Ordinance No. 250623-A: Amendment to City Code

City Council Agenda Item Report FROM:

Ryan Cummins, City Manager

MEETING DATE:

June 18, 2025

SUBJECT:

Ordinance No.250623-A: Amendment to Chapter 135 of City Code

DESCRIPTION: In late 2024, City Council agreed to partner with the City of the Village of Douglas and Saugatuck Township to create a Tri-Community Wildlife Management Committee with a sunset date of December 31, 2025. The committee held several meetings and recommended that each municipality adopt the attached resolution. City Council approved the resolution on April 14. During the committee’s work, staff and legal counsel flagged the need to update our existing ordinance. Based on feedback from the Saugatuck City committee members and staff, legal has prepared proposed amendments and provided the following details: As part of the City’s initiative to address its deer overpopulation issues, a proposed amendment to Chapter 135 of the City Code, which regulates the use of weapons within the City, has been prepared. Chapter 135 currently prohibits the discharge of any firearms or archery equipment within City limits except with a permit from the City Council, which an exception only for law enforcement officers acting pursuant to their official duties. The proposed amendment to Chapter 135 would revise the City’s regulations on weapons to: 1) better facilitate lawful deer hunting in accordance with state regulations, in hopes of mitigating the City’s current deer overpopulation issues; 2) align with current state and federal law on the topic of weapon regulation as there have been notable developments in this area in recent years; 3) remove the permitting process that historically has not been utilized by the City; and 4) remove regulations that may be ambiguous or simply better regulated on a state or federal level.

Under the new regulations, the discharge of firearms is still prohibited within City limits, with exceptions law enforcement officers discharging their duties and now for deer culls that have received approval from the City, the Allegan County Sheriff’s Department, and other applicable local and state agencies. As the City has been exploring the possibility of employing a cull to reduce the deer population, this new exception would allow that to occur, provided the requisite approvals have been obtained. Additionally, the new regulations do away with the prior prohibition on the use of archery within City limits, noting that the use of any archery equipment must comply with applicable state laws, rules, and regulations. This would include a requirement for anyone using archery equipment to hunt to obtain a hunting license from the DNR, which in turn entails taking a hunter safety class. This revision would allow interested people to hunt on public or private property during hunting season in accordance with the rules and regulations established by the DNR, which, like the change above, will hopefully help address the City’s deer overpopulation issues. Also of note, anyone using archery equipment in a reckless fashion or in such a way as to harm or endanger people or property would be subject to applicable state law sanctions. LEGAL REVIEW: Legal prepared the proposed amendments and provided a legal opinion which has been shared with City Council. SAMPLE MOTION: Motion to approve Ordinance No. 250623-A to amend Chapter 135 of the City Code.

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CITY OF SAUGATUCK ALLEGAN COUNTY, MICHIGAN AMENDMENT TO CITY CODE ORDINANCE NO. 250623-A At a meeting of the City Council of the City of Saugatuck, Allegan County, Michigan, held at the City of Saugatuck Hall on ___________________, 2025 at _____ p.m., City Council Member ______________________moved to adopt the following ordinance, which motion was seconded by City Council Member _______________________________. An ordinance to amend the City of Saugatuck’s Code of Ordinances, Chapter 135, to revise and update the City’s regulations of weapons to align with applicable law and to provide an exception for the discharge of firearms within City limits as part of a City-sanctioned deer cull, to protect the public health, safety, and welfare. CITY OF SAUGATUCK, ALLEGAN COUNTY, ORDAINS: SECTION 1. AMENDMENT TO CITY CODE OF ORDINANCES, CHAPTER 135, SECTION 135.01: City of Saugatuck Code of Ordinances, Chapter 135, Section 135.01, shall be amended to read as follows: § 135.01 WEAPONS (A) No person shall fire or discharge a firearm within the limits of the City, except for the following: (1) A police officer or other peace officer in the discharge of his or her duty; and (2) Individuals participating in a deer cull approved by the City, the Allegan County Sheriff’s Department, and any other applicable local or state agencies or authorities. (B) The use of bows, crossbows, and archery equipment within the limits of the City shall comply with any applicable state laws, rules, and regulations. SECTION 2. AMENDMENT TO CITY CODE OF ORDINANCES, CHAPTER 135, SECTION 135.02: City of Saugatuck Code of Ordinances, Chapter 135, Section 135.02, shall be deleted in its entirety. SECTION 3. SEVERABILITY: Should a court of competent jurisdiction find any provision, clause, or portion of this ordinance amendment to be invalid or unconstitutional, the balance or remainder of this ordinance amendment shall remain valid and in full force and effect and shall be deemed “severable” from the portion, clause, or provision deemed to be invalid or unconstitutional by the court.

SECTION 4. REPEAL: All Ordinances or parts of Ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed. SECTION 4. EFFECTIVE DATE: This Ordinance shall become effective immediately upon the date of this Ordinance’s publication as required by law. YEAS: ___________________________________________________________________ NAYS: ___________________________________________________________________ ABSENT/ABSTAIN: _______________________________________________________ ORDINANCE DECLARED ADOPTED. ____________________________________________ Holly Anderson City of Saugatuck, Mayor

CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that: 1.

The above is a true copy of an ordinance adopted by the City of Saugatuck at a duly scheduled and noticed meeting of the City Council held on __________, _____ 2025, pursuant to the required statutory procedures.

A summary of the above ordinance was duly published in the ______________________ newspaper, a newspaper that circulates within the City of Saugatuck, on ___________, 2025.

Within 1 week after such publication, I recorded the above ordinance in a book of ordinances kept by me for that purpose, including the date of passage of the ordinance, the names of the members of the City Council voting, and how each member voted.

I filed an attested copy of the above ordinance with the Allegan County Clerk on _____________, 2025.

ATTESTED: ___________________________________ Jamie Wolters City of Saugatuck, Clerk

CITY OF SAUGATUCK ALLEGAN COUNTY, MICHIGAN NOTICE OF ADOPTION AMENDMENT TO CITY CODE ORDINANCE NO. ___ Please take notice that on ____________, 2025, the City Council of City of Saugatuck adopted Ordinance No. ___, which, among other things, amends the City of Saugatuck’s Code of Ordinances, Chapter 135, to revise and update the City’s regulations of weapons to align with applicable law and to provide an exception for the discharge of firearms within City limits as part of a City-sanctioned deer cull. Copies of the ordinance may be obtained from Jamie Wolters, City of Saugatuck Clerk, at 102 Butler Street, P.O. Box 86, Saugatuck, Michigan 49453 during regular business hours. The Ordinance Amendment has the following sections, which are summarized below: Section 1: Amendment to City Code Chapter 135, Section 135.01; Section 2: Amendment to City Code Chapter 135, Section 135.02; Section 3: Severability; Section 4: Repeal; and Section 5: Effective Date. Jamie Wolters City of Saugatuck, Clerk (269) 857-2603 JWolters@saugatuckcity.com Publication Date: ____________, 2025