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Resident urges Youngstown to enforce ordinances as park schedules deer removal
Summary
A Sixth Ward resident asked Youngstown City Council to keep two city ordinances that ban hunting and discharging firearms in city limits, to notify Mill Creek Park leadership about a 400-foot residential buffer and baiting prohibitions, and to ensure state agencies do not override local law.
Patricia Ferrara, a Sixth Ward resident, told Youngstown City Council on Sept. 17 that she is concerned about planned deer hunting in Mill Creek Park and asked the council to preserve city ordinances that prohibit hunting and the discharging of firearms inside city limits. "Both our present and former law directors with full support of our mayor and council have written letters to [Park Director] Aaron Young to caution him about city ordinances that forbid hunting and killing animals," Ferrara said, identifying the local measures as ordinance 505.11 and ordinance 549.08.
Ferrara said she had spoken with Ohio Department of Natural Resources regional director Scott Angelo, who told her the ODNR will not issue hunting permits that override city ordinances north of Midlothian. She asked the council to direct the city law director to write to Mill Creek Park Director Aaron Young reminding him that the ODNR will not allow violations of the city ordinances, to call his attention to the roughly 400-foot buffer that she said prohibits hunting near residences, and to caution park officials that baiting and luring animals into kill areas is illegal under state hunting laws.
Councilman Oliver asked whether the park or anyone had violated the ordinances in the process and whether penalties would be assessed; the chair and council indicated there were no known violations. Ferrara asked the council to keep both ordinances in place and not to delete or alter them.
The item was raised during the public-comment portion of the meeting; council did not take a formal vote on enforcement or initiate any immediate regulatory change during the session. Next steps would be an administrative letter or follow-up from the law director if council directs staff to act.
