DUBOIS – Hunting was temporarily banned in the City of DuBois following a work session meeting Oct. 8 by DuBois City Council. It had been brought to council’s attention that the ban was likely illegal and had to be rescinded.
“I assume your reason for not wanting hunting is a stray bullet on the walkway,” said City Solicitor Toni Cherry.
Cherry had asked the council to rescind the four day ban on hunting because of the likely illegality of it.
With plans to put a walkway through the wetlands near Beaver Meadow council had concerns about stray bullets. Before last Thursday the city has an ordinance forbidding firing either guns or bows within the city limits except for hunting, Existing state laws, as interpreted by the city council, allow for hunting 150 yards from a residential building. The planned walkway and city parks are both 150 yards away from residential buildings. This is what lead to the hastily withdrawn ban on hunting.
“Nobody lives in the city park, do they?” answered Cherry when asked if she really thought hunting could be allowed in the parks.
Local municipalities can’t ban or impose their own hunting laws. The power to regulate hunting falls to the state. There is another tool the City of DuBois has decided to use to prevent hunting in the wetlands and the parks. While as a municipality DuBois cannot legally ban hunting within the corporate boundaries it is also a property owner. As a property owner it can forbid access to its properties for the purpose of hunting.
“Can we pick and choose the areas?” asked Council Member Gary Gilbert.
The question was asked to see if all city properties had to be off limits or just those within the city limits.
According to Cherry, the answer was yes.
City properties within the corporate boundary are now forbidden from hunting, but non-city owned land allowed for hunting by state law and owner’s permission are still open for that purpose. Two areas off of city representative’s heads that qualified were near the armory and by Gilbert’s residence.
City owned lands includes between a section of property between Division Street to Schaffer Road and from State Route 255 to the crick. Also the city parks. City owned lands outside the corporate boundary include such areas as around the reservoir and the newly acquired land near the water treatment plant.
There will be an ordinance drafted that will specify exactly what properties are forbidden from being hunted on. It was also the recommendation of Cherry that the city post these properties as off limits to hunting.
“I think we should post it,” said Cherry.