YOUNGSTOWN — Whether the city of Youngstown can stop Mill Creek MetroParks’ plan to conduct a deer kill in city limits will require a court decision, according to the Ohio Legislative Service Commission.

“There does not appear to be a case resolving a conflict between metropark regulations authorizing a person to hunt or control deer and a municipal ordinance that specifically prohibits those activities,” three attorneys from the LSC wrote in a letter to state Rep. Lauren McNally, D-Youngstown, at her request. “This matter is ultimately for a court to determine.”

The LSC is a nonpartisan agency that provides the Ohio Legislature with research, budget and fiscal analysis, bill drafting and other services. In the letter, released Monday by McNally, the LSC attorneys — Helena Volzer, Sarah A. Maki and Alyssa Bethel — wrote that the memo “should not be considered legal advice. Ethical restrictions applicable to LSC attorneys prohibit the provision of legal advice. In addition, because we do not know the entirety of the facts prompting the questions addressed in this memorandum, it should not be considered a comprehensive discussion of the subject.”

The park board agreed April 10 to reduce the deer population through the use of firearm and bow hunting. Park officials said the targeted deer culling would involve federally employed professional marksmen using firearms as well as through the use of bows and arrows and firearms through a lottery conducted by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife.

DISCHARGING IN CITY

Youngstown Law Director Jeff Limbian said the city has laws against discharging a gun in the city limits, which includes the parts of the park, as well as against bow hunting — and if either occurs it would lead to criminal prosecutions and civil actions.

McNally said the “LSC was very inconclusive with the hunting in the city limits. It’s unprecedented. It hasn’t been challenged in court. It’s a good opportunity for the city to go through with a lawsuit. The city can sue Mill Creek Park, the way the laws are written.”

The LSC memo states the General Assembly approved a law that prohibits a city from passing more restrictive gun laws than the state. The city of Columbus, citing home rule, filed a lawsuit against the state on March 19, 2019. A Franklin County Common Pleas Court judge ruled in favor of the city with the state filing an appeal with the 10th District Court of Appeals. The appellate case is pending.

Limbian asked the ODNR last week to “cancel, change and reconsider killing deer in Mill Creek Park” in the city.

Andy Chow, an ODNR spokesman, said last week that the agency “serves in an advisory role when it comes to management of overabundant deer population.”

In response to Limbian, Aaron Young, the parks’ executive director, said until the matter is resolved, efforts to reduce the white-tailed deer population on park properties would start outside of the city limits. The plan will start being implemented in the fall.

PARK AUTONOMY

McNally said Monday that she’s spoken to ODNR officials after being contacted by numerous constituents, and the autonomy of the park board commissioners to make a decision was “reinforced. ODNR can verify if the goals expressed can be met by the (parks’ deer) plan, but are not the arbiters in the appropriateness of the goals.”

McNally said: “The park is extremely autonomous. ODNR doesn’t get a say in it.”

But she added: “ODNR was shocked to see Youngstown had no hunting in the city ordinance.”

Young has emphasized the park plan is not deer “hunting,” but is “targeting removals.”

The LSC memo states “deer culling is not the same as hunting under Ohio law” and ODNR’s Division of Wildlife “authorizes and issues deer damage control permits to cull deer under administrative rules.”

Also, McNally said ODNR told her that “most (metroparks) around the state have deer management plans that are ongoing. These include controlled hunting or targeted removal.”

Mill Creek is planning a “targeted removal.” Eight other metroparks in the state have that option and an additional 13, including Trumbull County MetroParks, have controlled hunting, according to McNally’s research.

McNally said ODNR issues hunting licenses and would provide “expert consultation” if Mill Creek requested it.

“I understand and share the concerns raised (by residents) about the hunting portion of the MetroParks’ plan, especially in densely populated areas like the city of Youngstown,” said McNally, who lives near the park. “I also share the goal of ensuring the longevity of our MetroParks and properly preserving this incredible community asset for the long haul.”

The targeted method of reducing the deer population is planned for Mill Creek Park, which is in Youngstown and Boardman, as well as Yellow Creek Park in Struthers.

Limbian has questioned the validity of a study done that shows an overabundance of white-tailed deer in the park. The park report lists 387 deer per square mile.

dskolnick@vindy.com