances were introduced by the Council Safety Committee members, Ward 5 Councilman Steve Muller, Ward 2 Councilman Gary Petrusky and Ward 3 Councilman Dan Langshaw, and was then taken into the Council Safety Committee for discussion. The first ordinance was also co-sponsored by Ward 6 Councilman Dan Kasaris.
Stefanik is planning an informational meeting on this subject next month.
By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer