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Council Bluffs delays hunt-rule overhaul after residents raise safety, camera and DNR concerns
Summary
Council members deferred action on a proposed change to the city's urban deer and turkey management rules after residents described feeling unsafe from nearby tree stands and trail cameras and staff warned the state DNR must review changes; council directed staff to research distances and enforcement options and bring the item back to a study session.
Council Bluffs councilmembers agreed to defer action and pull a proposed amendment to the municipal code governing urban deer and turkey management after residents urged a larger safety buffer and staff cautioned the Iowa Department of Natural Resources must sign off on changes.
Staff introduced the change after a complaint that a hunter was using a stand on private property adjacent to a walking path. The draft amendment would make hunting within 10 yards of an adjacent property presumptively illegal unless the adjacent owner provides annual permission. "This puts that standard in place that if you wanted to be within 10 yards of an adjacent property owner, then you had to get that specific property owner's permission," staff said.
Neighbors who spoke at the meeting described repeated encounters with hunters and trail cameras near the property line and said the proximity made them feel unsafe. "I don't feel comfortable being in my own backyard," one resident testified, urging a 50-yard buffer because some bows and setups now make longer shots feasible.
Councilmembers questioned enforcement feasibility, whether regulating trail cameras would be practical, and whether violations should be pursued through municipal code or by the Iowa DNR. Staff and council also discussed alternatives such as requiring stands to face into the hunter's property, adding visible marker tape on stands, or setting a longer distance (25'50 yards), but warned larger buffers could make many small legal lots ineligible for the program.
Staff emphasized that because hunting in the city is presumptively illegal unless the city opts in through municipal ordinance, the city may place conditions on the privilege; however, any substantive changes to the urban deer ordinance require Iowa DNR review before they can take effect. Council concluded it would not move the ordinance that night, asking staff to gather additional research, consult with the DNR, and return the item to a study session.
