Minutes - Planning Commission - 09/05/2006 - Work Session & Jt w Plann

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Resident Request Mr. Dave Nathe, resident, stated he and his brother Joe own about 200 acres in the City of Ramsey and Elk River where they farm vegetables. He is here about the damage to their crops from the large number of geese and deer. Mr. Nathe stated most of the cities are letting people hunt as long as they have a goose stamp and a permit from the landowner. There are a lot of geese behind Shorewood RV where there is almost 500 acres between Al Pearson and himself. There are homes along Bowers Drive, but they would not put any hunters there or by Alpaca Estates. He is asking if the Council would change the ordinance by allowing goose hunting; there is usually a hunt in September and another one in December. Mr. Nathe stated the other thing is that the deer are running rampant, and they do more damage than the geese. They are looking for a variance, otherwise they will have to go to the DNR to try to get a permit to eliminate some of the deer, or hire a sharp shooter. He has been here since 1971 and has never had the geese and deer like they do now. Mayor Gamec suggested turning this request over to Police Chief Way to evaluate and provide a recommendation at the next Council meeting. Police Chief Way advised the 1,500 foot requirement that is included in the City ordinance will not be able to be met in Mr. Nathe's area, but a few areas that meet the 500 foot state requirement could be determined. The DNR requires a 100 foot distance from open water for the metro shoot. If the Council approves, areas could be staked out where people could hunt for the geese, making certain that everyone is licensed, as was done with Rum River Hills Golf Course. Mayor Gamec suggested Police Chief Way be authorized to review these goose hunting requests at they come in, and to provide the Council with a recommendation. Councilmember Pearson stated he concurs with Mr. Nathe's statements. The amount of damage is horrendous. For the last 30 years he has dedicated a wildlife plot at the Anoka County Park, which started with 3 acres and has been increased to 15 acres. The deer have stayed in this area, but this area of the park is now mowed and the number of deer on his land is up. He stressed the need to do something. Councilmember Cook suggested the 1,500 foot requirement in the City's ordinance may be creating a problem, and that they may need to relax the requirement to allow hunting in some of the agricultural areas. Councilmember Jeffrey stated he would not be in favor of relaxing the distance requirement, which provides the City with control over the hunting. Public safety is a factor, which is the reason the ordinance was put into place. Councilmember Strommen concurred. Councilmember Jeffrey stated regarding the deer hunting, he would be concerned about the possible use of slugs. He noted in this situation, as with the Rum River Hills Golf Course, the City Council Work Session I September 5, 2006 Page 2 of 10