Firearms Amendment Dies in Colts Neck Committee

The Colts Neck Township Committee voted to pull a controversial amendment to its current firearms discharge ordinance, after officials expressed concern that the amendment was not the way to solve what has become a deer management problem.

In Colts Neck, the amendment would have set bow and arrow hunting 150 feet from an occupied dwelling, rather than its current 450 feet.

At a public hearing on Feb. 28, Fitzgerald and Committeemen Russel Macnow, Jarrett Engel and Jim Schatzle all voted to take the amendment off of the table. Committeemen Thomas Orgo voted to keep the amendment on.

"[Deer] is a problem we know we have to deal with," Macnow said, adding that the solution may not be the amendment on the table, but rather a solution found by the community.

What happens now

A Wildlife Management Committee was created last year, previously called the Deer Management Committee.

Fitzgerald, who named several more residents to the committee including a Humane Society representative and Monmouth County Parks employee, said he would like the committee to come up with ideas to strengthening the existing ordinance.

"We're not going to make everyone happy," Macnow said. 

Macnow, Fitzgerald and Engel spoke about possible making safety and security zones, such as around schools and densely populated residential areas. The idea is something the Wildlife Management Committee will explore.

Once a new amendment is created, the process will begin again. First readings of the amendment as well as public hearings will be rescheduled, advertised and held in Colts Neck.

Where it began

The amendment was brought before the committee when, according to Mayor Michael Fitzgerald, the township became aware that its current ordinance did not line up with state law.

"There are a couple of problems," Fitzgerald said at a Feb. 13 meeting. "It's the distance for the [bow and arrow]...and there's also the issue of just having a blanket ban [on firearms and weapons discharge]."

But the public comments section of a Feb. 13 Colts Neck Township Committee turned entirely toward the ordinance, where residents again voiced concerns over more lenient hunting rules.

"The attorneys are there to advise you, but you represent us. And I would venture that a super-majority, if not more of the town, is against this.," one resident said. "Let them sue, let's see what happens. Let's not amplify the accidents that have already happened."

Marlboro Township made a similar move to pull a firearms amendment last October, which would have actually made its hunting ordinance much more strict. But push back from the hunting community made cause the township to pull the amendment and consult more experts.